Saw these guys in Yingko a while back and caught them there again this weekend.Very striking, very interesting, totally copied from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, right down to the red uniforms and hats (the sunglasses are a nice touch dude and let's not forget how nice it is to see a policewoman in uniform and in the saddle!)
From there being little or nothing about this new type of policeman in the news and on the web, there is a lot of chatter now. (I posted a comment here way, way back asking if anyone had any info about them. You can see them in the picture walking around Taipei Harbor.)
China Post
Taipei Times
Taiwan Review
"There are presently 40 male officers and 12 females on the mounted police team.
Their daily patrol territories cover the more 
populous districts in the county, extending from Danshui Fishermen's Wharf, to Yinge township that is noted for ceramic art works, museums, and other tourist spots.
Mounted police have the advantage of patrolling terrain districts that are difficult for the police vehicles to comb."
Other cities are getting in on the bandwagon: "To promote tourism, the Kaohsiung County Government has recently organized a mounted police team."
Here is one worrisome thing: "Captain Huang Hsin-wei of the mounted police team said it is rather safe for people if they avoid standing behind the horses."Some people were actually doing just that and I told my wife than if one odd-ball (note the guy standing behind in the first picture) wasn't careful, he or she might get booted by the hind legs.
How do you spell lawsuit? Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
And what will this all bring? Well more tourists for sure. It may just fuel a new horse riding trend in Taiwan. Hell, we might even see a musical ride soon!
Here are some more pics of the police from my Picasa dating back to April of 2006:
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picasa2
picasa3
Some riders on the beach in DanShui at sunset:
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