# China vs. Taiwan **URL:** \ **Category:** Living in Taiwan\ **Tags:** comparison\ **Created:** [March 4, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180 "2016-03-04T01:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wellhellothere](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@wellhellothere](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/wellhellothere)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/21 "2018-06-03T19:41:51Z")
Very good - now explain to me how your pictures refute my actually-stated position? On a day-to-day basis, I have no doubt that Taipei’s air quality is far better than many places in the mainland, and I did not say otherwise. To repeat, I opined that mainland air quality is improving, not that it is better than Taiwan’s. I am very happy for you to disagree with me, but you have to actually disagree with my point, rather than make one up to disagree with. Say no to strawmen. As for the allergies of those I know, it could be due to any number of other factors, (my guess would be humidity) but they say it is the air, and as I am not an E.N.T. doctor, I can only go by their anecdotal evidence. ---
**Author:** ![hums](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@hums](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/hums)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/22 "2018-06-03T20:43:25Z")
Your previous post implying that the air quality is better in mainland than in Taipei (even though you state it otherwise), hence no wonder someone would argue with you. ---
**Author:** ![rantanplan](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@rantanplan](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/rantanplan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/23 "2018-06-03T20:56:58Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/49): > > I have a number of Taiwanese colleagues and friends who are based in Beijing, who get various nasal and skin allergies when they come back to Taipei for business trips, that then disappear again on return to the mainland. i’ve heard the exact opposite. they would even use bottled water for bathing in china. but everyone’s different i guess. i wouldn’t give too much about that 過敏 stuff, imo it’s mostly psychosomatic. otherwise, if really perceived 50% of the tw population is allergic to something, that should be a case for the WHO ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/24 "2018-06-03T23:10:38Z")
I don’t remember any of this great customer service and I’ve been here a LONG time. Nobody opens doors for others in Taiwan from my recollection. Biggest change over last few years are the smartphone zombies and even less conversational skill than before amongst younger generation . Taxi drivers don’t talk as much as they used to. But I don’t perceive bad customer service either . At least they aren’t surly. Most stuff gets done fairly fast . Queue jumpers were always there but nothing like the fightfest in China. Just comparing to China I have travelled around China a lot their taxi drivers and hotel staff can be a bit patchy compared to Taiwan. Most taxi drivers drive poorly or too fast in both places. There is a problem with allergies in Taiwan probably mould related but it is hardly due to worse air pollution. than mainland (not saying air quality is good in Taiwan either it is not ). It can be dealt with by getting dehumidifiers and air purifiers. Biggest difference between Taiwan and China is nationalism and censorship . China is a police state and it’s people are now generally convinced that the West and Taiwan and Japan are basically their enemy and keeping them down and they get angry easily. Also the internet control and filtering is horrible. Loads of sites and apps don’t work properly and it’s getting worse all the time. Even if you can connect by vpn they are so slow as to be useless. Taiwan is just really easy going live and let live nobody is getting in your face with politics or getting angry all the time. ---
**Author:** ![morran01](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/morran01/32/29832_2.png) [@morran01](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/morran01)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/25 "2018-06-03T23:35:15Z")
Case in point. a few years back when I was looking to rent some commercial property in China, the agent who accompanied me went in to some rant about how china should use nukes on Japan when I suggested we stop to have some sushi for lunch. We ended up having KFC instead. ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2018, 11:36pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/26 "2018-06-03T23:36:23Z")
Yes exactly this kind of shit. I’ve had to endure taxi drivers rant on to me about Japan too. I really want to tell them stfu I don’t want to listen to your shit. ---
**Author:** ![rantanplan](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@rantanplan](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/rantanplan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/27 "2018-06-04T00:10:25Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/55): > > Taxi drivers don’t talk as much as they used to. is that a bad thing?^^ > [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/55): > > There is a problem with allergies in Taiwan probably mould related but it is hardly due to worse air pollution. than maiand (not saying air quality is good in Taiwan either it is not ). It can be dealt with by getting dehumidifiers and air purifiers. maybe. funny thing is, it goes both ways. i never had skin issues in taiwan, now that i’m back in good ol’ europe, i’ll go through a tube of moisturizer in a week and my skin still feels dry…then again, i’m not coughing up that nasty slime i had regurlarly in taiwan anymore. idk where i belong:p ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/28 "2018-06-04T00:15:56Z")
Same happens with me, it’s the drier air in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![afterspivak](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@afterspivak](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/afterspivak)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/29 "2018-06-04T00:39:27Z")
[deleted] ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/30 "2018-06-04T01:27:36Z")
Also, we should realise now how easy it is to get an open work visa in Taiwan now. That’s a huge and fairly recent change Also no need to get a visa to enter Taiwan for many folks. Relatively easy to become a permanent resident . Now there are some limited pathways to citizenship. Setting up a business and getting a bank account and a bank that is easy to deal with in Taiwan isn’t as easy as it should be but there is hope that it will improve. Agree that money and work opportunities are WAY more plentiful in China and the educated workers there are more aggressive and forward thinking in some ways. There’s more optimism because their economy is booming and more chances for advancement , now in local Chinese companies also. Taiwans fares badly in comparison and it’s really hard to find well paid jobs . But if you can score a decent gig in Taiwan its good times (and even better if you are married to a local as you can reduce your taxes to minimal amounts ). Long term forifejrs are in a very precarious situation in China . In Taiwan at least we won’t be booted out or have to deal with the periodic waves of nationalism. Serpentza ， south Africa guy in Shenzhen, has a pretty good vlog of living in China. China is huge and he does a good job of showing the southern Chinese lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![morran01](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/morran01/32/29832_2.png) [@morran01](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/morran01)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/31 "2018-06-04T01:38:42Z")
In my experience people in both Taiwan(and HK where I lived for 8 years) are far more engaged and enlightened than chinese. The vast majority of chinese just care about money and their own personal advancement, when again in both taiwan and Hong Kong you have tons of people engaged in volunteer work for the good the community at large in return for pittance. ---
**Author:** ![BiggusDickus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/biggusdickus/32/90381_2.png) [@BiggusDickus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/BiggusDickus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/32 "2018-06-04T01:49:29Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/61): > > and even better if you are married to a local as you can reduce your taxes to minimal amounts This is my answer to the “What do you love most about Taiwan?” question. It’s freaking great. ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/33 "2018-06-04T02:08:54Z")
This year I claimed 8 people on my taxes , my kids, two sets of parents, myself and the wife (as part of household filing ) . It was pretty damn nice to get a tax rebate as I only paid around 7% income tax , all legal and above board (close to record low). Of course I paid a few % for Laobao and Jianbao to bring it to a bit over 10% in the end. Not boasting , not a rich man, but I am very much in higher salary bracket in Taiwan. In my home country I reckon I would have paid 35% in total after all deductions. So that’s almost a 25%-30% difference in income tax take ! Now in China I’d be paying 25% to 30% income tax I’ve reckoned before (you can try and get multinationals to cover that cost if you are in demand). Now taking in rent costs I also save at least 360,000 a year over my home country. Not including much higher cost of almost everything , car insurance, VAT, health insurance , dental, public transport, tolls, services, except for groceries! Yep we have some good financial reasons why we live in Taiwan. ---
**Author:** ![BiggusDickus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/biggusdickus/32/90381_2.png) [@BiggusDickus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/BiggusDickus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/34 "2018-06-04T02:24:59Z")
Filing taxes here is a pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Chenshuren](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Chenshuren](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Chenshuren)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/35 "2018-06-04T02:25:43Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/49): > > I’ve lived in both the mainland and in Taiwan, as well as numerous other Asian and European countries for work. As for the mainland, I’ve been up in Northern China, Beijing and Shanghai, as well as travelling to various second and third tier-cities for various work-related reasons. Taiwan - I’ve only ever lived in Taipei. My opinions are as follows: > > Concerning work-culture, both places are pretty gruelling, Taiwan more so, but nothing compared to Hong Kong. Wages are terrible in Taiwan, and they reduce with inflation for the majority. The mainland has real promotion opportunities, and is far more of a meritocracy than Taiwan, which is more first-come first-serve. > > Ability-wise, I’d say mainlanders are more capable workers than their Taiwanese counterparts, especially those just leaving university. However, Taiwanese are excellent with simple tasks that do not require independent thought, as if given instructions, they will follow them to the letter. Both work equally hard, and can 吃苦. Access to English-speakers is probably easier in a mainland tier-1 city, but lower down less so. > > Cost of living can be high in the mainland, but equally so for Taiwan. I’d say pound-for-pound, Taipei housing is more expensive rental-wise than mainland tier-1 cities - for a similar capital outlay, you get far more space in Shanghai or Beijing, however, access to small flats at the bottom of the market is probably better in Taipei, as there are far less workers on low wages to snap-up rental properties, and less methods to access the properties (apps etc). > > Public transport: Taipei is excellent and clean, Shanghai and Beijing are clean enough, but the cities are so bloody big, it takes an age to get anywhere. Again, due to the size of the cities, you can get a lot done in one day in Taipei. Beijing or Shanghai, plan on one meeting a day if it’s across the city. > > International flights from Shanghai or Beijing are a nightmare, Taoyuan and Songshan are excellent - on time, reliable. The only thing you can rely on in mainland tier-1s is a delay. > > Healthcare is far better in Taiwan, mainland medical care is terrifying, and access to it is not good. Doctors are overworked in both places. > > Food, I would say food safety is pretty similar, however, I would argue access to better quality ingredients is available in the mainland, as you can get what you pay for. Tier-one cities are truly international, so you get proper foreign food and ingredients. Taiwan is not international, and so choice suffers. > > Air quality is improving in the mainland, and not in Taipei. I have a number of Taiwanese colleagues and friends who are based in Beijing, who get various nasal and skin allergies when they come back to Taipei for business trips, that then disappear again on return to the mainland. > > Manners: improving in the mainland, regressing in Taiwan. > > Can’t comment on education, but both systems seem equally hard on the children, again, nothing on Hong Kong though (e.g. kindergaarten entrance exams at 16 months). > > Freedoms are, on a day-to-day basis almost exactly the same. The only thing that affected me was lack of access to the internet, and having to find ways around it. Otherwise, I’d argue the mainland is a pretty free place for most activities, unless you’re into certain activities. > > Day-to-day convenience, mainland is leaps and bounds ahead: everything is available to order on your phone, paid for on your phone and 24-hours. Everything is seamless. Taipei is… not. Again, a common gripe of my mainland-based Taiwanese friends is the lack of convenience when they return home. The only thin I have found more convenient in Taipei is access to convenience stores. > > Activities-wise, Taiwan is small, so its activities are more easy to get to, but less varied due to the lack of variation in climate. The mainland is so large that you can do whatever leisure activity you want, if you are willing to travel for it. > > Overall, I’d rather live in Taipei than Shanghai or Beijing on the sole basis that I was sent to a boarding school in the country, thus am uncomfortable when couped in a city for too long. It is so easy to leave Taipei for the mountains or beach, and impossible to escape Shanghai or Beijing. Taiwan is essentially a sleepy village, it’s sedate and not much goes on, which may or may not be a positive, depending on your view. I think Taipei balances everything well, but that’s because I’m not a local struggling on a local-wage. If I were, I think I’d be queuing up for a job across the water too My experience broadly mirrors what you say here. Personally I have a high level of respect for Chinese people and society. I find some of the comments that I see on this site a bit disappointing to be honest. Glad to see your balanced view here. ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/36 "2018-06-04T02:30:48Z")
Almost . Not quite but almost.😂 ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/37 "2018-06-04T02:33:22Z")
What do you expect when China and Chinese people constantly threaten Taiwan’s independence and democracy and bully Taiwanese who have their own opinion ? Not much to respect about the China police state. Awful waste of China human potential . No wonder so many Chinese say China is great this or that but they are streaming as fast as they can into Western countries. Really weird country like that, so obnoxiously nationalistic yes most with money want to go somewhere else. They don’t even aspire to changing their own country . Not so patriotic then. Votes for China ‘President for Life’ 2958 Yes 2 No This is China right now. ---
**Author:** ![rantanplan](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@rantanplan](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/rantanplan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/38 "2018-06-04T02:37:19Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/66): > > Personally I have a high level of respect for Chinese people and society. I find some of the comments that I see on this site a bit disappointing to be honest. Glad to see your balanced view here. would you care to say what bothered you? ---
**Author:** ![Chenshuren](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@Chenshuren](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Chenshuren)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/39 "2018-06-04T02:38:30Z")
> [@I am so bloody jealous of you all for living in Taiwan...](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/i-am-so-bloody-jealous-of-you-all-for-living-in-taiwan/169853/68): > > What do you expect when China and Chinese people constantly threaten Taiwan’s independence and democracy and bully Taiwanese who have their own opinion ? > Not much to respect about the China police state. Awful waste of China human potential . No wonder so many Chinese say China is great this or that but they are streaming as fast as they can into Western countries. Really weird country like that, so obnoxiously nationalistic yes most with money want to go somewhere else. > > Votes for China ‘President for Life’ > 2958 Yes > 2 No > > This is China right now Whatever you say man ---
**Author:** ![Brianjones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@Brianjones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Brianjones)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180/40 "2018-06-04T02:38:54Z")
Yeah I said it straight. [Previous page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180.md?page=1) [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/china-vs-taiwan/89180.md?page=3)