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By David May
A couple of weeks ago I sat down with Mark Lee of the Tainan County Foreign Affairs Police. Mark is a very friendly officer I have known for a while. He's a very friendly guy, but takes his job seriously and will do as much as possible to help you out. On a number of occasions Mark has been my lifeline for advice or help while I've been here in Taiwan. Mark is an aboriginal from the Paiwan tribe of Pingtung County. He lives with his wife and two kids in Yong Kang, Tainan County. Mark and I sat down to talk over some fine Vietnamese coffee that he brewed in some contraption that looked like he had swiped from a high school chemistry lab. The interview broke down as follows.
What's your official position?
Police officer. What do you say? What do you mean?
Is there anything special about your position? What is your position exactly?
Oh Jeeeez, what's this?
I am just going to ask you some questions.
I'm just going to write a short article. It's just an interview. We spoke about this before. It's for a magazine.
At this time you're just like the policeman and I am just some special guy?!
Exactly. A simple reversal of roles .
Right now I am working as a foreign affairs police officer and I am in charge of Yong Kang City.
How long have you been working as a foreign affairs police officer?
Five years.
Did you have any special training as a foreign affairs officer?
No. It is not a dangerous job. I had to pass a language test. I had an English test and sometimes they also test for Japanese because a lot of Japanese are here. Actually any kind of language...Vietnamese, Thai. Any kind of language and you can be a foreign affairs officer. I can only speak Japanese, English, Chinese, Taiwanese and my mother language. I am Paiwan. In the future if I have a chance I want to study Spanish.
What does your job involve?
Well we have a duty center that controls all the duties here in Tainan County. If somebody makes a report to the duty center say, some kind of car crash or criminal act, then if it involves any foreigner we become involved. Sometimes I have to visit foreigners to explain the laws in Taiwan or offer advice about things. Often people don't know about our social order or culture here (and) they need somebody to tell them.
What do you like about your job?
Well I have had a lot of chances to know about other cultures. It can make my mind so wild and get a lot of knowledge. My personality is just like a foreigner. I am not so traditional. Some of my friends say that inside I am Latin. Outside I am an Asian person but inside Latin. I am too hot and too passion.
Sometimes my job is boring. Too boring. We cannot touch the Taiwanese criminals. We just only take care of the foreign cases.
On an average week what happens?
Hmmmmm. What do you mean? Could you give me a for example?
I mean in a normal week what happens? What duties do you usually have? What work?
Just nothing. Just to check my information. Check to see if some people have overstayed. Keep in touch with some people.
So you are just always checking up on people?
A lot but I can't tell you too much. Some things belong to secrets. I can only just tell you that.
What happens if you overstay?
Just pay money. That is the only way. I'm sorry... you have to pay the punishment and leave if you want to come again.
What problems do you usually encounter with foreigners?
Well for me, in this area, the Thai people fighting. Because after work every Saturday or Sunday they will go to their Karaoke and drink too much and then they will fighting. Only for one reason. They drink too much. Or just for a woman. Often it is only two guys fighting but then they call their groups.
Is this Thai vs. Thai?
Yes, because they are afraid of the Chinese.
What happens in that situation?
We have to call the local police and call their boss and tell them they have some trouble. If it is not a very serious case we'll let the boss take his worker back to the factory and everything is done. If someone is seriously hurt then we must do something. However the court will decide what to do. If it is a serious case maybe they will go to a Taiwanese prison. If it is just a small case maybe they will get kicked out.
I've read about foreign sex workers coming to Taiwan to work in dirty KTV's or other places, do you deal with this? Have you had any cases?
Oh, you have heard about this? Yes, before there was a big case in Taoyuan. However, here in Tainan we have not had many cases. The case in Taoyuan was very big but we don't have much of that here.
What about western foreigners? English teachers, Engineers or other westerners here on business? What kinds of problems have you encountered?
Usually only small cases. Just car accidents and fighting. Sometimes fights between foreigners and Taiwanese over noise. Cultural problems. (Mark added later not on tape that sometimes there are fights between foreigners and Taiwanese because some Taiwanese get angry that foreigners come here make money and fuck "their" women and then leave). Usually for English teachers it is just contract problems but I do not deal with that. That is the labour bureau.
So no major problems? Have you had any very serious cases? Have you deported any foreigners?
Yes, we had one case for drugs. A policeman caught one guy and he was in the county jail for maybe 5 years. It was just a small case but he was holding drugs and using drugs but we also believe he was selling drugs. After he finished his time we kicked him out. Most of the time with foreigners it is just ARC stuff. My ARC is going to run out and I need an extension. Things like that. I also have another job but I can't tell you.
Do you have a lot of cases where foreigners are teaching illegally?
Yes. Recently I found a girl who was a student at Cheng Kung University who was teaching English. She had a student visa. Her English was not so well though. She was from Slovenia. She was very beautiful. She was slim with big eyes. Very beautiful. I had no choice though. I had to kick her out. Somebody reported her.
What are the rules for teaching? Where can you teach?
Well this is labour bureau law. According to the permit you can only teach at your school where you have your ARC.
Can I teach kindergarten in the morning for extra cash?
Of course we know about this. People want to make some extra money. If nobody reports it to me then I won't do anything but if I get a phone call then I must do something. I have to follow the law. I'll have to inform the labour bureau because that is labour bureau. I must assist.
Is it true it is illegal to teach in a kindergarten?
If you have a spouse visa you can teach anywhere. If you use a working visa then you can only teach at where you get your ARC.
How would you describe the average foreigner?
There are so many here how do I do that?
Ok then. How would you describe the average English teacher?
That's very hard to say because everybody has a different style. Well... they are very open. Not like the Taiwanese who are very traditional. They have a lot of passion. We Taiwanese have a traditional thinking. For example. A girl after 30 will be married and be loyal to her family and her husband. Taiwanese family, family is very important. Foreigners are a little different. More individual. Of course they like their family but it is more like friends. For Taiwanese, father is father, son is son and friend is friend. We have some rules. Just like order.
So Taiwanese are order and the foreigners are more chaos?
(snickering) YES! Some of my friends here in Taiwan, they say to me, "I am married to a Taiwanese but I am not married to her family!" We Taiwanese say if I am married to you then you are married to the rest of my family. This is very serious.
Do you think these cultural differences create a lot of problems?
You just need to talk about it. Communicate.
What advice would you give to a foreigner coming to Taiwan?
Be polite. That is very important. It's a key point. Smile and be polite because you are a stranger here. Keep smiling and you can avoid a lot of trouble here. Most of the people here in Taiwan...
(answers the phone that was ringing...)
That's the first: be polite. Then you have to know about Taiwan...Asian culture. It is totally different from Western culture. In Taiwan this country is a bit like Japan, a little like Hong Kong, like Koreans. Maybe sometimes you will think it is like the west. Some things but really inside it is a traditional culture.
If someone encounters a problem or difficult situation, what is your advice?
If it is a problem with your boss then negotiate. If you cannot solve it then go to the labour bureau. For any problem it is very important to be calm and steady. Smile, just communicate. Let the Taiwanese deal with it. Get a good friend here in Taiwan and this person will help you a lot.
How many foreigner teachers are in Tainan County and city?
Tainan City has 150-200. Tainan County about 50. Not that many. In the county there are only about 200 westerners total in the county. Some of them are engineers or married to local Taiwanese.
How many foreign workers?
There are about 4,000 workers in the county and 2,500 in the city. There are more factories in the county. Most of the workers are Thai and Phillipino.
My interview with Mark continued off-tape. Mark did release some of his secrets that are involved with his job but had me swear not to divulge them. When it comes to work, Mark is all business but off the record he let fly some of the real dirt. Sorry you missed it. Track him down yourself. I'm sure he'll tell ya'.
If you're in the county and have any problems give Mark a ring @ 093.284.5445
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