In the home country the government paid that for ages without any real change. Families get monthly ‘child stipends’ of a few hundred Euros per child. The ones that profit from it are mostly immigrants from North-Africa and Middle East as they have over average sized families.
I suspect finances is not the only reason why couples are choosing not to have children. I think this whole “liberation” has an effect as well. People simply do not want the responsibility, even if you get a few hundred euros a month.
But Africans and Middle Easterners have a different mindset and they think having a huge family is a good thing.
I think party means CCP and you do lose your ROC citizenship for joining. After all that’s like defecting.
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Yes of course, the CCP. A lot of people at the top of the business world there are party members. In fact there are limits of how much you can succeed without being one
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Taiwan used to be like that too. It’s no coincidence that all the government workers all vote KMT. Back in the day if you weren’t KMT you didn’t get above a certain rank in the military. Same with politics too.
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Personally speaking, no, I would never permanently live in Taiwan. I’m a 26 year old male who has lived in Taiwan nearly 3 years now but have never felt great affinity towards it. I’m just here for my girlfriend and plan to leave in a few months.
Taiwan is a perfectly serviceable place but, at 26, I need to progress with my own career back home. Upon moving here I was open to the idea of living her permanently but I eventually decided against it for the following reasons:
The people: They have no social skills. In short: they just aren’t fun. If they were a colour they’d be grey for sure. There’s no energy from them - there are no colourful unique characters. I’ve been to Thailand and Philippines and the people there just are so much more joyful and full of zest. So its not an Asian thing. Dunno what is wrong with them here but they are so…flat. Similar to Japan actually where I also lived and worked.
The pollution. Speaks for itself. Took my friends from Europe up to Taipei 101 to see… absolutely nothing. A big grey, depressing skyline with not a mountain in sight. Since moving here I’ve developed some minor skin problems as have others I’ve known. The air is awful and I’d hate to see what that would do to me long term (and any future kids for sure.)
The opportunities: 95% of foreigners here are not expats sent from abroad. They are middle of the road English teachers and I’m one of them. I get about 70 000 NTD which goes a long way in Taiwan. But it’s something that will be the same when I’m 50 at this rate. There is a clear glass ceiling here. Back home I can earn so much more. And there’s no way I’d like to swim so close to the deep end and raise a family on this kind of salary.
The food: There’s only so much grease and oil I can take.
The education system: I’ve worked all levels here from kindergarten to University students and I gotta say: the education system sucks big time. Theres zero opportunity for any creative amd critical thinking. Its cram, cram, cram all day long. I get it’s highly populated and people want to get an edge over others but c’mon, there is more to life.
The little weird intricacies: As a foreigner yeah, we get a lot of preferential treatment. Its so easy to date girls here, we can cause trouble and be a pain (accidental or not) and we get a lot of leniency. You can really enjoy your time here and enjoy the perks of simply being born with white skin. And yet, I hate the attention. Its novel at first but after 3 years it grates. I was absolutely in my element when I went home and I was just another white face.
From the slack jawed, dead eyed stare I get just walking through the streets with my girlfriend to the incessant finger pointing it’s just too much on a daily basis. For every kid or girl who wants to take a photo with you there’s another who just crosses the line. Snapping me on the sly in a restaurant for example ( don’t use flash idiot and disable shutter sound next time, if you’re reading this ) when I’m with my gf isn’t cool.
Culture: More specifically -what IS the culture here? It seems to all revolve around money and putting up with invasive inlaws. I went to Thailand and u can see the big effect Buddhism has on their culture. Taiwan, I just don’t get it.
Happy to leave and counting down the days. Hope these kind of alternate takes on Taiwan are allowed. As I know this is a largely "Taiwan is so great " board.
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That happens maybe twice a year at most. In Taipei the air pollution is no worse than any European big city.
Come to Taiwan to work they said. 
It’s definitely worse than most cities in Europe. Source : me.
Do you have millions of scooters and buses whizzing around along with people burning fucning paper on sidewalks there en masse twice a month?
Do you get hit by the brown cloud from Taiwan and China regularly?
No. I win. 
There’s a lot of hard hitting truth in this post. 
I 100% agree the social skills here are abysmal and I’m at least two generations older than you and a veteran here (cough…wheeze).
Most people are no craic whatsoever. You’d get more craic in a dried out bucket of paint than the average Taipei denizen.
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He says, sputtering and struggling to breathe …
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That’s nonsense. Have you ever lived anywhere with clean air before ? You’d know if you had that what they call “air” here is toxic garbage.
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We can’t see that anymore, all is just … normal.
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Of course! Good points made.
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Or the fun people just don’t want to hang out with you. 
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Hard hitting back
I suppose theres no ban coming your way for that little insult? A lovely welcome to the forum. I see your username is fitting - you have a need to gain some life experience about how to chat with people.
Now back to pollution. I can tell you (or a government can) that the sky is blue and all is rosey. Doesn’t make it fact. Go outside and see and touch and experience with your own eyes. Its bad. The air is bad. Its not a conspiracy, it’s not an illusion it is the reality.
Bury your head in the sand all you want but if you so happen to end up with lung cancer one day (and I hope that you do not) and find yourself wondering why, since you are a non smoker, then it will be all too late.
Are you a by-product of the Taiwanese education system that I so lamented by any chance ? As you are displaying the key signs of it, one of which is the failure to question and think independently.
A welcome you deserve.
I can see it through the window. The sky’s blue.
No wonder the fun people don’t want to hang out with you.
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Just arrived on Forumosa and already in the clinch with Gain! 
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