I ran across this interesting post on X. It was written by a San Francisco left-wing activist, who was just thrilled that he and his husband were having the time of their lives in Taipei. 

It is so safe! So clean! You can do all that fun urban-y stuff that liberals rhapsodize about without stepping over piles of poo, worrying about crime, or any of that yucky stuff that happens in his hometown of San Francisco. 

Really, something should be done about that, you know. 

No, it can't.

Because Taiwan is willing to do what you have to do to get it, and San Fransisco isn't.

Why is that?

Because in San Fransisco, people like you are allowed to vote.

— Devon Eriksen (@Devon_Eriksen_) February 25, 2026

As you would expect, nothing gets this guy's heart pumping like bikes, because liberals love themselves some bikes.

When my husband and I visit his family in Taipei every year, we eat our way through the city’s famous night markets and ride off the calories on an incredible network of protected bike paths.

One of our favorite rides is from central Taipei to the coastal town Tamsui. It’s about 15 miles of uninterrupted biking on a dedicated path along the Keelung and Tamsui Rivers that end with views of the East China Sea.

We also love riding within Taipei, where you can travel long distances on dedicated paths along the banks of several rivers that wind through the city. It’s a pleasant and scenic ride without cars in sight.

Of course, Taipei doesn't quite have the climate of San Francisco, where Mark Twain famously joked that "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Taipei's average low temps during winter are in the mid-50s to 60s, and the average highs in the summer are in the mid-80s to low 90s. The city isn't anything but a bunch of steep hills that cars struggle to go up and down, as San Francisco is. I remember visiting San Francisco in the 70s, and my parents' VW bus struggled in first gear to get up some hills, so I can't imagine what biking in the city for transportation would be like. 

But Mr. Engardio's point wasn't just that bike culture is easier in Taipei because it has a better climate and landscape. He seems to like the fact that Taipei is just so pleasant. 

Great cities have wonderful parks. They’re also walkable and rideable to and from those parks. Great cities build housing for all. They’re also home to protected bike lanes and safe passage for pedestrians.

San Francisco will only realize its full potential if we do bold and positive things like create Sunset Dunes, build the housing our kids and grandkids will need to stay here, and commit to making it easy to cycle everywhere.

Let’s be a truly great city, San Francisco!

Aside from the fact that his blog post is filled with pictures of nearly empty bike trails, which suggests that he is not quite getting the fact that his love of bikes may not be as fully shared by the Taiwanese as he thinks, he misses the fact that the big difference between Taipei and San Francisco is that Taiwan can have safe and lovely bike trails because they are extremely harsh on anybody who interferes with them being safe and lovely. 

If criminals did in Taipei what they routinely do without any punishment at all in San Francisco, they would be severely fined, imprisoned, or, in some cases, find themselves in prison for life or executed. 

As Dr. Samuel Johnson once said, "Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully." 

San Francisco—a city with which many an American has fallen in love, with good reason—is a perfect example of the "This is why we can't have nice things" phenomenon. 

There are few places with more natural advantages for urban life than San Francisco. The setting is lovely, the diversity at least used to be their strength, and the post-earthquake architecture truly was lovely. 

Unfortunately, it is filled with San Franciscans who love the idea of urban life but cannot manage a city to save their lives. The cities are filled with poop, property crime is through the roof, and the residents can't distinguish between "quirky" and bats**t crazy. 

As I have written many times before, the price of civilization is the willingness to be a little cruel to people who destroy the public peace. If somebody is shooting up fentanyl and pooping in the streets, you have to get them off the streets. Not just because their behavior is destroying themselves, but also because it is destroying life for everybody else. 

These people aren't "victims" to be coddled and praised, but exactly the opposite. They are imposing their dysfunction on everybody else. 

Being unwilling to enforce the law, maintain social norms, and punish people who break into cars for a living is why you can't have nice things. 

If you want to have your city be more like Taipei, you have to become more like Taipei. 

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