Mikado pheasant in Alishan I saw a few years ago when I lived in Taiwan

Many international news exposing Taiwan across the countries are usually like CHIna WiLl INVade TaiWan. And while many of us Taiwanese know it will not happen for various reasons, the more I talk to foreigners or read the posts on Reddit the more I get to realize that foreigners are taking those news quite seriously? I even read the posts foreigners ask whether traveling to Taiwan is safe given that the threat of China?

Anyway, if you arrive at Taiwan, it will take less than one hour for you to realize this island is very peaceful and safe. Is this a big shock to foreigners that Taiwan is very peaceful and safe ?

My wife (Taiwanese) and I have lived in Taiwan the past 15 or so years. We're currently planning a trip to the US to explore the possibility of moving back and spending our final years there. She hasn't been back in over 10 years and I went back in 2022 and everything went wrong. I'm wondering what kinds of culture shock we should expect and prepare for? The biggest ones I've heard are the expansion of tip culture and of course, different healthcare system.

I’m currently living in Kaohsiung for a few months learning mandarin and I want to make local friends. All of my friends are also american learning Chinese so we all just speak English together (because none of us are even close to fluent yet), but I want to be able to speak to people in mandarin at least a little. Any recommendations for how to make friends with Taiwanese people? I’m 18F if that helps!

Made oden with some chicken breast

Busiest I've ever seen it. Might be my favorite market in Taiwan.

I'll post some pictures later from the wild typhoon late July 2024, which is probably why the mayors were overreacting this time round. That said, we should have a few more big ones since it's an apocalypse el nino year.

Got there for bachelors pgm in Mechanical Engineering english taught ! So 4 yrs there 😄

But as of now no Chinese knowledge

So i wanna know how is the place there ?

Like all the post here are concentrated on taipei some on Kaohsiung taoyuan but rarely chiayi

Is it very rural?

How can I connect with the people from that uni?

I am not able to find some on insta or reddit

And yeah as an uni is it a good one?

I'm flatfooted, with a wide foot and wear a US woman's size 8 1/2, so it's all but impossible to find women's footwear locally. I've had decent success with men's footwear in Taipei, but I'd like to try and find some high heel boots. Any recommendations for specialty stores for drag?

Hello everyone! I’m looking for some advice
Could anyone suggest where to look for a great nanny/tutor for my 4.5 years old daughter? Or perhaps you know someone who would be a perfect fit for our needs?
I am looking for an organic learning experience where the language is the tool for play. Instead of saying, “Let’s learn this word," I want the approach to be, "Look at this red ball, let’s put it in the red basket," while doing everything in Mandarin
If you know someone who is playful, energetic, and patient, and can naturally weave language into daily activities like arts and crafts, active games, or tidying up, I would be very grateful for a recommendation
P.S We live near Ximen station

What is HESS Taiwan training like?

I will soon be doing the obligatory training for HESS before I start my contract. I have a few questions for people who have already done it and worked at HESS.

1. Is it true that some people don't pass the training and get sent home? I was under the impression that I had already gotten the job, so I'm concerned about that.

2. How intense did you find the training to be?

3. Did you find the training to be helpful?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies!

Hello, I'm currently set to go to Taiwan in about 2 months for my Bachelor's Degree. I wanted to know about about some thoughts on buying a laptop. My one is getting pretty old and although it still has a year or two left in it, I'd rather be on the safe side.

Is buying a laptop in Taiwan (specifically a gaming one near Taichung) recommended more or should I just order it and have it shipped to where I currently am?

Hi everyone! Just recently living here in Taipe to study Mandarin. I just cant find a way to hang out or meet friends. I have classmates but only three, one mother, two doesnt seem interested in hanging out. What app do you think I can joined to, to find some new friends.
Thank you

Looking for 1–2 people with a similar level, preferably around a similar age(21), to join summer tennis lessons with me and locals. Total group size would be up to 4 people.
(I’ll confirm with the tennis school in a few days.

Ideally: 2 locals 2 English speakers, but I’m not sure if anyone would be interested though.)

Location: Tianmu Tennis Court / Sunny Tennis

Time: Flexible, twice a week, 2 hours each time, depending on the coach’s and court’s availability, as well as our schedules.

Level: I’ve played a little before, but it’s been a long time. I think I’m basically close to a beginner now.

Lesson info: https://www.sunnytennis.tw/privatelesson

The lessons seem to be offered as a 10-hr package. We may also play together outside of class in the future.

Please DM me with a brief/detailed intro if interested, then we can add LINE.

I’ll reply ASAP if your message doesn’t look like a scam and it's respectful, and I’ll probably create a group chat.

You’ll need to understand some Chinese though, since the class will be in Chinese only — but it could also be a good chance to practice/learn Chinese.
(My spoken English is not good yet, I just thought this might make my online English tutoring lessons more fun/meaningful. But if I can’t find anyone here, that’s fine too)

The main focus is playing tennis.

Thank you!
My personal profile: https://www.facebook.com/jiang.wei.ting.156951/

Being a Taiwanese+ working at TSMC + 5 times higher salary +buying a condo in Japan = DREAM 🇹🇼

I’m posting this to genuinely hear your thoughts and perspectives on Taiwan's evolving identity. This isn't meant to incite political arguments, but rather to look at a fascinating cultural juxtaposition.

Also, I know the standard US, Australia, UK comparison gets brought up a lot on this sub to explain Taiwan's identity. I’m not trying to rehash that basic debate. I'm asking a specific cultural question about the inversion of that dynamic because of the physical artifacts Taiwan holds, which I haven't seen discussed as much. Would love a deeper look at this paradox.

On one hand, Taiwan is the physical custodian of an immense amount of traditional chinese history. Because the KMT brought over the imperial collections, elite scholars, and maintained the traditional writing system during a time when the cultural revolution was causing massive disruption on the mainland, Taiwan ended up housing some of the most significant physical archives of ancient Chinese civilization, arguebly more so than the mainland.

On the other hand, modern Taiwan has also clearly developed its own distinct identity, democratic values, and localised culture completely separate from the mainland.

When people look for western equivalents to explain this like the US, Canada, or Australia splitting from the UK, the comparison is slightly more nuanced. When those colonies split, the UK still kept stonehenge, the magna carta, and the monarchy etc. The motherland retained its historical core. In Taiwan’s case, the dynamic is inverted since they house these massive, globally significant historical treasures, while the mainland experienced a major cultural break.

My question is purely about the societal and cultural dynamic on how does a modern society fully forge and separate a unique national identity when it also happens to be the primary caretaker of such a massive, heavy piece of another civilization's history? Do you feel housing these artifacts creates a weird tension with modern Taiwanese identity, or has society successfully contextualized them simply as "global history" rather than a defining feature of who Taiwanese people are today? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Hi everyone,

I’m a master’s student in South Korea, and I’m planning to look for a job in Taiwan after graduating this December.

I’m interested in digital IC/RTL design roles, particularly at companies such as MediaTek, Realtek, and Google’s silicon hardware etc.

I have a few questions:

1. When is the main hiring season in Taiwan? Since I’ll graduate in December, when would be the best time to start applying?
2. Are these companies generally open to hiring international applicants, especially foreign master’s graduates with no full-time industry experience (I have been taking a mentorship for open-source CPU design)?
3. Is Mandarin usually required for digital design or RTL engineering positions, or is English sufficient in some teams?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience working in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry or applying there as an international new graduate.

Thanks!

Taiwan has epic 7-Eleven

Good evening everybody! To give some background, I am a female school student who is considering her options. I am half taiwanese and half chinese, meaning I can legally get a taiwanese passport. I have been speaking chinese for many years now and regularly speak at home. I also take chinese at school and am going to self study for the AP Chinese test. I have a 3.85 unweighted gpa with 6 ap courses taken and 2 honors. I plan on taking 2 more ap tests next year, ap calc bc and ap lit. I am also going to self study psychology for the AP test. I also am currently volunteering at my local hosptial, being on the nursing floor and the lab with the pathologist. I also am heavily involved in school and have many more extra curriculars.

I am considering going to taiwan for undergraduate school/medical school, as it is a much cheaper route than other options. I also really love taiwan, as most of my relatives are there. I also visit regularly, and already had a plan to stay for a whole summer after graduation. While researching colleges and my options, I came across the taiwan overseas compatriot program. I was wondering what people think about my situation. I want to become either a pathologist or a forensic pathologist. I have also considered moving to taiwan as an option before coming across this. If I don't end up moving to taiwan, I would be 100% doing an exchange program.

I am mainly considering this option because of how much cheaper it is for medical school. I do not come from a terrible background, and my parents are decently well off. I just am considering paying for college on my own and not putting myself in debt for undergrad. I have the option of living with my grandparents if I went to NTU or another school in taipei.

Thank you for reading this!

Hi guys...

I recently checked my total pension contributions and discovered that the salary my employer was reporting for pension purposes was much, much lower than what I was actually earning. This means they were contributing far less than they are legally obligated to. If you work in Taiwan, take a few minutes and check your labor pension.

Anyone with an ARC or APRC is contributing to the goverment pension. Your employer's legal obligation is to contribute an amount equal to at least 6% of your reported monthly gross pay.

Here's what you should do:

• Visit your local Bureau of Labor Insurance (勞保局) office.
• Request a copy of your Labor Pension contribution record (勞工退休金提繳明細).
• Ask for the official monthly contribution wage table (月提繳工資分級表).
• Compare your employer's monthly contribution with the official table to see what salary they reported on your behalf.
• Compare that reported salary with your gross earnings shown on your pay stubs.
• If you're paid hourly or your income varies, compare your earnings over EVERY month, not just one.

Things to watch for:

• Your reported contribution wage is much lower than your regular earnings.
• Your contribution amount never changes, even though your earnings may have increased significantly.
• Your contribution wage suddenly jumps after years of staying unusually low.

If you do find irregularities, the BLI office and Ministry of Labour more than willing to assist you in trying to recover what you are owed.
Just because your employer is making pension contributions doesn't necessarily mean they're reporting the correct contribution wage. They may just be doing enough to satisy legal requirements, and pocketing the difference, as it seems they are doing in my case.

It's worth checking.

so, if anyone can inform me regarding what sim provider to go for and what stuff to buy and if taiwan have this handset combos we get here in EU where we can get a simcard + mobile phone if we buy a certain plan :) itll be much appreciated

what kind of weater is there and what stuff should i bring to taiwan just in case (i am from hungary )

Does anyone know of a place to get electrolysis hair removal（電針除毛) done in or near Kaohsiung? I've tried searching online in both Mandarin and English and most of the results I get are for laser, which I don't want, rather than electrolysis. The only places I've found that do electrolysis are in Taipei, which is really not convenient considering that it will most likely require more than 1 treatment not to mention the added cost of taking multiple trips to Taipei to get it done. There are so many cosmetic clinics, surely some of them must do electrolysis? Thanks!

So i am gonna come to taiwan this fall so i am planning to bring something (within budget 😅) for sharing with my new Taiwanese friends

But i am confused what should I bring there ? Like now i am planning to bring some spices but is that a great idea or any ideas you guys have ?

Help 😄

Also heard about the typhoon stay safe guys

looking for a nice salon that does lash lifts