Question is in the title. My family and I are from the Northern States but we will be heading to Taiwan for a month long trip. Are there any things I should consider in order to be respectful? I don’t just mean in terms of street etiquette either: I want to know if there are conversational topics I should avoid as well. Thanks in advanced!
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If you wanna make enemies, tell them Taiwan is a province of China or describe Taiwan in any way that makes it sound like it’s part of China.
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Most of this is just common sense, but I’ll mention it anyway:
- Best stay away from discussing cross-strait politics in any form. Western media has been really hyping up the situation by fearmongering these last few months, no one really cares here about how many Chinese plans crossed ADIZ or whatever.
- Don’t drink or eat at the MRT station after you beep in with your card. Same for when inside MRT. It is acceptable to eat/drink on some inter-city trains and HSR though.
- Don’t be loud on public transport. Respect queues. Even if you can’t speak Mandarin, wouldn’t hurt to say 謝謝 after you obtain any service (convenience store, waiters at restaurant, etc)
The people here are really friendly. Just don’t be surprised if they’re a little too friendly (might ask to take photos with you if you’re exotic enough in some smaller cities)
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Taiwanese people are extremely nice.
The only conversations to Not get too deeply involved with are with taxi drivers over politics.
You’ll do fine, just talk about night markets and where to take the best selfies.
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Smile, be humble and admit being wrong when things get heavy and you can’t back it up. Taiwan is easy as pie if people remain polite and positive. Even the racists here will buy you a beer if you smile and just be fun. Self deprecation goes far in most societies. And in Taiwan, extra far 
just have fun. Know how to read the room.
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Have a nice trip, with a month I hope you go beyond the busy tourist areas.
I think be humble, try not to compare your home to here (Taiwan) unless asked. You want try to avoid being the ugly American and being the humble American (forgiener)
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No drinking of liquids of any kind or eating at/on the subway/MRT stations and trains.
Ok to eat or drink at Taiwan rail or high speed rail.
People prefer to stand on the right side of an escalator, making room for those in a hurry.
If you drive, remember there is no turning right on a red light, regardless if you stop first.
Despite more and more motorists starting to yield to pedestrian it’s not a guarantee, and you should always keep eye contact until you are sure they will yield before you pass.
If you see yellow papers holded into a tower, or canned food tower, or lots of flower wreath, don’t take photos, don’t point or make loud noises. It usually means there is a funeral.
Don’t enter temples from the gate in the middle. Enter from the smaller gate on the right, and exist from the one on the left. The larger gate in the middle is reserved for the deities.
Avoid giving the middle finger or saying the f-word, for some reason people react to those more strongly than if you just said “gan”.
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Don’t stick your chopsticks into the rice vertically.
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Don’t agree to “Picture?” questions from old ladies around Longshan Temple.
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Your bows must be a full 90 degrees 
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Don’t pick up red envelopes from the street or point to the Moon. 
Taiwanese have cultural taboos, but in the end they’re normal people. Would you talk about American politics with some stranger in the US? Probably not. Same goes here. But if you make a friend, it’s fine to have deeper conversations about stuff, including that. As long as you don’t say any stupid shit like agree that China should take over Taiwan (this would be the equivalent of telling an Israeli that Arabs are right and they should be driven into the sea, or a South Korean that they should reunify with North Korea under their communist regime), but hopefully that’s common sense.
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Really? Seems to me they always want to get deeply involved in political conversations with their foreign passengers.
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Right, just don’t get angry when silly and or stupid stuff happens and people just smile at you, or cut in front of you in line, or do rude stuff that they think is perfectly acceptable.
However, never ever for real give anyone the finger. For real.
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This is annoying for people like us who live here (although they usually back off when they get close and see our lifer thousand-yard stare), but for a visiting tourist he might get a kick out of it… especially if it’s a cute chick his age.
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@Ronaldo and even when asked, don’t say anything bad about Taiwanese food unless you want to be burned at the stakes.
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I try to hold my temper, especially in front of my wife and kids, but if I’m on a crowded MRT and already having a bad day all bets are off.
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I have my Bose earbuds in whenever I’m in the mrt. Music when standing and alpha waves meditation and a book if I’m sitting.
I’m never mad on public transport. I’m retired. Don’t have to be anywhere. 
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Yeah, and most expats won’t declare some allegiance to DPP (it may be a generalization, but chances are your taxi driver is a KMT supporter). If they’re fluent in English they usually want to tell you how great they think the USA is and that might segue into talking about China, but keep it very generic and just agree with his points. If you want to push back on anything, do it in a polite way and nothing about anything he’s too adamant about.
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Yeah, the people of Taiwan tend to be easygoing. Don’t stress about it, say nice things about the food (lying is culturally acceptable), and don’t get up in anyone’s face (they’re very sensitive to face, making stupid people look stupid is a problem). Don’t start something won’t be nothing.
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I’ll just list the common taboos that American tourists often commit:
Talking loudly or not whispering on public transit.
Sitting on the floor in public areas (when waiting for trains, friends, etc.), or taking up more than one seat per person when waiting.
Avoiding random conversations with friendly strangers when they try to chat with you in the street (although people from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan are worse offenders than Americans).
Being impatient or rude or demanding to any kind of service staff, or asking to speak to the manager. In other words, being a “Karen”.
Being rude or angry in public or causing anyone embarrassment, even when you think you are justified. For example, showing frustration or raising your voice, etc.
Swearing at someone or giving someone the middle finger (this can get you into legal trouble).
Being or coming across arrogant in any way.
Comparing things about Taiwan to the US, or even just making observations out loud (especially about the traffic), or listing things that surprise or frustrate you about Taiwan. (If you want to do these things, do so anonymously on this website.)
Culturally, Taiwan is very similar to the Southern US. People are overly friendly and humble. Just pretend you are visiting the Southern US and take note not to do the things I listed above, and you should be fine. Enjoy your visit!
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