re-education camp with lunch-box

NCTU, my university, monitors all downloads via Bittorrent and peer-2-peer networks.  All illicit student activity is saved in a big log file which the administration can go through if they care to.  They also monitor internet searches for what they suspect is illegal material.  The more internet-savvy students don’t use Bittorrent but ftp transfers, but it’s slower and there is less fun material available.  They also search in Chinese, rather than English, since it’s more difficult to trace.

And the punishment?  Well, people who are caught downloading illegal material are called in for a one-day course on “property rights on the internet.”  All of my students seem to have been to the course at least once.  “It’s OK,” they say, “you get to bring a friend with you, and they give you a 便當, a lunchbox.”  In Taiwan even re-education camp comes with a free lunch.

I, as always, make sure to follow the law.  However, that lunchbox sounds tempting.