Here in Taiwan, many people ignore public problems, but I believe in taking immediate action wherever possible.

My wife once slipped on an oil slick left by a parked scooter. After making sure she was OK, I tried to sop up some oil with paper in my pocket. When that didn't work, I left a note warning passersby to watch out for the oil.

My wife was very upset: "Why do you worry so much about what might happen to other people?"

I told her that if I had left the scene without taking action of some sort to protect other passersby, I would feel very guilty. We can't wait for the government to take care of everything.