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Taiwan is a very orderly place. One of the nice things about it is that
it's so safe and that people are generally respectful of property. And
this manifests itself, amongst other ways, with a lack of graffiti.
Graffiti, in and of itself, is not necessarily a good thing. But it is
a means by which people who would otherwise have no voice comment on
things publically. And some of it is quite artistic. But in Taiwan
there is very little graffiti, there is no Banksy , no social activism.
So is this a bad thing? I'm beginning to think it is. Business here
suffers from a lack of innovation. Nobody ever dares to rock the boat
or challenge the way things are done. But things are not always done
well and without some feedback mechanism the people at the top are
often unaware of the impact of their decisions.
A good example would be
a story told to me by a friend yesterday who is a foreigner and plays
in a band in his spare time.
A little while ago there was a festival called the Spring Scream.
It's a fairly big even modelled on the open-air music festivals that
appear all over Europe in the summer time. Many local bands perform,
thousands of young people spend a weekend at the beach, and a good time
is had by all. And of course, it needs to be licensed.
Foreigners in Taiwan are subject to all sorts of special
regulations, and this year the government dcided that foreigners would
not be allowed to perform at the Spring Scream. Now why the hell would
they do that? The event was initiated by foreigners years ago as a way
to enjoy music together - it's a cultural exchange of the best kind.
But the government wanted to 'protect' local talent, by denying them
the chance to interact with their counterparts from other countries.
This is government stupidity of the first order, and although the
organisers eventually managed to reach a compromise solution it
shouldn't have been necessary. Stuff like this abounds, and it stifles
the natural creativity and intelligence of the people.
So, why doesn't the government make some effort to promote social activism?
A good idea would be to establish places where graffiti is
permitted, even encouraged. There are plenty of construction projects
with fences around, and a few unused plots where temporary walls could
be erected - no need to encourage people to deface buildings.
And start by having a seminar or class on techniques and issues. It
would be more of ao workshop - a chance for activists to meet and
exchange ideas - than a "how to do it", but it would show that the
government is serious about listening to the people.
Who knows, maybe Banksy would come?
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