Shida residents pushing for alcohol prohibition
Shida nightmarket used to be a thriving market area and one of Taipei’s major tourist attractions. The local Taipei City government heavily promoted the Shida area and nightmarket, which was also named the “second best nightmarket in Taipei” by Lonely Planet in 2012.
In late 2011, somewhat abruptly, the local government announced that it was halting any expansion of the area, and in early 2012 officially abandoned all support of the nightmarket altogether.
After enforcing bullshit regulations not enforced anywhere else in Taipei (or Taiwan), the government began cracking down on businesses operating within the nightmarket and shutting them down.
A year later, Shida nightmarket survives as a depressing ghostly shell of its former self. What was once a bustling urban soup of variety has been reduced to a smattering of food chains and boutique women’s clothing stores.
And still that’s not enough. If the killjoys in the Shida Residents’ Self-help Association get their way, Shida will see the introduction of alcohol prohibition.
Having killed off a major tourist attraction, the Resident’s Self-help Association are now targeting convenience stores in the area selling alcohol.
Citing late night “anti-social behavior” in Shida Park, the Association approached got it’s members to lodge complaints to the Daan District Office:
According to the district office, a number of local residents had complained of noise — sometimes lasting into the early hours of the morning — coming from people, including students from the nearby university, drinking in the park late at night and disturbing the peace.
In response to the complaints,
the district office and the police precinct in the area started organizing patrols at the end of last year, telling those in the park to be quieter or to leave the park.
Not satisfied with this outcome, the residents now want more.
Demanding further action be taken after “community patrols” noticed that ‘drinkers usually obtained their alcohol from nearby FamilyMart and 7-Eleven convenience stores‘, the Shida Residents’ Association is now campaigning to have alcohol prohibition introduced into the immediate area surrounding the park.
Amazingly (but not surprisingly) the local government and police are backing the Assocation’s request.
In what would be a first for Taipei (and Taiwan),
The Daan District Office (大安區公所) in Taipei hopes to persuade convenience stores around Shida Park (師大公園) to inconvenience late-night customers by stopping sales of alcohol after a certain time, the police said yesterday.
The district office said it has issued the two convenience stores with an official notice requesting that they place restrictions on sales of alcoholic beverages from 10pm to 6am.
Prohibition.
At the root of the problem is the noise generated by late night drinkers and
community residents often (waking) up in the morning to find the park in a shambolic state, filled with empty bottles, empty plates and littered with other trash.
Now just to be clear nobody has the right to do that to a public park. But what on Earth does that have to do with alcohol prohibition?
Nobody is drinking alcohol from “plates” and “other trash” so what’s next, banning late night food?
If the police patrols introduced a few months ago aren’t working, step them up and analyse why they aren’t working. There’s absolutely no justification for preventing residents in the area from purchasing perfectly legal products.
What if I’d had a late night at work and wanted to relax with a beer or two in my house? What if I had some friends coming over last minute and we needed something to drink?
Who the fuck do the Shida Residents’ Association think they are to tell me what I can and can’t buy?
What a bunch of wankers. And where does it stop? Obviously killing Shida Nightmarket wasn’t enough and these fuckfaces aren’t going to be satisfied until they’ve turned the Shida area into a gated retirement village.
Being Taiwan there’s plenty more convenience stores in the immedate Shida area, so if the two most convenient ones are banned from selling alcohol it’s only be a 5-10 minute walk to the next one.
“Oh it’s wonderful you banned the sale of alcohol near the park but the drinkers are getting their alcohol from other nearby stores, please ban them from selling it too!”
Again, if the problem is loud behaviour in the park then deal with that problem directly. Prohibiting the sale of alcohol isn’t going to solve anything.
Despite government and police support (wonder how much the land developers are paying everyone?), for now the future of the Association’s request remains uncertain.
7-11 are citing “logistics and supply” issues in having to comply with the prohibition request and Family Mart are claiming they have
contracts with many local branches that state that no particular merchandise should be banned from sale without reason.
If Taipei wants to outlaw the sale of alcohol late at night then fine (good luck guys), but what is this selective prohibition bullshit?
Somebody over at Taipei City govt needs to grow a pair and stand up to the Shida Resident Association.
You’re upset your house price isn’t inline with the rest of the Taipei real estate market – we get it. But that’s no excuse to curtail the freedom of other residents living in the area.
We all know following the banning of alcohol next will be the banning of late night food, then long hair, jeans, sneakers, anyone who isn’t over the age of 30 etc.
Honestly, who died and made the fucking morons over at the Shida Neighbourhood Association king?!
February 23rd, 2013 at 9:12 pm mike(Quote)
“If Taipei wants to outlaw the sale of alcohol late at night then fine…”
No, it would not be fine, it would be an unjust law that would have to be deliberately broken for the purpose of confrontation and repudiation.
The point is not alcohol or noise, but political control; if the Shida Resident’s Association is not slapped down now, then they will be out to prohibit/regulate something else next.
I suspect there may be something else going on here.
February 23rd, 2013 at 10:05 pm Oz(Quote)
Fine in the sense that we both know it’s not going to happen.
I wholly agree if they aren’t stopped next it’ll be something else they don’t like. They already tried to ban sick people when they kicked up a fuss over that cancer shelter for kids going up.
February 24th, 2013 at 2:33 am mike(Quote)
Did you ever talk to any of the members? Why not try to interview one or two, and get your g/f to help out with translation. She will also be able to pick on certain speech and behavioural signals that may escape your notice.
February 24th, 2013 at 4:52 pm Oz(Quote)
I haven’t and doubt it would end well. These people are obviously very “precious”.