Protected: At Least It’s Not Like China

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Taiwan’s Yellow Journalism Strikes Again

The early morning of May 5, 2015, saw an article posted to The Huffington Post regarding Taiwan and tourism; as you can see from the original link, it’s been removed.  There’s not even a redirect: just a blank page.  It’s as if The Huffington Post wants absolutely nothing to do with the article. If you’re curious why, you […]

“Taiwan Should Be More Like Singapore”

A lot of people in Taiwan talk about how they want to be like Singapore. “Taiwan should be more like Singapore.” But the truth is, it’s much better to be Taiwanese than Singaporean, and Taiwan is better than Singapore for most people who live in either. An average person lives a higher-quality life in Taiwan […]

Taichunger’s Guide: Four-Star HK Visa Run for TW$7000

I’ve written all about visa runs.  Visa runs for under NT$10000.  The worst visa run you can do.  While stigmatized for a variety of reasons (most notably for their being used by English teachers to teach in Taiwan illegally, which I do not advocate), there are all sorts of people who use visa runs.  There […]

Why Every Expat Should Have a YouTube Channel

I believe that every expat should have a YouTube Channel. Expats who don’t simply confuse me, for many reasons, the first of which being What You Are Doing Is Cool I don’t care if you’re going hiking in Nepal or getting coffee in a small town in Paris or just walking down the street in […]

“This Is Taiwan”: A Dangerous Taiwanese Excuse

A few months have passed since I wrote “It’s Our Culture” – Taiwan’s Go-To Excuse, but a friend of mine the other night brought it up and made an interesting point: before “It’s our culture” is uttered, “This is Taiwan” is sure to escape their lips first. As I stated in my other piece, “It’s Our Culture” is often said […]

“It’s Our Culture” – Taiwan’s Go-To Excuse

Every culture has it’s throwaway language. The English language, for example, explains away many things with the word “Whatever.” Taiwanese often use the Chinese phrases “There is no reason why” and “There is no solution” in similar ways. They all essentially mean “I’ve got nothing for you; I’m done talking about this.” But when it […]

What It’s Like Living In Taiwan Without Health Insurance

I haven’t had health insurance since 2008, which is a pretty crazy thing to say, given that I live in a country with some of the most affordable and high-quality medical care in the world. National Taiwan Health Insurance, while expensive for the Republic of China (ROC) government of Taiwan, is incredibly cheap for Taiwanese […]

Waiting in Line: It’s Different in Taiwan

A few years back, I commented to a friend of mine about how Taiwan has amazingly long lines and how willing Taiwanese seem to stand in them for long periods of time.  For many who first come to Taiwan – and even those who live here for years – the “Line Culture” seen in Taiwan […]

Taiwan Work Visas: Pros and Cons

A lot of people ask me about the pros and cons of having a Taiwan Work Visa, colloquially called an “ARC” (Alien Resident Card).  In reality, these are two separate things – one is a visa and one is an identification card.  But a question I often get from people is, “Do I need an ARC to […]

Thinking About the Tienanmen Square Protests

The Tienanmen Square protests in 1989 always make me think. If you mention the Tienanmen Square protests to anyone in China, no one has any idea what you are talking about, and it can get you arrested.  If shown a picture of the Tienanmen Square protests or “Tank Man,” all assume it’s a parade.  

Simple Global Energy Consumption Analysis

Simple Global Energy Consumption Analysis   Here’s a look at how the energy generated on this planet gets consumed: Our planet creates around 500 Exojoules of consumable energy, each year. While only encompassing almost 32% of the overall global population, China, the European Union, and the United States of America use over 50% of its total consumable energy. […]

Meitian Hotel, West Pudong, Shanghai Review

I’d never been to Shanghai before.  My parents were staying at the Waldorf-Astoria (which is as nice as you’d expect), but my brother and I weren’t looking to spend quite so much money for our accommodations.  The problem that I found – and, likely, you are finding, if you are trying to find budget hotels in […]

Walmart Syndrome: Why Americans Don’t Recognize Internet Censorship

If you ask the average net-savvy American about internet censorship, they’ll often reference the Epitome of Internet Censorship on our planet: The People’s Republic of China. The PRC blocks so many sites, it’s freaky. We all know how things like Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and adult porn sites like videoshd.xxx are blocked, but they […]