This is not just the title of the above Depeche Mode song, it is also the situation of amateur radio in Taiwan - officially, so to say. The only official amateur radio organization in Taiwan is the CTARL . They are the only ones who can talk to the "relevant authorities", so they are also the only ones who could initiate any changes - and they don't.

From previous posts you can probably see (if you can read Chinese) that I tried to explain concepts, analyze legal problems etc related to amateur radio. I did so because I hoped it could be useful. Well, it turns out I was wrong. While the CTARL may be aware to some degree that the local amateur radio law is flawed, they do not attempt any change because some of these problems were apparently caused by the CTARL. The crazy situation that a call sign is assigned to a transmitter instead of a radio amateur is one such problem.

So I was told directly that there will not be any change, for a number of reasons:

• Taiwan is special (Never forget this one!) 
• Civil servants do not like to change anything because they may make mistakes and that would make them look bad. 
• Some of the problems were caused by CTARL, so they do not like to stand up and say "Hey, we made a mistake last time, can we change that?"
• There are too few radio amateurs, so we have no power to change anything.

Especially the last argument is funny. It is anything but new. About ten years ago I had been CTARL member - more or less. I had asked for the situation of foreign hams in Taiwan and they told me that foreign radio amateurs could only get short-term licenses and they could not do much about it, and that I should join them to strengthen their voice if I wanted any change. Interestingly, I could only join as a second or third-class member, because I was considered an unlicensed citizen - even though I had a license since 1987. This means that I was allowed to pay, but not allowed to open my mouth.

So the arguments are still the same, the situation (snafu) is still the same, only the people have apparently been replaced over the years. So, what exactly is so "useless" here? A few days back I read that there are about 60,000 people with an amateur radio license here in Taiwan, but only 20,000 who set up a station. If you wonder about this discrepancy, the other 40,000 are drivers (coach, lorry) and other people using amateur radio equipment and frequencies illegally. To avoid fines, their bosses ask them to take the most basic test so they can show a valid license if the police checks. If you now think the system is flawed, you may be on to something...

But these numbers show more. Taiwan has a population of about 23m. If about 20,000 have set up an amateur radio station, then one in thousand Taiwanese is a radio amateur. I am German, so let us compare this to Germany: Population is about 81m, and the largest (the official one, so to say) amateur radio club has 45.000 members. No matter how many radio amateurs joined other clubs or none at all, the total number of radio amateurs will not reach 80,000. So, per capita, Taiwan has a lot more radio amateurs than Germany - but still, the German amateur radio club can achieve changes. How is that possible?

Maybe it is not just about the weather and whatever else gets blamed in Taiwan. When I was a CTARL member, I only noticed this fact because I had paid membership, received two CTARL stickers and sometimes (though very irregularly and usually one to four months late) a small brochure. That was it. There was no info about the local chapter (which did not really exist), no info before an event. (I read about those a few months later in that brochure.) Compared to the German DARC , the CTARL has no visible organizational structure. Btw, want to have fun? Go to Google, search for "darc site:.de" and you will see the official DARC website on position one. Now search for "ctarl site:.tw"...

There is a famous saying in Taiwan: "沒辦法". It is extremely popular, partly because it is so convenient. 沒辦法 itself can be translated as "there is no way (to do this)" or "it can not be done", and it is a very convenient excuse. It should however be noted that "我沒辦法" also means "I do not have the capability to get this done." I admit that sometimes I forget this and try to achieve some changes. Fortunately, there are always people reminding me that they are unable to do what should in theory be one of their objectives. I shall not disturb their peace again.