Love or punishment, it's your choice

English: There are things which are so much out of place they become invisible. Because you kind of see them but you forget them instantly. A good example of such a thing is a poster which is located in the visitor entrance of Taipei Prison in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. I had been there two times now visiting a German citizen who is imprisoned there (see my article here: http://bobhonest.blogspot.com/2010/01/foreign-prisoners-in-taiwan-locked-up.html) BTW, there are also English prisoners in there so what you read in my article about the Germans holds true for the UK citizens as well. Anyway, when you are in the gray yard and about to enter the visitors hall, where you have to queue up for the visit, you might notice a big poster of the Taiwan Department of Justice on the entrance door which shows a smiling young -and very attractive- Taiwanese lady, clad in pink girlish clothes. The text next to her reads in English (!): Love or Punishment, it's your choice. Well, this is kind of typical Taiwanese. What others may think but would never mention gets stuck on the wall here. You in jail, you no girl, would be the essential meaning I guess and we can be grateful they took someone with good English skills and did not write down the Chinglish short version I proposed here. Anyway, why is it in the visitor's area. I mean for the guys inside it's kind of too late, no? Yes Okay I guess they want to warn the relatives. OK, message is clear, but this poster seems kind of surreal when you see it. Hope they don't do that more often in Taiwan. Wall crash or earning cash, it's up to you [dedicated to car drivers]. Or this one: Trade Union and a belly full of whipping or keep-job, it's up to you. Your Department of Work. Spend time well or read blog...

Mehr hat sie schon an...

German, Deutsch: Wenn man in Taiwan das "Taipei Prison" besucht, was ich zweimal getan habe um nach Anregung der auf mein Blog gestoßenen Familie eines inhaftierten Deutschen ihren Verwandten dort zu besuchen, empfängt einen am Eingang zum Besucherraum ein gar surrealistisches Ding, das sich gar unwirklich in der grauen Umgebung ausnimmt. Ein Plakat hängt dort, das eine in mädchenhafter rosafarbener Kleidung steckende junge Taiwanesin zeigt, die in die Kamera lächelt. Daneben steht auf Englisch: "Love or Punishment, it's your choice", zu Deutsch also: "Liebe oder Bestrafung, es ist deine Wahl". Ob das die Kriminalitätsrate senkt, kann sich jeder selber überlegen und auch welche weiteren Anwendungsmöglichkeiten es für solche Plakate wie dieses vom Justizministerium (Department) sonst noch gibt... Sie sind gewarnt!

Meine Berichte über das Gefängnis und meinen Besuch (und hier ist es leider wörtlich mit dem Spaß ob der Haftbedingungen zu Ende):

http://bobhonest.blogspot.com/2010/01/besuch-bei-deutschem-gefangenen-zu.html

http://bobhonest.blogspot.com/2009/12/falschinformation-uber-gefangnis.html

http://bobhonest.blogspot.com/2009/12/besuch-bei-deutschem-gefangenen-in.html

http://bobhonest.blogspot.com/2009/11/deutsche-im-horrorknast.html