On this unattended table can be found DVDs of films like Terminator Salvation and all the very latest movies in the theaters. So you've figured out that this is a table full of pirated videos. The only thing is they are just sitting there unattended.
Taiwanese are smart and always find ways to get around laws. In this case, were the table attended, the police would have someone to arrest. No attendee therefore no arrest. The DVDs are just sitting there. However, customers can't just take them. They are expected to make a 'donation' in the box in the middle. And the box just stays there unattended. Or so it seems...
In fact, the table and the box are monitored by someone but in a crowded night market, it's hard to know just who. Most likely gangsters working in the area. So, if you choose to help yourself to a copy, don't forget to make your donation.
So, as you can see the secret attendants are protected and the customers help themselves to the DVDs, self-service style. It's an ingenious way to keep the law-breakers out of harms way. And, it seems, the customers seem not to be at fault as 'unwitting' buyers of such illegal movie copies.
2 comments:
Interesting how the police totally "can't see" the people who set up the table, collect the money, or remove the table. If one only tries hard enough, the laws of physics make it impossible to see those people. ;-)
Tim Maddog
Well I'm way behind in the conversation, but this tactic has been used for many years in Hong Kong.
I don't think it shows how smart Taiwanese are.
The system probably wasn't invented here though.
But it is a good way to do it.
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