Taiwan: China, but not China

 One of many building-sized billboard in downtown Kaohsuing

Taiwan is a bit of an oddity. To the Taiwanese, it is an independent country called the Republic of China. To the Chinese, it's a province of the People's Republic of China. To the rest of the world, it depends on how your government recognizes each place. During the height of the Cold War, most of the world recognized Taiwan as the Republic of China, completely ignoring the Godless Communists of Mainland China. The list of countries that officially recognizes Taiwan as the Republic of China shrinks daily, thanks to the Mainland's economic clout and massive pool of cheap labor that other countries want to exploit. To further confuse matters, countries that move their official recognition to Mainland China still maintain "Economic Trade" offices in Taiwan. These offices are actually embassies in disguise because if you recognize the Mainland as "China," it cannot also recognize Taiwan as "China." Because of that, Mainland China has all most of the world's embassies while Taiwan is home to a very long list of trade offices. Basically, it's a huge diplomatic tap dance that tries to keep everyone happy.

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung

Despite the political/diplomatic quagmire and the complex history that makes Taiwan what it is today, it is still  Chinese in culture, with a few differing cultural characteristics which makes the Taiwanese markedly different from their Mainland counterparts.

To further illustrate this, a brief history of Taiwan is necessary. After being colonized or conquered by a few different countries over the centuries (the Portuguese and Dutch claimed the island at different points in history), Taiwan ended up under Japanese control for 50 years from 1895 to 1945. After the Second World War, an international tribunal determined that Taiwan should be returned to China (Mainland China, that is). This was a bittersweet moment for the Taiwanese. Although they were controlled by a foreign government, Taiwan prospered and developed well under Japanese rule while Mainland China remained undeveloped. Making matters worse, Taiwan was handed back to the Mainland while the country was in the midst of the civil war between the ruling Kuomintang party and Mao Zedong's Communist forces.

When the communists defeated the Kuomintang on the Mainland, Chiang Kai Shek and the remainder of his forces fled to Taiwan where he stubbornly entrenched himself as the President of the Republic of China. Rather than following Chiang to Taiwan and defeating him there, Mao let Chiang operate in Taiwan. Unfortunately for Mao, the rest of the world was slow to recognize his government as the People's Republic of China. That basically brings us to where we are today.

Wendy at the top of the Dragon Pagoda

If you have ever spent any time in Mainland China, the differences are often subtle - much like the differences between Canada and the US. The Taiwanese are more worldly. They don't live behind the Great Firewall of China, so they have far more contact with the rest of the world - and none of the Mainland's propaganda. Taiwan has a well established middle class, so the spread between rich and poor is not as evident in the Mainland. The Taiwanese are more polite than their mainland counterparts (you can really see the Japanese influence come through here). They bow like the Japanese, politely stand in line or take a number, speak quieter...the list goes on. This is not to say the Mainland Chinese are impolite - they just have a different set of values regarding what is polite. One thing the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese have in common is they will kill you with kindness and hospitality.

For the visible differences between Taiwan and China, Taiwan is much cleaner. The cities seem more organized (from an engineering/infrastructure standpoint), the driving is less crazy (but still very chaotic compared to Western standards).

A colorful 22-meter statue of the God Xuantian, which houses a Daoist temple.

Going to the other end of the spectrum, Taiwan is more "Chinese" that Mainland China in some ways. Unlike Mainland China which was plundered of its historic architecture during the cultural revolution, Taiwan is home to countless pieces of classic Chinese architecture - temples, pagodas, courtyard homes, etc. It's difficult to walk any distance here in Kaohsiung without passing a temple of some sort.

So that's my take on Taiwan so far. It's only been a month and we've only been in one city so far and I'm sure I'll discover more differences and similarities as time goes by.

For more photos from Kaohsiung, go to http://www.facebook.com/lenlangevin#!/album.php?aid=427709&id=850395130