Gangsters in Taiwan have told early morning exercisers to stop clapping their hands, or else, cable TV channel ETTV reported Sunday. ( dpa )
Many Taiwanese believe clapping while walking can improve their health; making a loud noise is believed to stimulate blood circulation, increase chi - the Chinese term for life energy - and cure many internal diseases.
But now the "morning clappers" have been warned to keep quiet as they are disturbing the gangsters' sleep.
Recently warning notices have been pasted on trees along the Love River in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
"Our brothers (the term for gangsters in Taiwan) finish work at nightclubs at about 3 am, but are woken up by morning clappers at about 6 am," the notice reads.
"You improve your health by clapping hands, but we are pissed off.
"So we suggest you stop clapping hands. If you continue to make noise and disturb our sleep, you must shoulder all the consequences."
ETTV said it was hard to determine whether the warning had indeed been issued by gangsters, but it is a fact that "morning clappers" have annoyed many residents along the Love River and similar warnings have appeared in the past, although they were not signed by "gangsters."
Hand-clapping became popular several years ago as an easy way to improve health, and the craze spread by word of mouth.
Nowadays, many middle-aged people and senior citizens in Taiwan get up early in the morning to go for a walk while clapping their hands in city parks or on school campuses.