[quote=“quest”]You mean a hot dog stand isn’t a good idea? Oh, bugger! All that planning gone to waste… 
If it makes a difference, though I’ve no idea why it should, my personal interest is in non-commercial private aviation; electric self-launching gliders to be specific. Without getting horribly boring, the topography and climate of the island offer immense possibilities for gliding. No, I don’t want to set up a business. I’m selfish and self-centred. I just want to fly by myself. And yes, I’m already in exploratory talks with the relevant Taiwanese authorities.
To be specific, what concerned me was not one individual mouthing off. It was the fact that an entire MRT carriage who could clearly hear the conversation just sat there and let the guy suffer. If that IS representative of Taiwanese culture - and that’s what I’m trying to ascertain here - then I’m damn certain TW and I are a bad mix.
My choice is simple. TW or Myanmar / Burma. Through a personal friendship I already have tacit approval from representatives of new government in Myanmar / Burma (or whatever it eventually decides to call itself) to fly there. However, TW offers a prima facie case for being a better fit with the requirements of my wife and young child.
Thanks to all those who have replied. As I said earlier, I place considerable weight on your opinion. Please make sure it’s valid![/quote]
Almost 20 years here, Latina. Take the MRT and assorted public transportation every day. My 
The latest MRT incident is rare. Taiwanese culture is non confrontational. They are not used to open frontal violence. A more definite example of this would be roe of the likes of the lunatic that started attacking people with a knife on the MRT. People froze like deers on headlights, as that kind of thing is not heard of. Same in this situation. However, I must say there was a previous attack on a foreigner like 6 months ago, a local guy hit a foreigner hard and knocked him down, and the locals did step in as well as the police. As long as it was only an argument, it is nobody else’s business. You will see couple’s arguing, woman crying and guy berating, people won’t step in. There is little privacy here, too many people on top of each other, so some things that should be private spill out into the public realm regularly and people in general react by giving them space -ie, trying to ignore the commotion unless it reaches a certain point.
I tell the foreigners here that people here see them as a celebrity, and hence, they should carry themselves as George Clooney, not Justin Bieber. You are the minority here and there exist prejudices against you, as well as positive connotations. Whatever you do is already seen through a tinted glass because you are a foreigner. But in most interactions, they are just in awe to have you here, and curious, and you are treated well as long as you do not set yourself in collision course with everything and everybody else. This last item is hard, as culture shock gets to all of us. And for many foerigners, taking a step back in the pecking ladder is not easy. However, in general terms, you can live a tranquil, safe, interesting life here. It depends if the place suits you.
And it’s not so much ‘interests that I can’t get elsewhere’ as it is ‘interests I have that TW (as yet) doesn’t’. And if that sounds evasive, let’s leave it that way, 'k?
You usually gotta give something to get something back.