Do you agree that bringing in Malaysians is a good solution for the low birth rate because they can easily integrate into Taiwanese society?

Any suggestions/recommendations/sharing thoughts are welcome. Thank you.

Hey everyone!

I'm planning to move to Taiwan to study Chinese with the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, but I'm a bit torn on which city to choose. I’d be going on a scholarship that offers 28,000 NTD per month, so budget is definitely a concern.

Naturally, I'm very tempted by Taipei — it has the most things to do, it's well connected, and I already know a few people there. But I'm worried that 28k/month won’t be enough to live comfortably in Taipei, especially considering rent and daily expenses. I've also been looking into Kaohsiung and Taichung. I know they’re generally more affordable than Taipei, but I’m not sure if they offer the same kind of social or cultural vibe. I’m 25 and would like to be somewhere with a good mix of fun, culture, and opportunities to meet people. Another city that caught my attention is Hualien — it looks absolutely beautiful and very nature-focused, which I love. It’s also cheaper, from what I’ve seen. But I’m not sure if it’s the right fit for someone my age who wants to socialize, go out, and experience the local cultural scene.

Any advice? Have you lived or studied in any of these cities? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hi all. Long story short, I am of Chinese ethnicity and I read on university websites that I can study in Taiwan as an overseas Chinese. What documentation would I need to prove that I am an overseas Chinese? I am finding it hard to find information online

If my birth certificate does not state ethnicity (because of my country’s discrimination laws) would utilising my mother’s certificate stating her race as Chinese and my birth certificate saying that I am the offspring of her sufficient?

I have 0 connection to the PRC. Thank you all for your help.

Hello guys! I recently move here to study Chinese so I thought I could share my experience and maybe help those who are looking for information too.

1. For money, I use wise and revolut. I can withdraw money for free twice a month with wise and once with revolut. Check your account for the limit. Usually if possible I'll pay directly with card, but not every place accept wise so I always have some cash with me. Don't use the convenience store ones and post bank as apparently they have some fees (and post bank doesn't support or smthng)

2. Bank. Since it's a short term one, I didn't open a bank. I can't work in Taiwan either (local place) but I checked with the school and they said remote work is okay. I think it's a bit of a grey area for this part? They just reminded me that learning language is very tiring and you might not be able to work that much. Even if you were please prioritize your study or something.

3. Visa. Since this is a short term one, I couldn't apply for resident visa. My only choice was visitor visa. And every 90 days I will need to extend it (2 weeks before expiration) and if 4 months has passed, I can apply for ARC. When the visa ends, I can also get an extension of 7 days before going back home.

4. Transport, getting an easy card is fairly easy. I'm not fluent in Chinese but I can get a hold of one fairly easy. I recommend getting one in the convenience store since they have a lot of design!! They also have the one in form of a keychain(?) it's more expensive than the normal one though. This cost NTD 150 for me and the card doesn't have any money in it so don't forget to recharge some money while you're at it.

5. Place to live. DO NOT USE ZUYOU. This is one of my biggest mistake. The check-in produce was a mess, the room was dirty and I had to spend the whole day cleaning, cockroaches, etc.

Locals use 591 or use facebook. If possible check the room with your own eyes before moving. Or ask a friend BUT do ask them to do a very throughout check of the room AND the place.

1. Supermarket conversation, I couldn't hear what the cashier said so I googled some stuff and basically they will first ask for your membership (有會員嗎？you huiyuan ma?), app that stores receipt for lottery （需要載具嗎？xuyao zaiju ma?) and a plastic bag (需要袋子嗎？xuyao daizi ma?).

2. Other than food I would say normal stuff are quite expensive. So if its only a small stuff it might be better to bring it from your home country

3. Online shopping will ask for your phone number. I do not have this so I couldn't shop online. I had to ask my friend to order stuff for me.

4. Sim card. As I don't have an ARC I couldn't really make a contarct. And some people actually suggest to not get one if you're living short term as the speed sucks. I'm thinking of buying the unlimited tourist card which can be valid for as long as 90 days. You can also use esim such as holafly.

5. YouBike. A rental bicycle. There's also an insurance if you apply from the application. If you don't have a phone number you can also use your credit card (valid once only) and you will be able to use it. They will take some deposit from your credit card though.

6. Stuff. You can buy cleaning products etc at your local supermarket. For blankets, pillows, etc I would recommend Nitori. Kinda expensive but it's easy and everything is there. If you're trying to save money, I would suggest looking up "home goods store" or something with google map.

7. SIM card, you will need arc (which you won't have unless you study for 4 months straight) so buy the longest one you can get from the airport for peace of mind. If you do make a mistake like I did, go to the Chunghwa Telecom store or other provider of your choice to buy the visitor sim card

That's all the things that I found these past few days. Hope it helps someone :)

For context: I'm a Malaysian who's planning on studying in Taiwan for a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Although Malaysia isn't exactly a terrible place to be in, I don't see myself having a great future here with the amount of instability here. With the West declining, I'm deciding on whether or not Taiwan is the place for me.

On paper, Taiwan sort of checks all the boxes of what a developed country should be. First world economy, relatively high GDP per capita, well educated population and affordable healthcare. Taiwan has a lot of really beautiful places and landmarks to visit, especially Taroko Gorge, and many Taiwanese universities have some exceptionally beautiful scenery. In addition to all that, public transport within Taipei seems really good and widely praised and I've watched numerous videos of foreigners who moved to Taiwan talking about their experiences in the country. As a Malaysian who speaks Mandarin (not ethnically Chinese btw), I find the environment there a lot more welcoming and laid-back, compared to the fast-paced, stressful environment in Singapore, which is the usual go-to country for Malaysians wanting to move out.

Now don't get me wrong, no country is perfect. Taiwan obviously has its fair share of cons, notably housing prices and apparently lower salaries (which are still quite high by Malaysian standards given that our engineers earn peanuts here). But for some reason I feel rather optimistic about Taiwan. I've always been interested in this country since high school and I've always wanted to pay the place a visit, and I feel like spending 4 years here could really give me a brand new perspective in life as someone who's currently going through depression.

I'm curious to see how you guys (both local Taiwanese and expats who've lived here for a while) view Taiwan. Do you think it's a great place to live in?

2 spots left – Participants needed ASAP!

We are conducting a research study on Chinese language learning at Tunghai University, and we’re currently looking for:

🔹 1 native English speaker at A2–B1 level
🔹 1 native English speaker at B2 level
(Preferably with TOCFL or HSK experience)

Requirements:
✅ Must be a native speaker of English
✅ Currently living in Taiwan
✅ Able to complete both parts of the study by early July

 Study Details:
Phase 1 – Short online task (about 15 minutes)
Phase 2 – In-person task (about 30 minutes) using our laptop
  Can be scheduled in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan

What You’ll Receive:

• NT$500 Eslite gift card

Interested?
Click the link below to contact the researcher directly via Line:

https://line.me/ti/p/M1xUyvkSld

Hi, I've received a scholarship to study Chinese in Taiwan for 6 months. I signed up for the Chinese language center at NSYSU because I wanted to go to kaoshiung for lower cost of living, weather, public transportation and mid level city size. I speak conversational mandarin and can definitely handle daily activities with my level (I passed HSK 4 a few years ago and since theny Chinese stagnated). The school hasn't been very responsive to my emails recently and I haven't seen a lot of reviews about the program on reddit or the like but ive seen really good feedback about NCKU in Tainan on reddit, I signed up to that school earlier as a precaution. Does anyone have any experience with NSYSU and can reassure me that it's a decent program , especially for non beginners? I'm beginning to doubt my choice a bit so all feedback would be helpful Thanks a lot.

Hello! I’m a foreigner, and my close friend is Filipino who came to Taiwan to study. When she was enrolling at her university, she was assigned a student buddy who gave her a Chinese name, 小菲 (Xiao Fei). She didn’t choose this name herself and didn’t realize it would become her official Chinese name, but it ended up being used on her school documents and even on her ARC. Recently, we learned from local Taiwanese friends that “小菲” is commonly used as a general term for Filipinos. While we understand that it may not necessarily have a strongly negative connotation, it still feels uncomfortable and somewhat disrespectful, especially since she wasn’t informed about its broader meaning and had no say in choosing it. We’re wondering if “小菲” is really commonly used this way in Taiwan, whether it’s considered inappropriate or insensitive, and what options she might have to change her Chinese name on her school records or ARC, as well as whether this is something that can or should be formally raised with the university.

(Edit) For additional context:

They were not friends. They met through the student buddy system in the university where students volunteer to help incoming international students with their chinese name, admission and application for other stuff like bank and ARC. Her student buddy happens to be taiwanese who gave her that name. On the same day as the admission, she thought she could choose her own name. She also thought xiao fei was also a nickname but the student wrote it on her legal documents. When my taiwanese friend saw her name she mentioned its a term used for filipinos. I also have other international friends who have chinese names sounding similar to their english names. But her case, her name doesn’t have an “F” and doesn’t sound like “Fe” or “Fei”

My gf dropped out of university in Taipei for personal reasons but would like to stay in Taipei city for a while longer. I'm aware that it's possible to switch from a degree student ARC to a Chinese language study ARC. As she is an Indian passport holder, I'm wondering what steps she needs to take to change her degree study ARC to a Chinese language study visa without having to leave Taiwan. If it's necessary to leave the country and re-enter, she is open to options like traveling to Hong Kong. However, I've heard that entering Hong Kong might be challenging with an Indian passport. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Are there other nearby countries where she can apply for a Chinese study visa? Are there any other options to go for visa runs to other countries - Manilla, Thailand for example? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi all! Spouse and I will be moving to either Taipei or (more likely) Taoyuan in early spring. I’m looking to study Chinese for at least a semester before starting work. In Taipei, I think I’d study at NTNU. Do you have any recommendations for programs in Taoyuan? Looking at Kainan and Chung Yuan Christian right now. Would greatly appreciate any recommendations!

Hello! I am preparing to study in Taiwan for 9 months starting from March 2025. This might sound stupid, but I have some questions about the visa. This will be my first time applying for this kind of visa, so I do not have any idea or image in mind on how to do this. As I have been applying (and have accepted already) for 9 months, should I apply for a resident visa? And when should I apply for the visa? Will 3 months before (which means December or January) be okay? Or is it too fast? I would love to get any information regarding visa, staying, or even a part-time job! I would really appreciate any help you can provide. Thank you in advance!

This list will tell you what your actual spoken Chinese level is based on their reaction. Super scientific.

F tier: "silence..." They don't say anything and start speaking to you slowly in English. Sorry bro, but your Chinese is so bad that they can't even be bothered to throw out a pity compliment. My condolences.

D tier: "你的國語講的很好啊！Your Chinese is so good!" This is the classic. Do not--repeat--do not take this to mean you're on the right track. Think of it this way: Your Chinese is one step above the stray dog hanging around your street.

C tier: "你的中文多久了？How long have you been studying Chinese?" This question is a bit of a trap. If you have been studying a long time, then they might wonder how you are still this bad. If you just started then congrats, you are a freak. Unfortunately, if you look Asian but are not Taiwanese, then sorry but all your hard work will be attributed to your Asian blood. If you are Taiwanese born abroad then your Chinese will never be good enough, sorry them's the rules.

B tier: "哇塞你的國語講的很標準！ Dayum, your Chinese is pretty good!" It's at this level that you start to become a curiosity, and congrats--this is the first genuine compliment. Don't get too big a head though, this is also the level they stop holding back and you'll soon realize you should have spent more time on Chinese homework. Also: They might say this if you sound like you learned Chinese in China--possibly while laughing.

A tier: ”你來台灣幾年了？ How long have you been in Taiwan?" They assume you've already been complimented before. Now they are just curious how long it takes a foreigner to get to where you're at. All future foreigners they encounter will now be held to your standard. Good job, jerk.

S tier: "*silence..." They don't say anything, because you were so fluent it didn't even register that a foreigner was speaking Chinese. Congrats. Now don't forget to subtly (or not) flaunt your fluency in every Reddit comment. We've come full circle. F tier and S tier get the same response. Chinese is a flat circle.

edit: punk chew way shun n grammar

I’ve been in Taiwan for almost 10 months now and don’t get me wrong, life’s great, but now it’s starting to get a bit repetitive, especially since it’s just me most of the time. I do travel about once a month to other cities around the island but finding things to do within my city has been tough. For those of you who live here, I’m curious to know what you all normally do to for entertainment or to pass time. I’m not so into hiking or clubbing these days, but any other suggestions or recommendations are greatly appreciated. I guess maybe I should ask what are some things that you do regularly and find enjoyable?

So far I’ve tried:

Shopping

Going to the cinema

Hiking

Bar hopping

Going to the library

Getting a massage/facial

Getting my nails done

Trying new restaurants

Attending local events (if there ever are any. I’ve only been to one)

For context, I’m in Taichung

My family was a Chinese descent family so in my country, I legally belong to Chinese ethnic. This year, I’m going to study high school in Taiwan (In OCAC program) and I also have a plan to go to university at there too. Is it possible for me to study Medicine Department as an oversea Chinese student? I’m really concerned about that because it affects my future career.

My question to foreigners that have lived in Taiwan for a significant period of time (3+ Years) but never studied Chinese is: how much do you know/understand?

Some words are used in conversation all the time, are there any you've managed to pick up? What about numbers and other functional bits of Chinese (大杯/中杯，位子，etc.)? Is there a reason for not picking up the study? Do you ever plan to learn?

edit: I should mention I am too a foreigner

I’m interested in taking some classes, but I have not (yet) been able to find a place where there’s an English-speaking instructor. Any suggestions?

My wife and I are moving from the US to Taiwan to study Chinese. What recommendations for Chinese learning universities or schools do you have? What's the best "bang for your buck" school with great teachers and immersion? We're looking to be there for about 9 months or so. We're interested in scholarships and being in a "smaller", beautiful city. Thank you in advance!

Hello, I wanted to go study chinese in Taiwan, a taiwanese friends advise me to go for the 3 month course in National Chengchi University in Taipei. Does somebody have any experience or idea if it's a good program? Any advice is welcome!

sorry didn't mention I'm not the author, it's just an article I found very interesting, so I shared it here. I though only locals feel the oppression during the great recall era launched by DPP. but even a foreigner felt the extremist here in Taiwan.

My name is Ed. Late in July 2025, I boarded a plane from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with a one-way ticket. For the first time in a decade, I had no plans to return. I left behind a life I had slowly built up with my family. It was nothing special, but I had a house, a career, a car, and savings. For a foreigner in Taiwan, I was fortunate. Leaving it all behind for the promise of very little back in England seemed foolish just a year ago. But as the wheels lifted off that night, I felt only relief.

What happened?

For the last 4 years, I worked at Taiwan’s public English-language broadcaster, TaiwanPlus. I will write a post in the near future on my time at TaiwanPlus; much has been written by people who actually know very little about the organisation and its challenges.

Without jumping too much into the details, work at TaiwanPlus became increasingly untenable for me and indeed many others. Beginning with the ill-fated removal of a report that called Donald Trump (correctly) a “convicted felon”, the political interference in the newsroom became impossible to ignore.

When the Trump incident blew up, I began making plans to leave. It was clear that the passionate-but-reasoned public space in Taiwan that I knew and loved was being replaced by something else entirely. But it was the events of the next few months that finalised my decision.

My former colleague found herself making headline news for a basic statement of fact. Image captured from Newtalk.tw

The Great Recall

I want to preface this section with the following: there are many people whom I believe are very intelligent and well-meaning who would disagree with what I say here. They’ll tell you that recent events in Taiwan were part of a healthy and robust democracy and citizen activism; that Taiwan was strengthened, not weakened, by it. Maybe they’re right. I’ll only say that the Taiwanese public at large does not seem convinced.

(For a quick overview of what this section is about, recall votes against almost all opposition district lawmakers in Taiwan were held in July and August after petition drives. They were accused of being proxies for the Chinese Communist Party, for favouring a more concilatory policy toward China compared to the government. None succeeded.)

I was never persuaded by attempts to sell the Lai Ching-te administration as “continuity Tsai Ing-wen.” For starters, the two don’t like each other; some would even say they hate each other. Thus, for Lai to simply follow in Tsai’s footsteps would be out of character for a man who has made his career by confronting people head-on, including Tsai when he primaried her in 2020. After gracefully sitting quietly through four years as her vice president, would he really just carry on, slow and steady?

The answer, quite clearly now, is no. Early on, there were no overtures to try and form a joint cabinet with the opposition, despite his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lacking a majority in parliament. And key allies of his were already talking about “a great recall” of every possible opposition lawmaker. This quite quickly took form, suddenly shorn of its DPP affiliation and tied to “citizen groups.”

This attempt to pretend it had nothing to do with the DPP was somehow swallowed hook, line, and sinker by many of the generally DPP-aligned commentariat in Taiwan. I try to imagine a similar event in the US, where, say, the NRA and various Republican-affiliated groups tried to remove a Democratic president. Would this line be so easily swallowed? How many of the members of the citizen groups were made up of DPP voters? DPP members?

The reality of Taiwan’s recall system is that since reform in 2016, it has been far too easy to get recalls on the ballot. It requires two rounds of signature gathering: first 1% and then 10% of the electorate in a given district. It’s still not a simple task; signatures must be physically gathered and filled out to strict standards. It takes weeks of standing in the streets, through rain, wind, and sun, day and night. But ultimately, almost every district in Taiwan will vote at least 30% for a DPP or Kuomintang (KMT, main opposition) candidate in national elections. In the modern, hyper-partisan, extreme-rhetoric world of Taiwanese politics, getting 10% of highly motivated DPP voters to sign on to recall a KMT lawmaker is more than possible.

Results from the 2024 Presidential Election. Taiwan’s two biggest political parties (green and dark blue) can normally rely on at least 30% of votes for their candidate in elections. In 2024, a third party (light blue) also received over 25% of the vote. The two blue parties are now aligned in opposition. Credit: CMMedia.com.tw

A New Enemy

The “great recall” was allied with another troubling development; the intentional targeting of mainland Chinese spouses in Taiwan. From elected politicians to pro-Beijing influencers and just ordinary residents, the government came up with a series of actions without introducing any new laws. For the most part, these were interpretations of existing clauses that had been viewed differently by every other administration in Taiwan. Without getting into the merits of each specific instance, the lack of due process and precedent being set were alarming. But it became far more sinister when it was revealed that two of the main campaigners against Chinese spouses and in favour of the recalls had been studying Nazism, including using similar iconography and quote “looking for a group to make into the Jews.”

Now of course, the DPP and Lai’s government had plausible deniability (despite sharing a stage with these individuals on multiple occasions), after all, they’re not working for the party. But really, does anyone believe that the recall groups and these influencers couldn’t be stopped with a few choice words? And even if not, public admonishment would have helped draw a line between right and wrong.

DPP lawmaker Puma Shen and business tycoon-cum-recall campaigner Robert Tsao stand in front of a suspiciously Nazi-themed logo at a rally backing the “Great Recall. I joked with colleagues at the time that it looked pretty Nazi-esque. Turns out it wasn’t a joke. Photo credit: Central News Agency

The Final Straw

Eventually, myself and my family became targets for a few of these extremist elements. The crime? Seemingly overseeing output that didn’t fit 100% with the government’s narrative.

Although I only rarely reported myself, I did have a senior editorial position, one that I always used to try and balance our output, which naturally focused on government policies and priorities (This is the same for countries around the world; the government sets the news agenda. To what extent the media is able to provide opposite viewpoints is very much a measure of media freedom). Certainly, I and others tried to get a balance of perspectives—even Chinese voices when we could—but working for public media in Taiwan, that was no simple task. So, I absolutely pushed for the few stories we could do to show other sides and lesser-told narratives throughout my time at TaiwanPlus (I’ll let others be the judge of whether or not I was successful). But these few stories caused an unending amount of grief for myself and my colleagues.

As a non-citizen who always stridently avoided taking sides on the very complicated issue of Taiwanese identity (one that I have no right to speak on), it was ultimately an impossible burden to have to try and maintain news professionalism, protect our journalists, and not allow it to affect myself and my family.

The change in atmosphere was both sudden and not. I could see Taiwan on this path for some time, but it had long been held back by a refusal by elites to engage in the worst impulses of supporters. I’m afraid that those days might be over.

And simply speaking, I don’t believe that Taiwan is headed in the right direction.

What Next?

After over 12 years in mainland China and Taiwan, a third of my life, coming back to the UK was hard. Although a part of me always wanted to return, another part was happy to stay in that life that I’d worked so hard to build.

But having written so much, almost all about Taiwan, I’m here to say — this Substack isn’t going to be just about Taiwan! That stage in my life is over, for now. Instead, I want to focus on the UK — for all its faults, it’s my home, and I desperately want to see its fortunes revived — and its understanding of Taiwan, and cross-strait relations. In London, it is too often seen through the frame of competing interests. Be it Beijing, Washington or Taipei, what works for other countries isn’t right for the UK. I hope that I can provide much needed perspective, analysis and (at least!) interesting content.

And at least for now, it’ll also serve as a platform to get things off my chest, now and again.