My Life Experience In Taiwan
Just turned eighteen, I had two goals: explore the world and get to know myself a little bit more. Picking Taiwan as my starting point was one of the smartest thing I’ve done in my life.
Before the undergraduate study, I’ve visited Taiwan for two times and completely amazed by its feasts of snacks and thriving traditions. But I soon realized that studying and living here, is totally another thing than simply traveling with my outdated Lonely Planet. The misunderstanding and inimical attitudes towards China in Taiwan are far worse than I thought, which I used to thought only exist in western countries. Classmates would make fun of me for being Chinese. Does China have subways? Do Chinese still take opium? Do you guys wait in line? I would laugh it off because they were always a ‘joke’, and if I didn’t I was being ‘too sensitive’. But in reality, it made me feel horrible. I’ve never felt so disappointed and vulnerable before.
To be fair, I’m not faulting the Taiwanese. Same thing happens here in China too. Political parties leverage the power of media to shape public opinions and block news that could cease their authorities. I eventually pulled myself together and embraced the cultural challenges. Instead of getting used to them, I decided to answer those disrespectful questions directly in details. I hope Taiwanese students could realize the underlying factors behind the extreme wealth inequality, political corruption, and uneducated citizens issues, instead of just mocking them. I’ve never expected to dig so deep into the racial identity issue during my four-year study in this small Asian island. But through these struggles of communication, I do get a more complete image towards my born country. At first, I got to know more about the dictatorship, the corruption, the dark sides of it. Then a little bit of the bright sides. Eventually, I learned to stay neutral, developing a neutral opinion of it.
During these four years, Taiwan hit me with everything it had. A few months after I arrived, the first female Taiwanese president was elected. A year later, Taiwan became the first Asian country that legalizes gay marriage. Next came typhoons, earthquakes, food safety issues and tensions with China. Taiwan. I’m in deep affinity of Taiwan’s shared embrace of democracy, free press, gender equality and respect for human rights. And all these precious values had built a strong foundation in my personal identity that I expect to continuously expand as I start my master degree in the United States.
