Does this happen in Taipei these days?
Yes
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It happens all over Taiwan but not all the time.
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It’s considerably preferable to having someone sit next to you, practicing their English.
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True that. It really depends. When the hot KTV-type women leave that empty seat next to me I feel sad. When the large, awkward-looking, male senior high school student leaves it there I feel happy.
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What is this specimen you speak of? Does it have a unique appearance?
yes and not only that i think Taiwanese probably think they are being polite.
But still, if you are writing articles about it you are a pussy. just enjoy some free space, whats so good about having somebody squashed against you anyway?
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It’s nice to be noticed and it’s not nice to be noticed depending on the mood and situation , I agree.
It seems it’s an East Asian thing then…
Good, I love empty seats next to me.
Because…
There’s nothing more annoying than that.
Well, except when you’re with your kid and the seat companion starts commenting on her instead.
I read about half the piece, and the writer comes off as someone who just looks for stuff to complain about.
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Yeah. Highly varnished nails, hair and the handbag read to go , tight clothes and heels, getting breakfast at noon and going to work at 6pm. You see them on certain streets going to work…It’s a thing.
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Happens to me and I don’t even look that foreign. Then again, I do look surly.
Love that empty seat.
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the positives come around WAY less than the negatives. so i just prefer to not risk it and have an empty seat. you tend to learn this after having a someone fall asleep on you.
Oh God. And they always lean in MY direction, never the other way around. Accursed.
Did you take that on ISO 100? 
I’ve actually had someone drool on my shoulder. 
Folks you’re going to have to drop this theme.
Once and for all.
For your own sanity.
No one refuses to sit next to me anymore when I’m in Japan.
In Taiwan though, it’s a mixed bag. I like the extra space, but not so much the idea that someone is reluctant to be near me because of my race. It’s not like I smell of BO, wear overpowering cologne, dress poorly, picky my nose in public, fall asleep and lean on people, bump into people without apologizing, cough without covering my mouth, silently fart in a crowded train, burp out loud like it’s nothing, eat smelly pork byproduct food on said train, play videos on my phone out loud for all to hear, have an obnoxious ringtone, or have loud phone conversations on the train.
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So you hold it in for the whole ride? 
Lights on the bus were off and we were going through a tunnel. My smartphone camera had a stroke trying to take that pic.
Lmao smartphone cameras in low light
It can be done. It’s all in the ass cheeks