A Taiwanese American girl I've been talking to told me that she agreed with all my observations about Taiwan that I posted on the forum. She wanted me to add some observations from her to this thread. At first, I thought this person was a guy, but when I called her on the phone, it turned out to be a girl. Funny. Anyway, here are her comments that she wanted to add here:
Sure, you can reply. I'm not a forum poster; I just wanted to talk to you
through email since it is very lonely and miserable here. I'd say that
sociability would refer to yellows being less friendly compared to other
races. I'm a yellow and I grew up in the Bay area as well, but I live in
Taiwan for the fact that: 1 my mom didn't tell me 1) Taiwan is a very
strict and closed society 2) I really did want to believe that Taiwan
isn't a nightmare to live in. Yeah you can post my emails anonymously. It
would be a good idea if you could visit more countries and do some more
comparing and contrasting.
I don't get why she gets so discriminated against for not growing up in Taiwan. Are girls treated differently? Usually, I just get ignored or people will be all business and proper with me, or they will be ashamed and bashful that they can't speak English with me. But I've never experienced prejudice against me for being Americanized.I had answer your questions before, but I will answer again.
I said I'm here because my parents weren't willing or able to let me live
somewhere more fortunate--they said they can't adjust to living in a
different society or get a work permit into another country. They own
their own business, and their income is unstable and they speak English
with thick accent. I myself have never been outside North America and East
& Southeast Asia.
I didn't like living in the Bay Area and I have no desire to return there.
I do miss living in the U.S. though.
I found your articles through worldsexguide.com/forum in 2010--I saw your
article on Taiwan posted and searched the source of the article and I
found your website. I like to read your articles and your forum posts,
because they echo with my self pity.
I do live in Taipei, and I'm willing to reveal my phone number, but I
can't have a long conversation because talking on the phone is expensive.
I think your 7 points are accurate--however, I feel you should mention a
few points:
1) Discrimination in Taiwan is very strong against ABCs and foreigners in
general. People who speak Chinese with an accent will be constantly
asked--
"你是哪裡人?" (Where do you come from?) or
"你不是台灣人?" (You're not Taiwanese,
are you?). People will always make a big issue about the fact you didn't
live there all your life--they will call you names like American (in a
condescending tone of voice) or call you America ( also to ridicule you).
People will sometimes speak back in English because they feel you aren't
competent enough to talk to them in Chinese because of an accent. You will
never be complimented for taking the time and effort to learn Chinese.
Hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asian workers live here and they are
treated like slaves--physically abused, underpaid, overworked; many women
from China come here to work or be married to Taiwanese husbands and even
they will be discriminated against for speaking Chinese with an accent or
denied jobs just for being from the Mainland. Many people will act and
treat you like you are below them because you are not truly Taiwanese.
Even if you get Taiwan ID, you are never Taiwanese to 99% of Taiwanese
because you didn't live there all your life.
2) One point you should mention is many White men who come or live here
think every Yellow woman is some kind of easy lay or submissive geisha
should be in for a rude awakening, as you have stressed in your 7 points.
I think you should try to think of the criticisms for the men. I went to
university here and the white men who come as foreign exchange students--I
always see most of them alone or hanging out with other foreign exchange
students. Taiwanese society is just too hard to fit in and ever fully
adjust to.
3) People overreact to the littlest of things--it's especially bad when
you have to rent a house because people will complain behind your back
your movements are too loud, you shower too late, etc. They will never say
to your face they have a problem with you--they will always tell the
landlord.
4)The phrase "想太多" (think too much) is regularly used
when you have some concerns (like being made fun of for being an ABC) or
when you think about things from a different angle. I feel it reflects the
simple and narrow-minded nature of Taiwanese--they try to avoid more
complex subjects.
It's interesting that she said above regarding the foreign white exchange students in Taiwan:
"I went to university here and the white men who come as foreign exchange students--I
always see most of them alone or hanging out with other foreign exchange
students. Taiwanese society is just too hard to fit in and ever fully
adjust to."
That's very true and concurs with my observation as well. Most foreigners I see in Taiwan only hang out with other foreigners, or with Westernized Asians/Taiwanese sometimes. But not with local mainstream typical Taiwanese. No way. So you gotta wonder, what's the point of coming to a foreign country if you can only befriend or connect with other foreigners?
Further, I don't understand why any foreigner comes to Taiwan. If I were a foreigner who wanted to study Chinese culture, I'd go to China. I don't see why I would want to go to Taiwan.
For some reason though, Rock prefers to ignore all this and point out exceptions instead. It's as if he is being paid to defend Taiwan, as though it were "political" for him to do so. lol. Or else he has confirmation bias and only sees what he wants to see, ignoring and filtering out all contrary data. Very strange.