In the past foreigners have written to the director of the palace museum and they simply wrote back saying sorry, foreigner no deal. It was on this site in the past.
Another is phone service promotions.
Both Taiwan mobile and Fareastone telecom had special online only sales for $599 a month with only a one year contract and unlimited 4G.
Put in all my info on both sites, and arc number and a pop came up and said foreigners can’t apply online only in the shop. And that deal isn’t available in the shop conveniently.
I sent a complaint to Taiwan mobile and the guy called back and said put it in your friends name to get the deal, arc won’t work.
Pretty much for anything, bank loan, phone service credit cards, pension for arc people only, arc is next to worthless in Taiwan.
Yep, my coworker even called them to see if I could get the same deal. They straight up told her it’s not available to foreigners and that I had to go to the store to see what similar deals they had. I ended up with the same thing, but for two years instead of one.
I follow the thread Pensions for permanent residents closely (cause I am getting gold). Pretty sure APRCer are eligible for pension, but need to go down to the Labor Office one day and get the facts straight.
Yup they offered me the same but I didn’t want two years contract because I go home yearly for a few months and hate paying the cancellation fee.
I ended up arguing with YaTai telecom and they hooked me up eventually with a 1 year 4g unlimited plan for $249 a month. The speed is limited to 21mbps. Their network is not as good but works well for me so far.
In theory, APRC holders may have pension, like, paid in installments instead of a single bulk payment. However, i am not holding my breath as I haven’t figured out since when are we supposed to be paying in order to qualify and other pesky details.
Anyway, it is after 65 years old. That is a bit far…
Most people I know do not retire willingly. The loss in income is dramatic. A good friend’s mom has “retired” 3 times. Goes back to work to make ends meet. One acquaintance worked as a head accountant for one of the biggest corportaions in Taiwan. Forced to retire, very depressed about income, takes private cases to add to family income. I know a nationalized furriner who worked ina local airline. After retierment, complements income selling food in a day market. Like those, I know many cases. Unless you are government people, pension is not enough.
Problem in Taiwan is the disparity. The wealth gap in privilege due to pedigree is a festering infection that can destroy the fabric of society faster than anything else.
Hmmm…do you live in Taipei? Does it mean that much to you? You could try the annoying whiney “It’s not fair, my wife and family can, how come I can’t. It’s not fair”.
Visit the director and other officials often but politely.
It worked for me for minor things like coo cards and memberships.
Seriously, this is rollback of rights
Mr Hartzel DID go to many of these agencies and places to earn us these rights. We need an official negotiator to argue again for us.