Man I love that channel. Not saying the host might not be cherry-picking his interviewee, but the amount of positive experiences you hear from everybody is so heart-warming.
Is that you speaking or your significant other? A lot of foreigners become almost indoctrinated into Taiwanâs beliefs and opinions once they marry into a family here. Letâs keep the much valued ability that us Westerners have to be able to critically think and assess things.
I could link 100 articles that clearly state Taiwan is part of South East Asia. If it not part of South East Asia as you claim then you are saying it is indeed part of China. By ignoring the indigenous people of Taiwan who are indeed South East Asian then you are saying Taiwaneese must be something else. So its Chinese and thus East Asian? Which is it?
Itâs more than that, it doesnât fit into easy characterisations hence you are arguing about it. Anyway geographically it sits on the topic of cancer and anyone who knows the island well will tell you the climate and customs can be be quite different North and South .
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Only itâs really not as complex as people are making out. Taiwanese people scream to all who will listen that this is a country separate and unique from Taiwan. Even if we take into account the mass migration of Han Han Chinese to Taiwan historically speaking we can also see the unique to Taiwan and other SEA countries indigenous people. Itâs been a long day and Iâd rather not get deep into this topic but most Taiwanese Iâve met have absolutely no qualms about including Taiwan as part of South East Asia. Everyone universally acknowledges it as so.
Use Redhorse seems to rally against the idea on the basis that, as shallow as it seems, Taiwan is richer than its poor SEA neighborâs and therefore shouldnât be associated with such riff - raff. So if all the SEA countries were doing financially well youâd then wish Taiwan to be part of SEA after all?
Redhorse says Taiwan has more in common with Eastern Asian culture than Southeast Asian which is a bold claim to make. I disagree. Taiwan is vastly different to Japan and Korea and anyone who has lived in those places can tell you that. Unless youâre referring to their shared xenophobia. That they all do splendidly well.
I just donât get why this is even an argumentative point. On one hand Iâm being told Taiwan is separate to China whilst also refusing to acknowledge them. So if you disrepute a shared connection and heritage with China then where did all the Taiwanese come from? Thin air? Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan all share very common aboriginal DNA. Go and research and find out. Itâs all out there this isnât some bs
That holds only if you insist on wanting that the whole society runs along with you. During my Japanese days I was hanging with people considered âmisfitsâ according to the society rule book, and realized that the network of underground burrows running under the polished surface was dense enough for anybody wanting to express their individuality to be able to fit somewhere somehow. In no country will you be accepted by everybody, or even by the majority; itâs all about finding your lair.
Iâve also met quite a few foreigners who were holding onto the idea that âyou will never understand Japanese people,â and I always saw that position as lacking empathy. Itâs preposterous to try reading Japanese society with Western glasses. Thereâs differences in behavior, logic and dogma, and unless youâre willing to run along with these, sure, you will never understand Japanese people. Nobodyâs gonna try to develop the bottom of their thought if you come at them like âwhy are you thinking like that, it doesnât make sense.â
Also goes without saying but the nature of your interactions with Japanese people scales with language. Iâve been learning Japanese for more than 10 years now and I can tell you you notice outstanding changes in the depth of interactions with people as you progress in the later stages (say, going from being able to read a phone contract to being able to watch a debate at the Diet). People do have an opinion and will be ready to discuss it with you, as long as you have enough skills and cultural understanding to set the table for that discussion to happen.
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ehhh This sounds like a pretty tired cliche. Lots of unique individuals in Japan. Dont really feel like this holds.
Agree here, found this to be the case moreso in JP than Taiwan. They appreciate if you make an effort and tend to look down on the foreigners that donât more.
I donât know why people say JP are cold in cities. Ive lived/worked in JP for a few years and found people friendly and easy to talk to for the most part, even in Tokyo.
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At their best, people in Japan are focused and passionate about their work/hobbies/interests. If you share this kind of focus and passion, you can have great conversations with folks there.
Cheers,
Guy
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Boils down to geographical AND socioeconomic definitions, Taiwan differs from and is not part of SE Asia. Also, while the island is very varied and parts of it could seem akin to SE Asia, there are also parts of Taipei and Kaoshiung that could be Tokyo or Seoul.
Furthermore, 50 years of being a part of the Japanese empire gotta count for something.
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Really? You want to go there? I have a Taiwanese girlfriend who likes visiting SE Asia and strongly laments the way some Taiwanese treat SE Asian immigrants.
Iâve dated several women in/from SE Asia (as well as other parts of the world), so Iâm afraid your pussywhipped argument doesnât fly here.
You seem to be conflating geography, ethnicity and nationality. Geographically, Taiwan is East Asia. Ethnically, the reality is that upwards of 95% of the population here is ethnic Han Chinese. And I happen to believe that Taiwan is an independent country, as it has acted as a sovereign for more than half a century.
Your logic that if Taiwan isnât a part of South East Asia it must be part of China is beyond flawed. South East Asia refers to geography. South East Asia is not a sovereign. If Malaysia wasnât geographically located in South East Asia, it wouldnât stop being Malaysia.
In any case, itâs clear you have some hang-ups about this issue. Iâve traveled throughout Asia and would reiterate my argument that Taiwan is quite unique from cultural, economic and ethnic standpoints.
Noting that from an economic standpoint, itâs somewhere between the developing nations of SE Asia and the developed nations of South Korea and Japan does not come with any judgments.
And noting that the vast majority of the population today is ethnic Han Chinese does not does diminish the indigenous people who were here first.
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Some of Taiwans indigenous cultures have Austronesian roots and there is heavy migration from SE Asia, TW can feel like SE Asia in parts of the south climate wise, but politically, geographically, economically defnitely not.
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Iâve never met a Taiwanese person who considers Taiwan part of SEA, and Iâve been here a long time. Taiwan is pretty much universally acknowledged to be part of East Asia, both inside Taiwan and out. Just look up any definition of East Asia.
There are different theories on this, but the emerging consensus seems to be that the Austronesian peoples migrated from southern China to Taiwan, and from there to SEA and across the Pacific.
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Iâd really like to know what these other countries are. Perhaps somewhere near Big Rock Candy Mountain?
An interesting read, but cant help wondering what happened to the ( I dont want to sound offensive ) OP. Wonder if he learnt anything here.
Why does it matter where they come from? A majority of Americans came from Europe, does that make America part of Europe? Someone made a good point a while back. Taiwan is a new world country. Its was settled by unorganized indigenous tribes, immigrants from âcentralized civilizationsâ came and forcibly settled on the land. The immigrants moved here because of better job prospects (during Dutch settlements) and to flee from religious/political prosecution. What is that if not a new world nation story. The only difference is that a portion of the immigrants (KMT) dreamed to free the motherland from tyranny.
Geographically and culturally speaking its part of East Asia but sits at the border of SE Asia and therefore has some characteristics of the latter. I donât understand why you insist otherwise.
Couldnât disagree more. Thatâs wishful thinking on your part. 50 years is not a long enough time to make a lasting cultural impact. They built a sewer system but still they tried to and succeeded in, you know, taking over Taiwan for a time. Iâve never seen a country so enamoured with their invaders before. Talk about Stockholm syndrome. Taiwan must have been a real dump before Japan came then? Japan came by force remember that. Just ask Korea what they think of Japan. Or the people of Manchuro. They are not the saints you think they are.
I know Taiwan deeply wishes to stand shoulder to shoulder with Japan but they are not even similar in the slightest. I donât know why people wish to try and force that comparison it feels very unnatural.
Now, Taiwan is part of SEA whether you would like to accept that fact or not is upto you. I do not particularly care.
Strangely Wikipedia and the world in general seem to have a different definition. Wonder which is more correct?
By what metrics, specifically? This just isnât true. Thereâs a lot of people from SE Asia in Taiwan but that doesnât mean itâs part of SE Asia.
Economically no
Geographically no
Culturally some overlap
Militarily no
Everyone understands there is migration and some cultural exchange but itâs just not a part of SE Asia. Look at the map, look at its history.
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Who are you, and why are you not able to place a few sentences together without directly contradicting yourself?
Yes Taiwan is a complicated mess, but if you look even a little closely, so are most places around the world.
Guy
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OP, being convinced of his definition, should take it to the test and edit the wiki entry for SE Asia to include Taiwan. If he is deemed correct by the majority of people his definition will stand as the new norm. GL!
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It seems my Jjapanese colleagues have found many similarities. I feel taiwan is between East Asia and SEA as they say.
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