Hey, I am just wanting to know why so many South Africans chose to leave SA and come live in Taiwan?
I visited SA twice before and it’s beautiful, so much to see and do. I can understand why people leave the UK (crap weather, political correctness gone mad, expensive) and USA (Bush… need I say more) But, why SA?
It’d be good to hear!
Thanks
Because they got married with Taiwanese,I think.
The TV news has reported one about this.
[quote=“Robin-Hood”]Hey, I am just wanting to know why so many South Africans chose to leave SA and come live in Taiwan?
I visited SA twice before and it’s beautiful, so much to see and do. I can understand why people leave the UK (crap weather, political correctness gone mad, expensive) and USA (Bush… need I say more) But, why SA?
It’d be good to hear!
Thanks[/quote]
umm… how about the extreemly high crime rate for starters… shit pay… everyone I know from SA said it’s a struggle… I’ve been there too and loved it… but visiting and living there and trying to make it are two different things.
correct me if im wrong but i think it goes like this:
they come here because the taiwan govt. grants them native speaker status so they can teach english here (altho’ there are limits to their employability at higher levels). I presume other asian countries do not recognise them as native speakers…
plus SA and taiwan had close ties when they were both “social pariahs” so to speak so business connections have always been good…
I’m sure it is a lovely place, the question is, how many Krugerrands can you comfortably fit up yer arse? They’re an ounce a piece you know.
HG
[quote=“Robin-Hood”]Hey, I am just wanting to know why so many South Africans chose to leave SA and come live in Taiwan?
I visited SA twice before and it’s beautiful, so much to see and do. I can understand why people leave the UK (crap weather, political correctness gone mad, expensive) and USA (Bush… need I say more) But, why SA?
It’d be good to hear!
Thanks[/quote]
could it be that you saw FIVE south africans in one night and deduced that they had ALL moved to Taiwan??
They’re afraid that baboons will rape their babies.
I went to Taiwan immediately after completing my honours degree. The reason? I wanted to travel and see another country, immerse myself in another culture, and generlly just escape from the boredom of the small city where I lived. I didn’t feel like doing what every other young, middle class (white, but more young black people are also going) South African does - go to work in a pub in London for a year or two. So, I chose Asia. Taiwan seemed to be quite balanced in terms of a decent wage, nice climate (I enjoy sunshine and heat) and low living expenses.
South Africans are accepted as native speakers throughout most of Asia as far as I know. I have a friend teaching in Japan, and others who taught in Korea and Thailand. However, many South Africans are actually second-language English speakers (I’m not, I am a native speaker), and often have very heavy accents (mine is not, it’s quite neutral), which I guess would limit their employability and make it more difficult to get jobs than someone from North America or the UK.
Yes, South Africa is a beautiful country, but we do have our fair share of problems, which is why there are so many South Africans who end up leaving this country for good. Apparently more than one million white South Africans have emigrated in the last ten years or so. Reasons for this include the massive rate of violent crime (highest rape rate in the world, second highest murder rate, countless armed robberies, violent carjackings, tons of illegal guns, pretty much everyone I know has been mugged, could go on and on, etc etc), the widespread and often blatant corruption in our government, steadily increasing cost of living, the difficulty of finding a job as a white South African (affirmative action policies). Thus, many South Africans leave for greener pastures.
Personally, I love this country, and its diversity of cultures, but don’t feel too optimistic about its future. Would I emigrate? Hmmm… possibly, but not really because of the reasons I listed above, more because I’d like to experience a lot more of the world and would like to live and work in as many countries as possible.
[quote=“Robin-Hood”]Hey, I am just wanting to know why so many South Africans chose to leave SA and come live in Taiwan?
I visited SA twice before and it’s beautiful, so much to see and do. I can understand why people leave the UK (crap weather, political correctness gone mad, expensive) and USA (Bush… need I say more) But, why SA?
It’d be good to hear!
Thanks[/quote]
The money. The other countries recognized by the Taiwanese government as native-English speaking are ‘richer’ than Taiwan. South Africa isn’t. The average white South African with a degree can earn a lot more here than back home. When I worked at Kojen we had South Africans who had had the following jobs in South Africa: journalist, diplomat, teacher, professor, lawyer. I can pretty well guarantee there are no Canadians or Americas here who have given up diplomacy to work at Kojen.
Must’ve been that durned affirmative action again… consarn it!
Wisher, you can’t believe anything you see on the TV news here. I have even seen lies reported about my friends and lies reported about me.
My reasons:
We have a group of people who believe that raping a virgin will cure aids…that is why there is a lot of babies (some under 1 year) being raped.
Jacob Zuma who was on trial for rape last year (and was found innocent and the victim had to go into hiding) is propably going to be our next president.
Minimum wage for working at a restaurant/video store etc is NT$ 45 an hour, and that can buy you a can of Coke.
I bought a one bedroom apartment for my folks that cost NT$ 2 million, but its so tiny my parents have to move the beds to open the cupboard to get to their clothes.(really) And that costs NT$ 8000 a month to rent, which is a lot more than what secretaries make.
I know more than 5 people that were killed for their cars. Even when they handed it over willingly.
My dad had a heart attack and had to drive himself to the hospital because he doesn’t have medical aid.
And yes, I earn more doing 6 hours of work a day than some computer programmers that work from 8 - 8.
ok thanks for the corrections…but specifically, WHY TAIWAN…yes we get that things are bad back home…but the question this thread is asking is why do so many come here?
so far im not seeing any answers except for my own guesses…
(or am I wrong and are there knots of saffers also in japan and china?)
the historical connection with taiwan is not my wild ravings…south africans themselves have confirmed this with me…
[quote=“the bear”]ok thanks for the corrections…but specifically, WHY TAIWAN…yes we get that things are bad back home…but the question this thread is asking is why do so many come here?
so far im not seeing any answers except for my own guesses…
(or am I wrong and are there knots of saffers also in japan and china?)
the historical connection with taiwan is not my wild ravings…south africans themselves have confirmed this with me…[/quote]
In terms of Asia, I’d say most South Africans would emigrate to Taiwan, because of the climate, generally friendly attitude towards foreigners (despite the stories on forumosa), which is maybe comparatively better than other places in Asia (wait for it, here come the flames), and of course the decent cash. My SA friend who has been living in Japan for about a year now has only met one other South African there. I think Korea is less popular than Taiwan, I’ve heard the lifestyle is not as easy as Taiwan and the people are less foreigner-friendly. China, yeah I think there are quite a few South Africans, but the money isn’t as good as Taiwan.
However, regarding most of the South Africans in Taiwan, I wouldn’t say they’re there to stay - most of them I think work there for a few years to save up money, and then go back to SA in the hope that things will have gotten better back home, or to start a business there (which is an easier option than trying to get a job).
BUT, most of the South Africans who emigrate, or go to work temporarily overseas, go to western, English-speaking countries in which they can apply their job skills, the most popular destinations are by far the UK, New Zealand and Australia. A number go to Canada and the USA (if they can get in), and also Dubai is becoming popular for highly skilled South Africans as there is a great demand for them there and the pay is massive. Only a minority go to Asia.
Hope this answers your question!
[rant]
And to that guy earlier in the thread who made a “funny” comment about affirmative action: . Yes, it’s a necessary policy. The economic imbalances of apartheid do need to be corrected. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t live here in SA. You have no idea about the blanket fashion, the inefficiency and impracticality of the totalitarian manner in which affirmative action is implemented here. You have no idea about the window-dressing, nepotism, cronyism that goes on here, the appointment of people to positions for which they have no qualifications or experience, and the consequent decline in standards and efficiency that this brings about. Addressing the economo-racial consequences of apartheid is unfortuantely not something that can be done overnight.
And who pays for this? Not the rich whites who benefitted from apartheid, who are still rich. Not the middle class whites, who are still generally middle class. The poor whites (and yes, there are poor whites, not every white person in SA was a rich colonial master with hundreds of grovelling black servants) are still poor. However, my generation (and subsequent generations) of white South Africans, many of whom, like me, were just little kids when apartheid ended, who went to school with black children, indian children, and coloured children, it’s us who have a difficult time finding jobs. True what they say about the sins of the father…
Has it addressed the massive gap between rich and poor? Not at all. Only to a minority. In fact, the gulf between the rich and poor is larger now than it was ten years ago. Except that now, there is a black elite upper class to add to the white elite (and fill in the gap left by the hundreds of thousands of whiteys who left for the UK, OZ or NZ), and a growing black middle class (which in itself a a good thing, though). However, the majority of the black population who suffered under apartheid are still suffering, still poor, and now, they have yet another evil to contend with; the widespread scourge of violent crime, which hits them far harder than it does the middle or upper classes (who are nonetheless hard-hit, which gives you an idea of the intensity of the violence against the black population).
[/rant]
Can we please leave Apartheid and related issues out of the discussion? There is a thread about this subject right here if you wish to discuss it.
Thanks,
Rascal
Moderator LiT Forum
How is one supposed to discuss current job situations and inequality and violence, etc. that are often a result of what happened in the Apartheid era, and that for some people might be the reason that they would want to leave South Africa and come to Taiwan, without mentioning Apartheid and its effects on current job situations and inequality and violence, etc? Apartheid is not just an isolated topic that would be satisfied to dwell forevermore in a thread of its own. It oozes throught the pores of every aspect that is South African economy and history and culture and sports, now, present, still, and will continue to do so for quite a while unfortunately.
[quote=“Battery9”]My reasons:
We have a group of people who believe that raping a virgin will cure aids…that is why there is a lot of babies (some under 1 year) being raped.
Jacob Zuma who was on trial for rape last year (and was found innocent and the victim had to go into hiding) is propably going to be our next president.
Minimum wage for working at a restaurant/video store etc is NT$ 45 an hour, and that can buy you a can of Coke.
I bought a one bedroom apartment for my folks that cost NT$ 2 million, but its so tiny my parents have to move the beds to open the cupboard to get to their clothes.(really) And that costs NT$ 8000 a month to rent, which is a lot more than what secretaries make.
I know more than 5 people that were killed for their cars. Even when they handed it over willingly.
My dad had a heart attack and had to drive himself to the hospital because he doesn’t have medical aid.
And yes, I earn more doing 6 hours of work a day than some computer programmers that work from 8 - 8.[/quote]
WOW, i heard things were tuff but??? MAN ALIVE
I guess if I had to choose again I would rather go to Japan. For the architecture etc. But Taiwan has been great to me, much better than my own country has. Which is pretty sad. Taiwan is also extremely cheap when it comes to public transport etc…
I didn’t mean that you can’t mention it but rather that this thread should not turn into a discussion about Apartheid itself. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
From my understanding, high salaries, friendly environment and easy access are probably some of the main reasons why Taiwan is one of South Africans’ prefered destinations. However I don’t think Taiwan has the highest number of South African emigrants compared to the US, the UK or other European and African countries.
South Africa has suffered from high unemployment rate over the years. In addition, the BEE(Black Economy Empowerment) policy and the ongoing Affirmative Action have excluded many job opportunities from the white citizens in order to benefit those previously disadvantaged groups (black, coloreds, Indians). As for the violent crimes, most South Africans only work in Taiwan temporarily. I think they prefer emigrating to countries like Australia, the UK, or New Zealand with similiar culture and living standard (space, food, language…). Not to mention many of them have dual nationalities. So crime could play a small part in their decisions, but money is probably the biggest attraction.