Crappy and Inefficient Government in Taiwan - Night of Complaints for Me

I think I still need to get all the bad energy out of me by ranting a bit.

It's another month before filing my tax returns in Taiwan. Nobody in any country wants to pay taxes, but everyone still does because it's one of the duties of a citizen. Yet, I seriously don't see anything good out of taxes paid from the taiwanese government. Roads are paved and repaired, but in a very poor manner. Economy sucks, which means life sucks. Educational system is a mess, which means passive kids are becoming stupider (which makes my work harder). Job security and worker welfare protection exist, but only in writing (ask my mom and she'd complain even more since she's unemployed again). In short, I cannot see anything that's implemented by the government for benefits of everyday people. Worse, the gap between the richest and the poorest is widening, and the middle class is being downgraded. The most disgusting thing is that the richest people in Taiwan (CEO of various companies) pay less than everyday joes in income tax, because they have the financial ability to hire accountants (who are more like legitimate conman).

And lately, the government is trying to complete very boring tasks - changing names that make allusion to China or related to Chang Kai-Shek. They first changed the name of the biggest international airport in Taiwan. It was called CKS Airport (shorten version of the generalissimo whom I don't like that much anyway, but still a historical figure) before last September but now it's called Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The reason given by the government for this change is unconvincing to me, since who the bloody hell in the world knows where the bullocky Taoyuan is located??? According to the government, this name change conforms to international standard; airports such as Tokyo Narita, Seoul Incheon and many others. Well, for me, I can't think of any major airport hub in the world that uses the name of the municipality where the airport is located; most of them use names of historical figures (there are some in Europe, like Geneva Cointrin but then Geneva isn't a major hub). What's more, the main international airport usually serves the largest city of the region or the capital of a country (examples of Tokyo and Seoul). What the illogical government could've done was renaming the airport Taipei International or something (there's an airport located within the city of Taipei but it's called Taipei City Airport so I don't believe there'd be any confusion, at least not for me). What I am trying to say is that the government cannot attain its objective by naming it Taoyuan. If I were some hillbilly from some square state that happened to travel to Asia (strange but it's for the sake of example), when I hear Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, I'd be like "No, I am going to Taipei, not this place! What the f#$%?" No idea whom the government consulted before making this decision. Probably nobody.

Finally got rid off the first thing on my mind since last September.

Now, another irritating matter. This one has been on my mind since last month.

I came back to work after Chinese New Year holiday and found out that April 6th would be another government regulated holiday in April, right after the 5th (which is the day of remembrance of ancestors). Great, that means that I'll have to delay my Friday class for another week. Instead of ending the session at Alliance Francaise by the end of April, it now will be the first week of May. Crap. Damn. Bullocks. Merde. Schiesse. Mierda.

I have plan going on a get-away that weekend on free tickets (thanks to Air Canada). This means I have to change the dates AGAIN!!! And each time I change date, I have to pay CAD$50. I'd already made two changes and the get-away weekend was planned last November. I do not want to pay again since the idea of the get-away was that I did not have to pay at all. One'd say that I shouldn't have planned so early. Let me just say that the government publishes the working calendar (which includes all official bank holidays) every autumn for the following year, so that companies and everyone would know how to schedule things from meetings, conferences or semesters. And according to the newly amended Labor Act (which I have read thoroughly because I was doing unofficial translations for companies), all should respect the working calendar published by the government. So my boss did that. Perfectly fine until a few weeks ago, when the useless and hopeless government decided to make April 6th a holiday so that everyone can have a uninterrupted long weekend (it's a Friday by the way). Yeah, why didn't you think of that before publishing the working calendar? You had plenty of time to do that. I am totally pissed off right now. Don't they have better things to do than screwing up people's schedules? But then I thought about it, the Taiwanese government is known for its half-ass implementation and performance. Efficiency and logic are just two words that are missing from the dictionary in all the governmental offices in Taiwan. I know it's impossible, but I am seriously considering asking the moronic government to pay me the amount of CAD$50 as compensation. My boss is not agreeing with this sudden decision, either, because having this extended weekend means that people have to make up work the following Saturday (nothing is free in life!). This means that the majority students who come to classes on Saturday won't be able to do so, because they'll have to make up a day of work. Need I say more?

Level of madness and crappiness just increased.

But I still need to write about one more thing.

I had ranted about elected officials, especially those in the parliament in Taiwan in previous entries. I simply wanted to write a bit more since I really, seriously can't stand them. Unbearable.

I am not on any one's side because uncivilised behaviours can be seen in all political parties. Indeed, the biggest problem of Taiwanese parliamentarians are their uncivilised and sometimes barbaric behaviours. These are highly educated people (or as they claim being so, because a few who received post-graduate degrees abroad can't even speak freaking English properly! You do the maths), yet they always scream when they are only doing a discussion. They yell when they have a debate and once they get into a dispute of some sort, they get physical (Olivia Newton-John should remake the music video using images of Taiwanese lawmakers...that would be super fun!) The only reason to start physically attacking people is the lack of discipline and intelligence. Take young kids for example; they get into fights because they don't know how to behave yet, nor have they received sufficient discipline. We forgive kids because they are kids, they simply don't know better. But for some 50 or 60 somethings (of both sexes) with Masters or Ph.D credentials to comport in such infantile manner is simply ridiculous. The worst thing is that certain lawmakers claim that their loud voice or the use of coarse language is related to their origin, usually southern Taiwan, because people are more "direct" there. There's a huge difference between being direct and civilised and by making that claim, these lawmakers not only reinforce the image of their stupidity, but offend people of the same origin. I've always liked a quote by the former president of Finland, Juho K. Paasikivi: "Acknowledging the facts is the beginning of wisdom." These so-called lawmakers should go to meetings to receive some counselling. How about Uncivilized Taiwanese Parliamentarians Anonymous? Perhaps someone should create one because the longer they stay in denial of their incompetence, the faster the country collapses.

Here we go, three things in one night! It took me nearly 1 an 1/2 hours to write...But at least I am feeling better.