#1 and #2 agree, Taiwan and locals pretty let do what you want which is freedom to me, #3 I think Hawaii has the edge for me.
What keeps me in Southern Taiwan (1) work/company (2) Great local friends in the South and Taitung (some will say its east not south) and last better Hawaii link weather and lower costs (I get a big single house vs. Taipei tiny studio)
“You know you’ve been in taiwan too long when:” your geographic map says taitung is east and NOT south haha 
but ya, taiwan (doesnt matter which part i live in, we search out far more in the north!) is WAY more biologically diverse than Hawaii! Perhaps the ocean is different?
Does anyone know where I can buy some swing-top bottles for ginger beer or Grolsch beers in Taipei? 
IKEA has them:
You could also try these stores (previously recommended by @Bree):
Additional locations (all/mostly around the same Zhongshan area, I think):
I’d imagine these places to be cheaper than IKEA, if they have them (0.6-0.7 L screw-top wine style bottles were around NT$30-45 each depending on style, IIRC).
I’ve not bought swing top here. I use glass bottles with screw caps that I bought at Bottles and Jars for about $20 each.
I did have to put plastic inserts in the lids so that the seal would hold higher pressure.
Was in taoyuan with my partners and convinced everyone to go to taipei for lunch nearby taipai main station hehe. Very close to the bottle street!
Bought some jars for canning. To be hibest they look fairly low quality and likely the rubber rim wont last long. Just a first impression ,so not a real test. They called them meiguo mason jars. But a different brand: anchor. Will post pics later. Interestingly they did sell the good lids. The brand now escapes me, will check wifes phone if have a pic. Wasnt mason or kerr, but a brand i have seen in canada and used with satisfaction. Right infront of their front desk in abag green color. I asked the guy about ordering more but he seemed unmotivated and said depends on them. i would of bought some, regretting now, if i had a normal taiwanese hardware jar in hand to compare thread sizes. If they fit the usual Taiwan glass corp jar threads, we are in business!
Bought some other things there as well like magnifying glasses and a few replacement flasks. Great store, great selection. But anything specialized is about 2~3x more expensive than usual. I was happy to buy some brix meters but way too much. Great store to buy retail, thanks @bree for recomending it!
There’s a local beer “Le Ble d’Or” that has 1L flip-top bottles you can find in some of the supermarkets. Their honey beer is not bad on a hot summers day.
Ya, not bad at all. Can tell the family just buying them for the bottles 
At the store Bree mentioned, these are the canning jars i bought. Excited to use them, just waaaay too hot for now. I remain skeptical on the rubber seal holding up, its ultra thin.
Beer can for scale.
Anchor is one of the main brands, IIRC. Assuming they’re genuine, it should be fine.
Good to know, thanks. I have never seen them before. Gives me more confidence
So did you use it and eat your foods yet
not yet. turning the stove on in this heat is wiping me out. so far just using them for pickling in the fridge.
You can try two Northern Europe fermented items:
Cider (good), which I wonder can be made with Taiwan fruits/veg.
Surströmming (fermented fish) which I have not tried but I heard the smell is strong as well the taste, which I guess you could use local KaoPing fish.
When I was in Finland and Estonia people mentioned this seafood.
the fish, no thanks. vietnamese style is bad enough, euros make it worse haha.
cider is great. we make it sometimes in winter. in summer, nature prevails and we usually get either mold or.vinegar.
have you ever made it here in the hot season? curious if people have (non chemical) tricks.
Got to keep it cool and dark in the icebox, Taiwan summers never cool down enough at night to avoid mold/vinegar. Hard to make in the tropics.
that has been my experience as well 
somewhat better luck with mead. but only slightly and the price of real honey in Taiwan makes me not so interested to keep failing!
Is not real honey common? I do not buy it, so not aware of it? I know Taiwanese tend use a lot of sugar in foods, but not sure use of honey.
it’s very common, but somewhat expensive. the stuff mixed with corn syrup and the like is far more common and cheaper. it’s one of those things companies have lied about on the label.
Looks great !! Can you get it in Taiwan
