Taiwan
People and Culture
History
Communist victory in Chinese Civil War leads to evacuation of Kuomintang government to Taiwan, along with about two million refugees. Mainlanders dominate island until the end of martial law in 1987.
Current Facts
Population 23,359,928
Ethnic groups: Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%
Religions: mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1%
male: NA
female: NA (2003)
Health Statistics:
Birth rate8.55 births/1,000 population
Death rate6.97 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 79.84 years
male: 76.72 years
female: 83.2 years
Daily Life and Cuisine
Steam Dumplings
An array of Taiwanese food
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Jobs
The class system includes the unemployed poor, beggars, and the underworld; the upper and lower bourgeoisie; and the working and middle classes. The upper bourgeoisie constitutes 5 percent of the population and include high-ranking government officials, officials who run large state-owned companies, and the owners of companies that employ more than two hundred people. The petty bourgeoisie makes up half the population and includes farmers, small businesspeople, and artisans
Family
The ideal family type is the grand or joint family, a family that includes a father, a mother, single children, and married brothers and their families living together under one roof. However, for this type of family to succeed, it must be wealthy and have a strong patriarch, business interests, compliant daughters-in-law, and lineage support. The most common family unit is the stem family, consisting of the parents and a married son, a daughter-in-law, and their children.
Clothing
They like to wear cute/strange clothing with random english words on it. Taiwanese clothing also includes mix matching different patterns.
School
Senior high school runs three years from Grades 10 through 12 and constitutes the first part of what the ministry describes as the ‘mainstream national education system.’ Students attend either a senior high school or a senior vocational school. Senior vocational schools offer courses in areas such as agriculture, industry, business, maritime studies, marine products, medicine, nursing, home economics, drama and art. Students are required to attend a military education class covering issues such as civil defence, military drills, national defence, and basic firearms training. The main academic focus is to score highly on national university entrance exams at the end of the third year.
Housing
Mandarin Hostel offers small, fully equipped apartments for short-term stays around the city of Taipei. One of the best places to find housing is where foreigners congregate. For most singles, the incredible low quality of the housing won't be an issue. Not until one is married with kids does one really begin to notice how bad the housing situation in Taiwan truly is.
Transportation
The public transit system in Taiwan is excellent. Most Taiwanese people utilize a combination of buses and trains when getting around in the cities.Taxis are ubiquitous in Taiwan and ready to take you where you need to go. There are multiple trains that run from the top to the bottom of Taiwan.