USTDC

Photo of USTDC courtesy of Les Duffin

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Taiwan Security System


Some time ago I posted a photo from Sarj that showed how broken glass was sometimes embedded in the mortar on top of walls around homes. Here's another shot -- this one from Les -- of another one of those burglar deterrents. I don't know how effective they were, but they certainly looked dangerous enough.

Back in 1963, a friend and I caught a hop to Taipei from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. That was the first time I'd ever seen these things and the message was pretty clear that burglary just might be a problem. I think they were still around when I returned in 1973.

3 comments:

Sarj Bloom said...

This is a much better photo than mine and it really shows how dangerous it would be to climb the wall. The conflict with this security system was at the entrance there was usually a wood door that was never very secure looking.

Anonymous said...

As I recall, in George Kerr's book Formosa Betrayed, he mentions the glass wasn't there during Japanese times. It became mandatory after the war to keep the ex-KMT soldiers from breaking in to property and stealing everything.

Anonymous said...

The glass was still there when I lived there in the early 90s. I suspect it is still there even if for no other reason than the fact that it is embedded in concrete and must be difficult to remove.