I usually see them coming because they intentionally look down and pretend they can’t see you. My solution has been to clap loudly in their face. Works like a charm. Or, I put my hands together and create a wedge while walking forward.
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For me, i think kids get a certain level on leniency. Puberty onward they are required to have more and more common sense. Anyone high school or older should be expected to know better or accept being taught a lesson as per above suggestions.
“old” people it gets tough, as many are unable or from a completely different social environment. I absolutely give them leniency, even more than a child. In the end, the kid can recover from a shoulder check, the elder folk might not.
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The older folk in Taiwan behave like children but worse!
Some of them need a good smack!
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If you think driving in Taiwan is bad, you need to watch this video. Absolute insanity. 
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I accidentally drove a car through the San Xia morning market. Far worse.
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Taiwan’s pretty tame compared to most countries. I’d put it around Italy’s driving.
That video is pure ASMR.
I didn’t exactly find it relaxing (I found myself ducking multiple times), but I think I know what you mean. Very hypnotic.
Ideally we ought not to pick examples of worse extremes to try and better the appearances of our own standards.
– some smart guy with a few large important letters after his or her name that makes the claims seems smart and legitimate. 2021.
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I never saw anyone here negotiate on sidewalks, actually I’m very jealous of this behavior, I would like to have the same ability of disconnect from reality and the world and live in my own zone like there is nobody else around me. That is my feeling when somebody just jumps from nowhere in front of me or just cut me without any warning, I feel jealous of no have enough skill to avoid see other people. 
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This is ridiculously common in Taipei. Try this in other countries, you’ll be viewed as a Class A weirdo or sociopath and given a wide wide berth.
What kind of socialization led to this state of affairs? After all these years in Taiwan, it still boggles my mind. 
Guy
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I think the worst situation I saw here was a group of teens chit-chatting in the side walking and a blind guy was knocking them with his stick and nobody gave a shit about him, like he was not there! I needed to stop their conversation and ask if they cannot let the guy pass, they looked at me, let the guy pass and keep chatting like nobody was there again.
I’m not even try to understand these behaviors anymore, I just try to make my way and avoid people block me.
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I always find myself getting mirrored by people when walking down a narrow sidewalk. I go right, they go right. I go left, they go left. I always need to take a hard left or hard right or be the first to figure out where I’d like to really go. 
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Once I thought they do that in purpose to just get to close to you and take a close look at your face. Then I start to think they just want to prove: This is my land and I walk in whatever I want “you foreigner”.
After years of research, my conclusion is: I have no idea why people behave in this way, and I’m sure they don’t believe there is anything wrong in their behave.
I would pay money if somebody explain what are the reasons, I cannot die with this agony in my heart.
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It’s really weird, isn’t it? I’ve never experienced it any other country.
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It rarely happens to me in another Asian country. I sometimes think it’s the locals’ propensity for following queues. It’s so deeply ingrained in their system they do it, not just at the back, but also in front of a person.
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Thank god I’m not the only one. And this doesn’t happen to me with fellow foreigners here.
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I need to confess, I tried to imitate once the same behave to see if there is any sort of pleasure doing that, I could not find any. But I had long discussions about it with my ex-wife and her friends (All Taiwanese), nobody ever noticed these things, and they nickname me the cranky foreigner. I even showed it live to my ex-wife and her answer was: You notice too much other people, mind your life.
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First time I went to Japan and in a busy Tokyo street a Japanese man 2 meters far from me, crossed eyes with me and signaled his move to the right side giving me space to make my way and walking without any collision. I almost had an orgasm, small things in life we never notice until we lose.
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fixed.
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