When visitors come to Taiwan, they often marvel at the
usability aspect of this sleepless city. Shopping malls are open till 10pm
(regardless if it is Sunday or not), you can easily find breakfast places that
open at 3am and every street corner is at least populated with a 7-11 or a
Family Mart convenient store. You
can find Michelin 1 star quality restaurant like Ding Tai Fung at unbelievably
cheap price – Great C/P value.
MRTs are clean, efficient, and more importantly, people
stand on the right side instinctively so that those in a hurry can get through
quickly on an escalator.
The city is always standing by.
Regardless of how long the opening hours or the working
hours of the people here, the thing that visitors remember the most is the
warmth of Taiwanese people.
English fluency is very high among young people, and even if
they don’t understand your language, they will use a classic Pictionary method
of helping you find your way. Or they simply bring you to wherever you need to
go. If they don’t know it themselves, they will find someone else who can help
you. You get the idea.
Perhaps it is the lack of recognition on an international
level (Taiwan is technically not regarded as a country by United Nations,
despite its independent operation and governance from China), sometimes
Taiwanese people are overtly humble or quiet about politics and its history and
try to win people’s recognition simply by their willingness to help.
“Politics? We don’t talk about politics here in Taiwan. We
have no preferences.”
“Do you know Taiwan? It’s a small island next to China. Not
Thailand.”
“Oh my parents are from Taiwan, but I am from California.”
These are some of the things that I have heard when people
introduce Taiwan to other foreigners.
It is as if a part of them is missing and segmented.
Lost and confounded by their roots and what they are told to
know.
It is as if the world out there is always better, and
sometimes, self-deprecation becomes fundamental and necessary just to be liked
by others. The moon always seems to be rounder on the other side of the world.
However, a country with culture has to have its own
attitude.
The Chinese invented tea drinking and yet many now regard
the Japanese as the true master of tea ceremony. The Japanese have elevated the spirit of tea drinking to
another level of art and philosophy. Even the notion of “Wabi-Sabi” – a sense
of transience and imperfection, has become a major influence on today’s
architecture and aesthetic preference.
It doesn't matter what the past is, knowing where it leads
to is sufficient.
There is so much more to a country that is merely known to
have invented Bubble tea.
On our national day today, what is Taiwan’s attitude?
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