Organised crime in Taiwanese society

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 
 
Just how central is the role that organised crime plays in Taiwanese society, and is it actually the nexus of a much broader criminal syndicate involving temples, night markets, the construction industry, the police, the military, and politicians, among others, whilst also acting as the linchpin for drug, wildlife and human trafficking across Asia and the Pacific region? This editorial from the Taipei Times asserts that Taiwan could help other countries deal with the Chinese influence operations to try to undermine democracy in their nations by sharing experiences Taiwan has had over the past decades as the CCP has used Chinese criminal gangs to undermine democracy on the island. 

How many of Taiwan’s temple associations are fronts used by criminal gangs to launder money through untaxed and unrecorded payments because of the tax-exempt status afforded to these “religious groups”? What is the level of membership in and influence on political parties, police officers, military personnel, and construction companies from criminal gangs? The claims, made seemingly in passing in the article, give the impression that it is an open secret that this kind of activity is widespread and accepted in Taiwanese society. It would be interesting to see some supporting data to back up these claims – especially now that Taiwan’s most notorious figure connected with organised crime is back in the news again.

https://taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2020/12/18/2003748913

===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex，針對每週一篇英文文章閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望同學不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。大家可以善用這個寶貴的資源～
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/applied-english.html