How can Taiwan be "friendly" if no one wants to be your friend?! 10 Reasons Why Taiwan is NOT friendly!

[Winston]

Update from the good looking athletic Greek guy whos stuck in Taipei:

"man i really gotta say this to you again and again and i cannot stressed more. I have never met the type of deadness in the human soul that i encountered in taiwan. Honestly. Never. After 8 months i feel crushed like a attended some psychological torture. A person who grows up here and has a more open personality will get crushed by the culture. This culture is like a soul crashing machine. Never in my life have i encountered this type of cultural soul crashing machine. And you can see it with taiwanese just surrender and live lifes of zombies everywhere. Just accept this is as the normal fate. Jesus. Soul Crashing. I will never again come back here and i will recommend to everyone to stay away from this existential hell. This is core-level shit. Dead-core level shit."

My reply:

So true. Plus it destroys your self confidence so that even when u are ready to leave u feel so weak and depressed that its hard to pack your luggage and buy a ticket and go airport. Ur just too depressed to move. U know what i mean? Thats the dangerous part. Just like superman cannot just move away from kryptonite either. Because his has no strength to move away. Thats the scary part.

Taiwanese parents in america also make u feel weak and repressed and scared and take away your confidence. They do it subconsciously without even knowing it. My parents are nice but they also make me feel weak and they dont even realize it. Its unconscious and part of their nature. hard to explain in words. But maybe u know what i mean.

[Winston]

If we're gonna brag, when I came at a healthy weight to TW in 2016 numerous girls kept saying 帥哥 (shuàigē/handsome man) when I walked next to them on the subway or at the gym. I even had one girl taking pictures of me at the gym. However, though I had a GF in Vietnam, I felt pretty much invisible to girls when I came back fairly overweight in 2019, compared to 2016 feeling like a total rockstar. So if you want an answer to your problems in Taiwan, it could be as simple as that, I did feel treated worse and more ignored compared to when I was a healthy weight, not just by girls, but even little things like store service and that sort of thing.

I brought it up in the other thread, but basically Taiwan is autistic like me and I like it for that reason. But beyond that, my reasons for wanting to be there is it's a million times more liveable of a place than USA, or the more third world Asian countries full of pollution, crime, etc. It is beautiful to hike, ride around on a bike, go to the beach, etc, as well. Tainan has nicer beaches than Florida with almost no people on a lot of days. It's not like Vietnam where everything's covered in trash and you can't even see stars in the sky at night from pollution, nor see a blue sky during the day.

But you said in your first trip report that the girls ignored you too? If they kept calling you "handsome" why didn't you talk to them and get their number then? Makes no sense. If it's about looks, then how do you explain the Greek guy in Taipei I quoted above? He is good looking and looks like the iconic Greek Olympic Athlete. Yet he gets bad vibes from Taiwanese too.

You gotta understand that in Taiwan if you have a soul and are normal and are NOT a soulless zombie with zero personality, then you are a FREAK. I swear. How can that be good? How can that be free? I swear! It's as obvious as the blue sky. How do most people not see it?

It cannot be race or looks. Because there are white guys who feel the same way and Asians who love Taiwan, and handsome people on both sides, and ugly people on both sides too.

How can Taiwan be livable? I can't even type on this friggin laptop without ants crawling on my hands and arms and distracting me. I keep have to brush them off or blow them off. Very annoying! I cannot even sit outside without insects bothering me and ants surrounding me. How is that livable? Pray tell. Are you crazy??? Explain please. The air is also hot and humid and doesn't feel pleasant at all. How is that livable???

Rock says you are crazy to say Tainan beaches are nicer than Florida. No way. Crazy. Are you sure you're not a paid propagandist for Taiwan or brainwashed by the Taiwan cult?

[onethousandknives]

If we're gonna brag, when I came at a healthy weight to TW in 2016 numerous girls kept saying 帥哥 (shuàigē/handsome man) when I walked next to them on the subway or at the gym. I even had one girl taking pictures of me at the gym. However, though I had a GF in Vietnam, I felt pretty much invisible to girls when I came back fairly overweight in 2019, compared to 2016 feeling like a total rockstar. So if you want an answer to your problems in Taiwan, it could be as simple as that, I did feel treated worse and more ignored compared to when I was a healthy weight, not just by girls, but even little things like store service and that sort of thing.

I brought it up in the other thread, but basically Taiwan is autistic like me and I like it for that reason. But beyond that, my reasons for wanting to be there is it's a million times more liveable of a place than USA, or the more third world Asian countries full of pollution, crime, etc. It is beautiful to hike, ride around on a bike, go to the beach, etc, as well. Tainan has nicer beaches than Florida with almost no people on a lot of days. It's not like Vietnam where everything's covered in trash and you can't even see stars in the sky at night from pollution, nor see a blue sky during the day.

But you said in your first trip report that the girls ignored you too? If they kept calling you "handsome" why didn't you talk to them and get their number then? Makes no sense. If it's about looks, then how do you explain the Greek guy in Taipei I quoted above? He is good looking and looks like the iconic Greek Olympic Athlete. Yet he gets bad vibes from Taiwanese too.

You gotta understand that in Taiwan if you have a soul and are normal and are NOT a soulless zombie with zero personality, then you are a FREAK. I swear. How can that be good? How can that be free? I swear! It's as obvious as the blue sky. How do most people not see it?

It cannot be race or looks. Because there are white guys who feel the same way and Asians who love Taiwan, and handsome people on both sides, and ugly people on both sides too.

How can Taiwan be livable? I can't even type on this friggin laptop without ants crawling on my hands and arms and distracting me. I keep have to brush them off or blow them off. Very annoying! I cannot even sit outside without insects bothering me and ants surrounding me. How is that livable? Pray tell. Are you crazy??? Explain please. The air is also hot and humid and doesn't feel pleasant at all. How is that livable???

Rock says you are crazy to say Tainan beaches are nicer than Florida. No way. Crazy. Are you sure you're not a paid propagandist for Taiwan or brainwashed by the Taiwan cult?

Taiwan, please pay me to shill for Taiwan. Part of the Taiwan cult and proud. Taiwan plz give me an APRC to shill for Taiwan.

I think it was a matter of perspective. My Chinese was so bad I didn't even know at the time what they said, I only realized it basically now. I got some smiles/etc, too. I was going at the time to see my girlfriend in VN and didn't want to cheat. Compared to Vietnam girls would actually try to interrupt our dates to try to get my number, so it's a matter of perspective I guess, as compared to Vietnam that's being ignored, but I wasn't shunned.

I had termites and ants much worse in Vietnam than in Taiwan. Where I am in USA I have all sorts of bugs living in my house since my sheathing is rotten due to stupid US disposable wood construction. It gets humid and hits 90-100F some days here, too.

I know people that dislike Taiwan as well, I'm just saying for myself personally it feels nicer. There's quality of life things like parks not being full of heroin needles and well lit at night, less overall crime, in some ways easier to pursue some hobbies (for example, Taiwan has electronic component stores in real life that I can buy capacitors/etc from, not like USA where I need to order things online and wait weeks or months to fix things...) Even outside of Taiwanese friends or girlfriends I may or may not make, the amount of other foreigners as potential friends is worthwhile too if I go, compared to my situation in USA. I will give credit to you and say at one hostel a group of Filipinos were super friendly to me and invited me to eat and drink beer with them, and they definitely were more friendly on average than Taiwanese people.

[Italianman]

If we're gonna brag, when I came at a healthy weight to TW in 2016 numerous girls kept saying 帥哥 (shuàigē/handsome man) when I walked next to them on the subway or at the gym. I even had one girl taking pictures of me at the gym. However, though I had a GF in Vietnam, I felt pretty much invisible to girls when I came back fairly overweight in 2019, compared to 2016 feeling like a total rockstar. So if you want an answer to your problems in Taiwan, it could be as simple as that, I did feel treated worse and more ignored compared to when I was a healthy weight, not just by girls, but even little things like store service and that sort of thing.

I brought it up in the other thread, but basically Taiwan is autistic like me and I like it for that reason. But beyond that, my reasons for wanting to be there is it's a million times more liveable of a place than USA, or the more third world Asian countries full of pollution, crime, etc. It is beautiful to hike, ride around on a bike, go to the beach, etc, as well. Tainan has nicer beaches than Florida with almost no people on a lot of days. It's not like Vietnam where everything's covered in trash and you can't even see stars in the sky at night from pollution, nor see a blue sky during the day.

What does autistic mean?

[Winston]

Isnt this f***ed up? See the last paragraph below. Rock commented on your post onethousandknives.

[9/22, 7:00 AM] Rock Philippines: I can relate to this quote by onethousandknives, "As far as myself personally, I can actually attest to the difference between Taiwan and mainland China. I was in Northern Vietnam which is very similar to mainland China in social skills and how people act (actually I would even say mainlanders are usually less annoying) but in most ways probably more annoying and obnoxious. I did NOT have a good time at all and was severely stressed, marginally more than being back in USA even. Everyone yells at everyone and is loud and extroverted/outgoing as hell, and very blunt and rude. In Taiwan on the other hand it feels downright angelic for me by comparison, just because everyone is meek, shy and quiet, and I feel I can in fact "be myself" there more easily, pretty much how you described for years on this site about the benefits of being happier abroad."

[9/22, 10:47 AM] Winston Wu: But rock youre considered a freak in Taiwan too. You dont have that grumpy grim sour look that they have. Like in Chiayi. So you dont fit in either. Nor can u connect with people spiritually or mentally. No camaraderie either. U should be depressed in Taiwan too. In theory. Logically speaking. How do u explain that. U know what i mean. U cant deny the sky is blue.

[9/22, 10:47 AM] Rock Philippines: I do have a grumpy look
[9/22, 10:47 AM] Rock Philippines: when I'm out and about alone
[9/22, 10:48 AM] Rock Philippines: My comfort zone is in my private bubble
[9/22, 10:48 AM] Rock Philippines: the more people disturb that bubble, the more stressed I get
[9/22, 10:48 AM] Rock Philippines: Understand, I generally want to be left alone but treated politely in public

[9/22, 10:49 AM] Winston Wu: U dont look grouchy and grumpy and repressed. Ur face looks normal and ur speech is articulate. I see no one in Taiwan like that.

[9/22, 10:56 AM] Rock Philippines: Taiwan is about the lowest stress country I've been to. People dont' bother me and don't stare at me as Mr. S said. That's all I ask for. Strangers are meant to be strangers. Cherish your close friends. True friends are not common. Most people who are friendly have clear reasons for being that way to you. No free lunch. Making friends takes time and patience

[9/22, 10:58 AM] Winston Wu: Talk to yick. if u work in Taiwan they will want u to work 7 days a week and call u a loser and lazy ass if u dont like it. The english school bosses told me so too.

[9/22, 10:59 AM] Winston Wu: Then your life will be hell. Also hong kong men said taiwanese will backstab u in business usually. They will cheat u and go for a cheaper supplier.

[9/22, 10:59 AM] Winston Wu: I have no true friends in Taiwan. Same as bay area. But bay area is much nicer.

[9/22, 11:00 AM] Winston Wu: I cant even type on my laptop without ants getting on my hands and arms rock. How is that livable? Lol

[9/22, 11:00 AM] Winston Wu: I cannot sit outside without feeling hot and cant breathe. plus ants follow me and surround me when i sit down. They come out when they smell me. Why? That doesnt happen in america.

[9/22, 11:03 AM] Winston Wu: Plus Taiwan is super rigid. I cannot eat late lunch or late dinner. Like i can in America or China or Philippines. Virtually all restaurants and canteens in Taiwan close between 2pm and 5pm. And for dinner if u show up after 8pm the restaurants no longer take customers. Thats f***ed up. At that point u can only get food at 7-11 or McDonald's or the supermarket. Ask michael or jeff if thats f***ed. Ian likes to eat late too. Many restaurants in China open til 2am. Why is Taiwan so rigid like that? Sucks.

[onethousandknives]

In Taipei stuff was open late. In Tainan stuff closed a bit earlier I guess, though I'd be out with my friend until 9ish no problem. Where I live in USA everything closes at 8-9 too except a few bars, and Wal-Mart, etc. Taiwan has infinitely more to do than where I'm at in USA, for much cheaper. Even 7-11 is better, where I live convenience stores don't sell beer or have chairs. You can at least call your friends and have a beer and some noodles or rice rolls at 7-11 or Family Mart any time of the night for $3-5, way cheaper than blowing $30-40 at an awful loud bar full of jackasses in USA. In Taipei it was easy to have a night out for not much money due to the MRT, whereas in USA just a taxi ride home could be $50-60. On my 2016 trip, I went to a restaurant with my AirBNB host, and then to a hookah bar and had two drinks for about 1000NT total, with a 50NT MRT fare home at 11:45 at night.

I found in Vietnam most people were very much "NPCs" compared to Taiwan. Yes, Taiwanese have some amount of aloofness/etc, but often once you get to know them you find out they have actual hobbies or interests of some sort (one of my Facebook acquaintances I made in 2016 is a scuba diver, for example.) Vietnamese on the other hand seemed much emptier and just obsessed with drinking beer, eating fried chicken, and buying the newest iPhone with 5-6 months of their salary. You'd see people with brown rotting teeth and an iPhone X back when they launched. I found it harder to make friends there by far for that reason, everyone just has no real hobbies/interests and the only thing they think of is consumerism and money. I think there was much more value on materialism there compared to Taiwan, where yes, there's usually some bitch ABCs that come back with money, and stuff like clubs near Taipei 101 and that sort of thing for very wealthy people. However, I found people overall didn't have some extreme hunger to flaunt and show off wealth like in Vietnam. Taiwan even has somewhat of a classic car scene (saw a lot of older BMWs and Mercedes there from the 80s and early 90s) whereas in Vietnam not many people want to drive old cars as it's considered low class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uIJm70i1s Obviously a car like that Alfa 75 costs money still, but it's built and to the average person it's just an old car. He could have just bought a new BMW and impressed more people, but instead he did what made himself happy and took some amount of actual personality and originality to do.

It's much different as Taiwan boomed in the 80s and 90s and has been in a recession since the mid 2000s. The situation with young people as well is different, as while it's not the absolute hellscape that America is, Taiwanese grow up roughly similar to the average American now. So they experienced the peak while they were young, and things got worse for them economically, like what happens in America growing up to a majority of kids that are now in their late 20s or early 30s. They have similar issues like struggling to get married, get a house, and really become a true adult in the classic sense like in USA. Whereas in Vietnam a lot of people grew up ridiculously poor as children, similar probably to modern North Korea in the countryside now, but then their economy boomed so much and all these new consumer goods came, people bought cars, amusement parks got built, etc, etc, it's very similar to how Boomers grew up in USA, and it creates a sense of spoiled entitledness and blind materialism, but on the positive end, extreme optimism about the future as a Westerner you find outright ridiculous and can't even fathom.

That said, I found Saigon in many ways more similar to Taiwan, somewhat louder and more outgoing, but significantly more comfortable than the Hanoi area. This is a Reddit post about the Hanoi area.

Even locals hate Hanoi.

Its probably the demographic that is Hanoi, sons and daughters of politicians and minister who never had to lift their fingers for anything. Nephews and niece of people you don't want to f**k with. Then theres the culture, always having to best your neighbors, if you can't, then talk trash behind their back or even go as far as file a complaint and get them investigated.

HCM City is so much better, even though there is the occasional rich kid that will drive his lambo in the city, most have a very down to earth attitude and have a flight mentality. I was driving at a roundabout in January, minding my own business when I saw a escalade overtaken by a innova Taxi, it forced the escalade to make a quick turn to avoid collision and its rim grinded on the roundabout pavement. The driver/owner got out of the car in the middle of traffic and ran towards the taxi, I thought the driver wanted to get the taxi information, nope, the driver pulled the taxi driver out of the car and started to punch and stomp him. The passenger of the escalade go out of the car, who I presume would be his girlfriend was going to pull the driver back so the taxi driver didn't get hurt further. Nope, she got out of the car to join the beating. When that Northern accent came out of the driver mouth, it didn't surprise me nor my wife.

A Southern resident would have just cursed at the taxi driver and threaten him, but both party knew the taxi driver could never pay for the damages so why escalate further?

The only redeeming quality is that the new party knows that Northerner are rude, and are cracking down on the Affluenza culture. Wouldn't want to live in Hanoi for the next 5 year during this change.

Edit: Remember the guy that got out of his car and pissed on the road while waiting for the lights in Hanoi? Yeah, hes getting arrested, theres a warrant out for him. Guy below proved me wrong, guess I havent read yesterday news. http://www.doisongphapluat.com/tin-tuc/ ... 34248.html

In this case, I like the "Westernized" Asian culture of TW and to some extent Saigon much more.

[9/22, 10:56 AM] Rock Philippines: Taiwan is about the lowest stress country I've been to. People dont' bother me and don't stare at me as Mr. S said. That's all I ask for. Strangers are meant to be strangers. Cherish your close friends. True friends are not common. Most people who are friendly have clear reasons for being that way to you. No free lunch. Making friends takes time and patience

I agree with this, too. For me if I were to say a specific attribute I dislike in USA compared to TW is that I find I need to be much more aggressive/a hardass in demeanor here to be taken seriously, and it's just a face I don't like putting on.

That said, it is more about your cultural wavelength, and if you don't fit a cultural wavelength it doesn't mean you're a bad person or everyone in that culture is a bad person. You just don't fit. A guy I work with in USA I feel like fits in here very well, he just seems totally at sync with the wavelength of USA, and is successful I think partially for that reason. He's not a bad person, it's just he's at a different wavelength than me. We otherwise get along great, it's just that he matches here much more, with a lot of confidence and to some extent a "fake it til you make it" mentality (vs humility, sometimes false humility, that's a virtue in TW) that for him actually worked to make it to a greater degree than me here. I would say it's simply a matter of taste, some people will never adapt to something they find that tastes bad.

[WorldTraveler]

This guy says Taiwan has lots of hot friendly girls. He can't be wrong. Can he?

https://www.swooptheworld.com/taipei-ta ... uest-post/

[Mickey Jaxxon]

I set my Tinder / Bumble to Taiwan and got a few matches but the girls weren't hot like everyone keeps saying. They were kinda dorky and frumpy with weird clothes. They seemed socially off but they were friendly and still talked.

Probably could get laid there with some effort and have a stable gf.

[onethousandknives]

I set my Tinder / Bumble to Taiwan and got a few matches but the girls weren't hot like everyone keeps saying. They were kinda dorky and frumpy with weird clothes. They seemed socially off but they were friendly and still talked.

Probably could get laid there with some effort and have a stable gf.

That's kind of my taste to be honest.

[Winston]

I was wondering something. How do most foreigners in taiwan go about as if nothing is wrong? Dont they notice that Taiwanese are super repressed and self hating and different from other countries? Even in china people are more authentic and have a more normal vibe. Yet the media bashes China all the time but never Taiwan. It's sickening.

That self hating repressed vibe in Taiwan makes me sick to the stomach and icky. Its very very abnormal. So why do most foreigners act like its perfectly natural and normal? As if they are in la la land and oblivious to it? Yet its as obvious as the blue sky?

Its not like Brazil, Mexico or Russia where the vibe is high-spirited, freespirited, fun, positive, super authentic and soulful. In the Philippines the vibe makes you FEEL GOOD about yourself. Every expat there agrees. Thats why its so popular with expats. But in Taiwan the negative vibe makes u feel sick and like shit about yourself and pushes your self-esteem and confidence DOWN, and doesn't allow u to talk about it because you're not allowed to lest u be seen as a freak. Its very Orwellian in a sense.

Honestly, I've never felt very comfortable around Taiwanese people, not even in the USA, because they've always had that guilty, self-loathing vibe that always tries to make you feel WEAK and incapacitated, like you can't do anything, and pushes your confidence and self-esteem DOWN, never up. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I'm sure anyone who's grown up in a Taiwanese family knows what I'm talking about, they just don't dare to say it because they are conditioned to never talk about it openly or honestly lest they be shamed and seen as a freak or weirdo.

My parents have the same repressed self-hating vibe so they dont notice it either since they are the same themselves. And my dad always denies my feelings and tells me its my imagination. It pisses me off. Its not my imagination at all. Hes totally wrong but stubborn and cannot relate.

My only theory and explanation is that my soul vibrations don't fit the flow and rhythm of Taiwanese collective personality, therefore everything feels off, weird, and awkward. And trying to connect with anyone or even interact, feels awkward too, like going against the grain or swimming against the stream in a river. Its hard to explain in words but that's the best one can do.

Have any of you ever been in a place where everything feels off, awkward and weird?

If you've ever been outside america and taiwan and NE asia and u are observant u should understand what i mean.

One key thing about China is that in China u have normal authentic good and bad of human nature. Just as there has been for thousands of years. But in Taiwan there is no authentic good and bad of human nature. Instead the soul is literally gutted out of people so they aren't even human. Just super suppressed empty shells that seem inhuman and unnatural. So theres no authentic good and bad of human nature like there is China or Russia or other natural countries where humans are allowed to be human. Thats a key difference i noticed and could not put into words before until now. No one else dares to reveal this of course. Everyone is chickenshit these days.

What do you all think?

One thing no one will deny, even if they consider Taiwan to be "friendly or polite" is that for sure the women in Taiwan (and people in general) are definitely NOT easygoing or easy to get along with or easy to get to know. Even people who like or love Taiwan cannot deny that I think. Because its undeniable and the most obvious thing.

Especially when it comes to the women. Taiwanese women are like that in america too. So its nothing new. I've always noticed this and always felt weird and awkward in their presence. They are like cliquish california girls. Very shallow, superficial, small minded, judgmental, closed, and NEVER easygoing or easy to get along with. Hell no. No way jose. Furthermore, they make me feel like theres "something wrong" with me just because im not like them (fortunately). That's why i usually feel weird and awkward around them. Why would i wanna be like them when their traits suck and are fundamentally negative? And why should they make me feel weird for not being like them? Very upside down and twilight zoneish.

I never get such awkward feelings in Southeast Asia or Europe or Russia. Occasionally I may get it in China but not to that extreme. Only in super cliquish cultures that have a cold wall around strangers, like Taiwan, hong kong and USA do i get the worst and most awkward and unnatural and cold experience. Of course im not allowed to talk about any of this and am supposed to suppress all these feelings and pretend that nothing is wrong. So this post even though completely honest, is 100 percent taboo and forbidden. You're not supposed to acknowledge its existence either. Lol

[Winston]

I set my Tinder / Bumble to Taiwan and got a few matches but the girls weren't hot like everyone keeps saying. They were kinda dorky and frumpy with weird clothes. They seemed socially off but they were friendly and still talked.

Probably could get laid there with some effort and have a stable gf.

That's kind of my taste to be honest.

Why would you like girls who are socially awkward and weird and cannot hold a conversation and act weak, incapacitated and self-loathing. That is bizarre and upside down. Are you sure you're normal? No offense. But why would any natural human like that? It's a NEGATIVE thing, not a positive thing. I'm sure most guys here agree.

What could you gain from that? Are you self-hating and repressed too? If not, why do you vibe with that?

[Winston]

This guy says Taiwan has lots of hot friendly girls. He can't be wrong. Can he?

https://www.swooptheworld.com/taipei-ta ... uest-post/

Not anymore than the guys who say Las Vegas has lots of hot open friendly girls who are ready to get wild with you and party with you and go home with you for free, no strings attached. Yep. Totally inclusive too. No cliquishness at all. No cold wall between strangers. lol. As long as hell freezes over. Sure. lol

[onethousandknives]

I set my Tinder / Bumble to Taiwan and got a few matches but the girls weren't hot like everyone keeps saying. They were kinda dorky and frumpy with weird clothes. They seemed socially off but they were friendly and still talked.

Probably could get laid there with some effort and have a stable gf.

That's kind of my taste to be honest.

Why would you like girls who are socially awkward and weird and cannot hold a conversation and act weak, incapacitated and self-loathing. That is bizarre and upside down. Are you sure you're normal? No offense. But why would any natural human like that? It's a NEGATIVE thing, not a positive thing. I'm sure most guys here agree.

What could you gain from that? Are you self-hating and repressed too? If not, why do you vibe with that?

I don't think I ever claimed to be normal. Also would say yes to self hating and repressed on some level, but I can't help how I was raised and grew up.

I just love the stereotypical nerdy Taiwanese girl look. Glasses, just the tinniest bit chubby maybe, frumpy clothes, very little makeup, it's the best to me compared to a girl in heels caked in makeup wearing fancy dresses everywhere. But it's just my tastes.

[Yohan]

I was wondering something. How do most foreigners in taiwan go about as if nothing is wrong? Dont they notice that Taiwanese are super repressed and self hating and different from other countries?
-----
One thing no one will deny, even if they consider Taiwan to be "friendly or polite" is that for sure the women in Taiwan (and people in general) are definitely NOT easygoing or easy to get along with or easy to get to know.

Taiwan is only an island with about 24 million people, it has a good living standard, but there are only few local women available and men in Taiwan are well-known to import foreign (in general Asian) women as their wife. The future of this island is unclear.
In case of an attack from China, these people have nowhere to go.

The people in Taiwan are a bit difficult to deal with - they do not want to become a part of China, but they do not want to be a good friend of Japan either and often argue together with China against Japan, they have no relationship/friendship with Koreans.... the only place they respect as 'equals' are only those people in HongKong...

As a tourist you are welcome, it's a safe place to walk around, plenty stuff for sightseeing, all is available, all is in best order - and not so expensive, however the island is not so large, entertainment is limited somehow, it's OK for a week or so I guess. Not a bad place for a short-time visit.

Personally I prefer Japan - it has also its problems - and dating with Japanese women is not so easy, but the country is wider, with more people around you.

To work and to live in this area (Taiwan, South Korea, Japan) is surely not everybody's dream. A few Western foreigners stay, but many leave after a while.

About Taiwan women, I know many interracial/international couples (Europe/Asian) and often such marriages hold for a very long time, but I know only 2 Western men from Europe, financially in a very good position, who were married with a woman from Taiwan - after a few years, both of them were divorced when moving back to Europe.

Surely Taiwan is not a favorite place to look for a Chinese girlfriend if you are a Western foreigner...

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Yeah..I met some Taiwanese people in america and abroad for business trip.
They seem to be polite,professional and friendly, but they are boring, cold, and they act like robots or machines instead of human beings. . Total opposite of Main lander Chinese People.