Taiwan's culture   (Chinese culture in Taiwan)  
    
  this site's world No. 1 in  2020~24,  2017~19 2016,  2015, 2014, 2013 2010~12      Top  since 1998    
 


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Taiwan

         Taiwan culture

not included in list of UN cultural heritage

   

  New York Times, 2023-8-8: For the most part, Taiwanese people seem to be at ease with their Chinese heritage. In the political debate, Taiwanese nationalists often emphasize the existence of the Indigenous groups as evidence that Taiwan has its unique origins, of which the Chinese culture is only a part... Even though the Indigenous groups make up only 2 percent of Taiwan's population, they’re an important part in the narrative of Taiwanese nationhood. nytimes.com/2023/08/08/business/taiwan-cuisine.html

 

   Economist, 2023-12-27:  Teacher Ou criticism:“Taiwanese culture is Chinese culture”, she says, noting that Taiwan preserved this shared heritage in its “purest form” while it was being destroyed on the mainland during the Cultural Revolution. She accuses the DPP of undermining young people’s confidence in their culture: “They will think everything about us is backwards, and that our values must come from the West.” economist.com/asia/2023/12/27/china-is-stoking-a-controversy-in-order-to-influence-taiwans-election   
  le Monde (2023-12-29) comments that it's the government's desire to assert Taiwanese identity. lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/12/29/taiwan-questions-the-role-of-chinese-literature-and-history-in-education_6384023_4.html 
   SCMP, 2023-12-29: The opposition parties have called cuts to classical Chinese content (學校削減文言文) part of a government 'de-sinicisation' campaign Ko Wen-je, the head of Taiwan People's Party (TPP) said "Taiwan and mainland China came from the same race, same history, religion and culture. Though their political systems and ways of life are different today, there is no need to cut the link because of the competition between the two sides"   msn.com/en-xl/news/other/shameless-controversy-over-cuts-to-classical-chinese-content-in-taiwan-s-schools-heats-up-presidential-race/ar-AA1mdmYV  Lawrence Chung

 

  The Hill, 2023-12-28  : Long a melting pot of Asian and European cultures, Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years until 1945.

 

culture about women, sex

New York Times, 2023-7-27: our society remains patriarchal and hierarchical. Under Confucian values, women obey their fathers and their brothers and eventually their husbands. People are expected to respect and yield to their elders and superiors — in short, the powers that be... In a collectivist culture like ours, the burden of being nice and preserving group harmony falls on those with less power and authority  nytimes.com/2023/07/27/opinion/taiwan-women-metoo.html 

Reuters, 2023-7-28: Despite Taiwan's reputation as a progressive bastion in a conservative region - the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage...to confront a problem long shrouded in shame and silence.   Victims of abuse often stay silent due to what experts say is a tradition of victim-blaming, cultural pressure, and unequal power relationships.   .reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/years-after-metoo-first-swept-world-taiwan-races-respond-2023-07-28/   Sarah Wu   
 DW (Germany), 2023-6-13:  Taiwan's culture remains conservative, and chauvinism still exists in workplaces and politics. # MeToo victims may be "judged" by the public for sharing details....they may not be treated justly, ...the existing mechanisms are inadequate, which prompts the victims to reveal their experiences online  dw.com/en/metoo-in-taiwan-exposes-a-hidden-culture-of-harassment/a-65903757  William Yang
Economist, 2023-6-22: 
Taiwanese women who are abused convince themselves “that it’s no big deal”. A survey in 2021 found that 82% of women sexually harassed in the workplace did not make formal complaints.  Nearly half of those who kept quiet had “brushed it off as a joke”.  economist.com/culture/2023/06/22/a-tv-drama-about-taiwanese-politics-has-sparked-a-social-reckoning
 ABC Australia, 2023-6-24: Young women, since they were children, they are already taught to protect themselves, or try to tolerate this kind of inconvenience (accept harassment).  Sexual harassment and sexual assault are prevalent in all kinds of power relationships.  abc.net.au/news/2023-06-24/taiwan-metoo-movement-triggered-by-netflix-show-wave-makers/102505174 
 The Guardian (UK), 2023-6-8:  the deeply patriarchal norms that still govern Taiwanese society.  #MeToo victims in the dark and perpetrators enjoying impunity”.  In formal legal proceedings they were unlikely to succeed. "  theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/08/taiwan-ruling-party-rocked-sexual-harassment-claims-metoo AmyHawk

 

 

MSN, 2022-11-1: Taiwan's cultural legacy is a combination of Chinese, Japanese, aboriginal, Dutch, and contemporary influences.   msn.com/en-sg/travel/news/post-restrictions-travel-guide-to-taiwan/ar-AA13z1Bl   

 

SCMP, 2022-8-23: Beijing's sorties across the median line responded to Taiwan's "diplomatic salami" ; Taiwan was also inching away from the status quo with its history textbooks for schoolchildren downplaying a China-centric view of history on the island

XinHua, 2022-9-10: The series of cross-Strait intangible cultural heritage exchange activities were first held in 2009. Since then, various cultural treasures from several provincial-level regions, including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hunan, have been introduced to Taiwan people through this platform 

english.news.cn/20220910/eccf041b003d41e59bf496aa0cfd4f0a/c.html

 

cultural artifacts of Taiwan's National Palace Museum

 

nThe Guardian, WION, 2022-11-1: the National Palace Museum  is home to the world’s largest collection of Chinese artefacts.  NPM admits breaking artefacts worth over $70 milliomsn.com/en-in/news/world/taiwan-national-palace-museum-admits-breaking-artefacts-worth-over-70-million/ar-AA13APIG


nGlobal Times, 2022-10-31:
Those cultural treasures in NPM have become the cultural link and historical bonds that cannot be cut off between the Taiwan island and the Chinese mainland. Signs indicate that it's no accident that such incidents have happened one after another in recent years. The root cause is that the DPP authorities' promotion of "de-Sinicization" in the Taiwan island has seriously affected the protection and management of cultural relics  globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1278338.shtml
nChina Times, 2022-10-30, editorial:  NPM was questioned bad-management or even stealing & selling some artifacts 
chinatimes.com/opinion/20221029003036-262101?chdtv
nUK's Telegraph at 3-13-2015 :  "Curiously, one of the world’s greatest collections of Chinese antiquities is not in China – but across the Strait in Taiwan.".

 

DW (Germany), 2022-8-17 Taiwan considers evacuating cultural artifacts amid China tensions; National Palace Museum denied these rumors in a statement  dw.com/en/taiwan-considers-evacuating-cultural-artifacts-amid-china-tensions/a-62836646
Global Times, 2022-8-9  CNN on July 30 revealed that "in the event of an evacuation, the museum said it would focus on saving around 90,000 relics from its 700,000-strong collection, prioritizing artifacts of higher value and those that take up less space...  to the US and Japan....it hard to dispel public concerns....The relics are  cultural heritage of the 5,000 years of Chinese history, and once sent abroad, it will be difficult to get them back,  The museum's collection will be better off if it remains where it is in the event of an "attack from the Chinese mainland," suggested Feng Ming-chu, former curator of the museum   globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1272494.shtml
China Times, 2022-8-13  "真正的護國神山在故宮" / according to world scholars' opinions, China won't attack Taiwan by nuclear bomb as long as those cultural artifacts remain in Taiwan.   chinatimes.com/opinion/20220813002769-262101?chdtv   

 

  abc news (Australia), 2022-9-8: Amid China's military and diplomatic isolation, Taiwan turns to films and games to reconnect with the world.  Taiwan was still "in its early days" of building soft power.  While Taiwan's government had been aware of investing in soft power for a long time, there was a lack of coordinated strategy between different ministerial departments. "The DPP did put more of a focus on things like multiculturalism and democracy, whereas the KMT focuses a little bit more on the Chinese base to Taiwanese culture" ; In 2020, Taiwan reported $44.7 billion in revenue from its creative industry, with a 9.83 per cent increase in overseas sales on the previous year.  msn.com/en-au/news/australia/amid-chinas-military-and-diplomatic-isolation-taiwan-turns-to-films-and-games-to-reconnect-with-the-world/ar-AA11zOGi


 BBC, 2-10-2021, "Why Taiwan has 'luck-improvement services' ": There’s a pervasive idea running through Chinese culture that things aren’t random, Stevan Harrell, emeritus anthropology professor at the University of Washington said, “There’s a belief in order: there’s some sort of order behind everything.” Many people believed in a simple maxim: “tian zhuding” (“heaven decides”). 

Some higher power has plans for each person on Earth, traditional Chinese belief also holds that “heaven never seals off all the exits” – there is always a way out.  “We call [this attitude of openness] ‘youbai youbaoyou’,” (有拜有保庇)“, It doesn’t matter if you believe in gods. If you pray, you’ll be blessed.” So, even the upscale Eslite Bookstore has a cosmological self-help section chock full of do-it-yourself fate-improvement guides. 

People in the Chinese-speaking world seem particularly preoccupied with luck, from boarding gates to high-stakes baccarat tables and school exams to political races, (Even politicians are compelled to publicly try their luck, visiting temples to draw fortune sticks ...) Yet while many countries have their own superstitions and rituals.   brief http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210210-chinas-enduring-obsession-with-luck  

 

 The China Times 12-24-2017 headline & focus news:  Taiwan's culture like a mouse in circles still stay in same place,   Taiwan's De-Sinicization policy gave up rich Chinese cultural background and history ... so as to lose advantage in cultural-creativity battlefield.   

 

台灣VS韓國文創產值
pic.1 Taiwan VS Korea, in Publications, Movies, TV, Ads., Pop music , CTN 12-24-2017 (Korea -red bar, Taiwan - blue bar )

 CTN comments that Taiwan's cultural & creative industry has nothing but slogans and many argues.  The total value of Taiwan's cultural & creative production was far behind of that of Korea, Korea's value in publication is about 6 times larger than Taiwan's,  Film industry 6 times, TV 3.5 times, Advertising 3 times, Pop-music 6 times bigger than Taiwan's, according to statistics by Taiwan government and reports by headline news of the China Times at 12-24-2017.  

 

 CTN comments that Taiwan lacks of updated related laws and policy no focus, no direction, no institute, original creativity is not encouraged, the industry field is divided, without integrated marketing.   Taiwan's De-Sinicization policy gave up rich Chinese cultural background and history ......   


The output value of Taiwan's cultural & creative production in '12 - '13 declined 9.28%, in contrast, Taiwan's neighbor countries increased, China 14.27%, Malaysia, Philippines 8+%, Korea 0.65% ... Taiwan's cultural & creative industry even failed to create a "bubble", the reason is lacking of original creativity. / The China Times, 8-15-2017 

 

★  cultural heritage     

 

 

 ●   UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage    /    https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists

ranks

Asian country heritage items selected
1 China 40
2 Korea 24
3 Japan 20
4 Mongolia 15
5 India 13
6 Indonesia 10
7 Saudi Arabia 8
8 Cambodia 5
9 Philippines 4
10 Qatar 3
10 Malaysia 3
10 Pakistan 3
13  Thai 2
14 Singapore 1
14 Sri Lanka 1
14 Vietnam 1
14 UAE 1

18~3X

Myanmar, Laos, Nepal 0
Taiwan 0
    Taiwan is doing De-sinicization (getting rid of Chinese culture) for political reason.  

◆    sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-hawker-culture-gets-nod-included-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list-140941296.html  12-16-2020: Singapore’s hawker culture was officially approved on Wednesday (16 December) to be inscribed into UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.  The biggest thanks must go to the generations of hawkers for nourishing a nation’s stomach and spirits.   Taiwan is proud of its night market culture, but was not selected.

  Washington Post, 2-17-2021:Today, 98 % of Taiwanese are ethnic Han Chinese... 

there has been a shift among younger generations who increasingly do not feel China’s emotional pull but rather embrace their home island’s history, and its Indigenous culture, as an expression of being distinctly Taiwanese.
Indigenous artists (
related to the Austronesian peoples) shine as Taiwan’s mainstream embraces its island identity.

 

 

★  Food culture     

 

2022  Michelin stars comparisons among Asian countries

 Michelin cities

number of 3 stars

num. of 2 stars

number of 1 star

total num.

Tokyo (Japan) 12 41 150 203
Hong Kong 7 12 52 71
Kyoto (Japan) 6 19 83 108
Osaka (Japan) 3 11 82 96
Singapore 3 7 41 51
Macau 3 5 7 15
Seoul (Korea) 2 7 24 33
Shanghai (China) 2 8 37 47
Taipei (Taiwan) 1 6 24 31
TaiChung City (Taiwan) 0 1 4 5
Kaohsiung (Taiwan) 0 0 2 2
TaiNan City(Taiwan) 0 0 0 0
Users/88695/Downloads/20220830_PR-MG_TTTK-2022.pdf
guide.michelin.com/th/en/article/news-and-views/michelin-guide-singapore-2022-new-starred-restaurants
   2022-7-12
guide.michelin.com/en/article/news-and-views/michelin-guide-seoul-2022-eng

guide.michelin.com/hk/en/article/news-and-views/michelin-guide-hong-kong-macau-2022-unveiled-today-with-11-newly-starred-restaurants
guide.michelin.com/en/article/news-and-views/the-michelin-guide-kyoto-osaka-2022-is-unveiled-en
michelin.com/en/press-releases/michelin-guide-2022-shanghai/
guide.michelin.com/en/article/news-and-views/michelin-guide-tokyo-2022-eng    
2021-11-29


Taipei Times, 2022-9-10,  Liberty Times (Taiwan), 2022-8-30, editorial :
 This year’s Bib Gourmand list for Taiwan includes more than 20 types of cuisine. With Taiwanese cuisine accounting for as high as 30 percent of the total ...
Taiwan's cuisine / 
Indigenous diets are characterized by taro, yam, millet, wild vegetables and herbs, wild boar and seafood. Early Han Chinese immigrants, predominantly from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, introduced their traditional foods to Taiwan, adding a range of new delicacies to the national cuisine. The Japanese colonial era brought a smorgasbord of new flavors and textures to Taiwan, including sashimi, oden (various ingredients simmered in a soy-flavored dashi broth) and boxed meals containing steamed rice and side dishes. At the end of the Chinese Civil War, 2 million Han Chinese arrived on Taiwan’s doorstep and brought with them the eating customs and cuisines of northern and southern China
   ...  
talk.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1537171    taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2022/09/10/2003785064
 

 

full details:  restaurants 

 

 

 

 

★   Soft Power     

 

Taiwan's soft power  vs.  Asia's soft power

Till 2020, Taiwan has not been included in Monocle's Soft Power survey top 25 ranking list and Top 30 Soft Power by Portland, etc,  Taiwan's soft power is behind Asian's "world top 20" nations , including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, China, India, UAE. 
   for details : click Soft Power
 

world best surveys Taiwan's rankings
in top 25~30 list
comparison with
other Asia & Pacific countries
Brand Finance -  Global soft power Index 2022 failed top 10 1. US, 2. UK, 3. Germany, 4. China, 5. Japan, 6. France, 7. Canada, 8. Swiss, 9. Russia, 10. Italy
ISSF's World Soft Power 2022 failed top 10 1. US 2. France, 3. Germany, 4. Japan, 5. UK, 6. Swiss, 7. Italy, 8. S. Korea, 9. Spain, 10. China,11.India,12. Sweden, 13. Canada, 14. Australia, 15. Denmark
Brand Finance -  Global soft power Index 2021 failed 1. Germany,  2. Japan, 3. UK, 4. Canada, 5. Swiss, 6. US, 7 France, 8. China, 9. Sweden, 10. Australia, 11. Korea, 12 Holland, 13.  Russia, 14. Norway, 15. Denmark, 16 NZ, 17. UAE, 18. Iceland,    19. Italia, 20. Singapore
US News: 2021 Best Countries Overall failed top 10 2. Japan,  5. Australia   7. New Zealand
2020 Brand Finance -  Global soft power Index ,
 top 60
n/c https://brandirectory.com  No. 4 Japan, 5 China, 13 Aus,  14 Korea,  18 UAE,  20 Singapore,  22 NZ,  26 SA 27 India
 
 2019/2020 
Top 30 SOFT POWER by Portland
 not included No. 8 Japan, No.9  Australia, No. 17 New Zealand,  No. 19  S Korea, No. 21 Singapore, No. 27 China
US News: 2020 Best Countries Overall
The Best Countries in the World
n/c No.3 Japan, No.5  Australia, No. 11 New Zealand,
No. 15 China, No. 16 Singapore , No. 20  Korea,
No.22 UAE , No.25  India,  No. 26  Thailand,
No. 30  Qatar
2018/2019 Monocle's Soft Power survey  not included No. 3 Japan, No.8  Australia, No. 11 New Zealand, No.15 Korea, No. 19 China,  No. 21  Singapore,  No. 25 India
2018/2019 Soft Power 30 Study by USC Center on Public Diplomacy  not included No.5 Japan, No. 10 Australia, No. 18 NZ, No. 20 S. Korea, No. 21 Singapore, No. 27 China
2017/2018 Monocle's Soft Power survey  not included No. 4 Japan, No.9 Australia, No. 13 New Zealand, No.17 Korea, No. 19 China,  No. 22 Singapore, No. 24 India
2017/2018 Soft Power 30 Study by USC Center on Public Diplomacy  not included No.6. Japan,  No. 8. Australia,  18. NZ,  No. 20 Singapore, No. 21 S. Korea,  No. 25.  China
2016/2017 Monocle's
Soft Power survey
 not included No. 3 Japan, No.6 Australia, No. 13 New Zealand, No.17 Korea, No. 20 China,  No. 23 Singapore, No. 24 India
2015/2016 Monocle's
 Soft Power survey
 not included No. 4 Japan, No.6 Australia, No. 13 New Zealand, No.15 Korea, No. 21 China,  No. 23 Singapore
 

 

 

  According to a survey of 2020, Singapore ranks No.1, Japan No.7, Korea No. 9 on "enterprise",  Japan ranks No. 5, China No.10 on "engagement", Korea ranks No. 5 on "digital", Japan ranks No.6, China No. 8 on "culture", No any Asian country ranks top 10 on "education" and "govt."
 

Best Countries overall in 2020:  1 Swiss 2 Canada 3 Japan  4 Germany  5  Australia  6  UK  7 USA  8 Sweden  9 Nederland  10  Norway  11 NZ  12 France  13 Denmark  14  Finland  15 China  16 Singapore  17  Italy  18  Austria  19 Spain  20  Korea  21  Luxembourg   22 UAE  23  Russia  24 Portugal  25  India  26  Thailand  27  Greece  28  Brazil  29  Israel  30  Qatar  31  Saudi Arabia   32 Malaysia   33 Mexico  34  Poland  35  Turkey


 



 

★   Livable     

 

Economist, EIU, THE GLOBAL LIVEABILITY INDEX 2022

Biggest movers down the ranking in the past 12 month

Taipei (Taiwan) ranks world No. 53 

  City Location Rank Index Rank Move Index Move
1 Wellington New Zealand 50  85.7  -46  -8.0
2 Auckland New Zealand   34  89.2 -33  -6.8
3 Adelaide Australia 30  90.7 -27 -3.3
8 Taipei Taiwan  53 85.1 -20  1.2
 
 

 
world's most livable cities  ... include Taiwan's ?
Till 2020, Taiwan has not been included in the top ranking list of the world's most livable cities  

 

 

 

world's most livable cities
world best surveys Taiwan's rankings
in top list
comparison with
other Asia & Pacific countries
EIU's Global Liveability Ranking 2022 failed top 10 1. Vienna 2. Copenhagen 3. Zurich 4. Calgary 5. Vancouver 6. Geneva 7. Frankfurt 8. Toronto 9. Amsterdam 10. Osaka
The World's Best Cities to Live In 2022 failed top 10 1. London, 2. Tokyo, 3. Shanghai, 4. Singapore, 5. Melbourne, 6. Sydney, 7. Paris, 8. Beijing, 9. NY, 10. Amsterdam
The EIU's Global Livability Index Ranking   2021 failed top 10  
The World's Best Cities to Live In 2020 failed top 10 1. Tokyo Japan, 3. Singapore, 5. Melbourne Australia, 8 Seoul Korea, 10. Sydney Australia
Monocle's Quality of Life survey 2021 9 Taipei 1. Denmark, 2. Swiss, 3. Helsinki, Finland, 4. Stockholm Sweden, 5. Tokyo, Japan, 6. Vienna  7 Lisbon, 8. Auckland, 9 Taipei, 10. Sydney
 
 The EIU's Global Livability Index Ranking   2019  failed in the top 50 No.2  Melbourne,  No.3  Sydney,  No.4 Osaka (Japan), No. 7 Tokyo,  No.10  Adelaide,  No.12 Auckland (NZ),   No.15 Wellington (NZ),   18 Brisbane  (Aus) ,    No. 38 Hong Kong,  No. 40 Singapore,   No.57  Seoul (Korea),  Taipei behind   
Monocle's Quality of Life survey 2019 failed in the top list

https://monocle.com/film/affairs/quality-of-life-survey-top-25-cities-2019/

No.2 Tokyo (Japan),  No.11 Melbourne (Australia), No.13 Sydney,  No.16 Hong Kong,  No.17 Kyoto (Japan),  No.21 Auckland (NZ), No.22 Fukuoka (Japan),  23 Brisbane,  25 Singapore
Deutsche Bank Liveability Survey
not included in the top list
https://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/RPS_EN-PROD/PROD0000000000494405/Mapping_the_world%27s_prices_2019.pdf
 
No. 2 Wellington (NZ),    No. 7 Melbourne ( Australia ),  No.10 Sydney,   No.14 Tokyo  No.16 Auckland (NZ),  No.17 Dubai (UAE), No. 23 Singapore,   No. 26 Saudi Arabia Riyadh,  No. 29 Seoul (Korea),  No. 33 India Bangalore,  No. 39 Malaysia  Kuala Lumpur,   44 Hong Kong,   46 India Delhi,  No. 48   Shanghai (China), No. 55 Beijing
Safe Cities Index (SCI)  2019,   EIU (Economist UK), NEC failed in the top 20 No.1  Tokyo, No.2  Singapore, No.3 Osaka (Japan),  No.5 Sydney (Aus), No. 8 Seoul (Korea), No10 Melbourne, No. 20 Hong Kong  
ArchDaily / The World's Most Livable Cities in 2019 failed in the top 20 No. 3. Auckland, New Zealand, 11. Sydney, Australia,  No.15. Wellington, New Zealand , No.17. Melbourne, Australia  
 The EIU's Global Livability Index Ranking   2018  failed in the top 50 No.2 Melbourne (Australia),  No.3  Osaka (Japan),  No. 7  Tokyo (Japan) ,  No.10       Adelaide  (Australia),   No.12 Auckland (NZ)    Wellington (NZ) ... ... (omitted),  Taipei 58
 The EIU's Global Liveability Index Ranking   2017  failed in the top 50  No.1  Melbourne,  No. 5  Adelaide,  No. 7  Perth,
No. 8 Auckland (NZ),  No.11 Sydney,  No.13  Tokyo,  No.  14  Osaka,  No.16 Brisbane,   No. 20 Wellington (NZ),  No. 35 Singapore,  No.45  Hong Kong,  No.58  Seoul (Korea),  No.60   Taipei  
     

EIU (Economist UK)'s  Global Liveability Index evaluates stability, healthcare, culture&environment,  education,   Infrastructure of each country

 


 


 

★   Taiwan culture     

 

 

according to Taiwan's government, Taiwan's cultures include 12 categories ―    some are not today's Taiwanese cultures.
Taiwan cultures

Official views by
Taiwan's Government (GIO)

this website's view

The Aesthetics of Architecture  Major architectures of Taiwan :
◎ Taipei 101
◎ Taoyuan Int'l Airport (not GIO's rpt. )
◎ Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,
◎ the Grand Hotel
◎ Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
◎ Main Stadium for the Kaohsiung
   World Games
have all taken their place in Taiwan's skyline.
◎ Taipei 101's appearance is not exquisite enough, was commented by western experts as an ugly building.
◎ Taoyuan Int'l Airport looks like US Washington Dulles int'l airport.  (ps: modified already, not reconstructed)
◎ Main Stadium for the Kaohsiung World Games is conceived of by Japan's Toyo Ito.
◎  Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall,  the Grand Hotel and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall are ancient Chinese style works
Popular Food Taiwan's cuisine includes eight main categories:

(1)Holo (also called “Minnanese,” or simply “Taiwanese”),
(2) Hakka, and vegetarian foods,
(3) the various cooking styles with long histories from the length and breadth of mainland China such as northern style, and below :
(4)  the province of Hunan
(5)  the province of Jiangsu
(6)  the province of Zhejiang
(7)  the province of Sichuan.
(8)  Hong Kong (Cantonese)

According to Discovery US, Taiwanese cuisine is endowed with some of the best culinary skills from mainland Chinese, Japanese, aboriginal food, etc, and has developed horizontally (more diversity), but not developed upward to make exquisite food.

Taiwan's night markets street/road snacks are very popular to Taiwanese and red Chinese tourists.  
Best-known night markets & popular stall-snacks include : 
(1) Taipei
Shilin (Deep fried chicken fillet stall, etc) night market
(2) Taipei
NingXia (best oyster omelet in taiwan )
(3) Kaohsiung
city ― LioHo  (seafood soft-rice, etc)
(4) TaiChung
city― FengChia (creative snacks)
(5) Taipei
HuaHsi Street ('Snake Alley' sometimes serves bizarre : snake blood & meat, deer penis wine, turtle etc )
(6) Keelung
city ― MiaoKou
(7) ILAN
Lotong
(Perhaps some of them are not
trans-fat-free ...till now middle 2011)

Taiwan's Chinese-cuisine restaurants:
(1) DinTaiFung(鼎泰豐) - but they admitted at May 9, 2012 that using MSG, as far as I know lots of Westerners don't like MSG.
(2) YinYih(銀翼): HuaiYang cuisines, 1951 till present
(3) Celestial (天廚): Beijing cuisine like roast duck (tel 02-25632380)
(4) PengYuan(彭園) : HuNan province cuisine (tel 02-25519157)
(5) ChinYuan(黔園) : Sichuan province cuisine (addr: 39 Ln.25, HunDin Rd.)
(6) RoonGi (隆記) : Shanghai cuisine 1952 till present (tel 02-23315078)
(7) Chili House restaurant (四川吳炒手) : Sichuan province cuisine (tel 02-27216088)
(8) BeefNoodle master(永康牛肉麵) (tel 02-23892369)
(9) 人和園 : YunNan, GuiZhou area cuisine
(10) ycyf.com.tw(億長御坊) - traditional cuisines (02-23930383)
(11) 5 star hotels usually have high class Chinese-cuisine restaurants.

Taiwan's "Pig's blood cake" was selected as "world's Top 10 weird food" by UK's <Virtual Tourist> in 2009.

Other widely known cuisines are stinky tofu (Western people think it tastes like athletic feet or some stinky cheese ), oyster omelet (so called Viagra for Taiwanese by Discovery TV program ), bubble tea/pearl milk tea (one store is popular in some city in Germany but bubble tea in Taiwan maybe too much sugar and ... top professor advised not drinking it )...

2015: 政府經歷最大的選舉挫敗後不痛改前非根據 商業周刊No.1436(June 2015)評論: 「奇怪耶食安只管金針乾、菜脯與蜜餞」台大教授認為「完全沒有抓到重點」「三項都是非常低風險產品」。
2014: 國際主要媒體,如美國紐約時報與英國經濟學人雜誌,紛紛報導 一再出包的食安風暴,是導致國民黨政府自1949年退守台灣以來,最大的選舉挫敗原因之一Major world media like The New York Times and The Economist (11.29.2014) comment a series of food safety scandals is one of few main factors causing the KMT, Taiwan's ruling party, has suffered one of its worst electoral defeats since Chiang Kai-shek and his forces fled to the island at the end of Chinese civil war in 1949.The New York Times (9.8.2014): the new scandal  (Taiwan food-safety scare) shows that there is still not enough being done to eliminate lawbreaking production lines.  TIME  ( 9.8.2014): Gutter Oil' Scandal Raises Food-Safety Fears Once Again in Greater China.

 

Folk Beliefs Folk beliefs in Taiwan are a positive reflection of the people's wish for harmonious interaction, coexistence, and co-prosperity among heaven, earth, and mankind.
They also reflect Taiwan’s reverence for the basic social virtues of loyalty, piety, fidelity, and justice. These ideas are the most valuable assets enabling people to live on this earth.
(1) Taiwan's national CNA  (Central News Agency) reported an university's survey:
◎ 87.7% university students believe ghosts
◎ 64.7% believe : it's unlucky to swim in July (Lunar)
◎ 37% : Will encounter ghosts if whistling after sunset
◎ 32% : pregnant woman touching scissors will give birth to an abnormal baby
◎ 28.3% : Ears will be cut off if pointing to moon by one/two finger
◎ 31.9% : Chopstick plugging in bowl's rice will gather ghosts
◎ 22.3% : Will become a beggar if knocking the bowl

70% college students believe in religion, 35% of them are Buddhists.

(2)  According to <The Ugly Side of Taiwanese>  ( book author : G. Lee, published in 1988 & 1993 ) -  details ref to publisher in USA : 714-8631618  

    One of Taiwanese character/traits :   In bribery Taiwanese believe.    Taiwanese believe "money talks", and treat religion as trading or bribery, nothing to do with soul and spirits.

(3) Recently, one of best-selling products are Chinese-God (fortune god, etc) toys.

 

Chinese Medicine in Taiwan 

Chinese medicine, a set of medical theories and practices that originated and developed in China over several millennia, is an important aspect of Taiwanese culture.

It consistently proves efficacious in restoring and maintaining the health of countless millions of people over the ages.

Useful for health (at least, good for Chinese)

Music Taiwan’s popular music has been deeply influenced by the United States and Japan. Songs sung in Mandarin Chinese, Holo, English and Japanese comprise the mainstream of the pop music market today.

Musical styles today in Taiwan display an abundance of cultural diversity by incorporating not only local ethnic elements, but also musical elements from elsewhere in the world, such as rock ’n’ roll, hiphop and jazz.

An essay <China Tames Rebellious Side of Rock "n" Roll> in <New York Times>, likened today's Red Chinese pop music culture to the politically enforced conformity of the Cultural Revolution, the core of songs is "have fun", culture has become an empty vessel, there are few hints of angst, alienation , or any but the mildest expression of teenage rebellion.

Taiwan's pop music was tamed by political pressure in the past, the "opposition culture" in Taiwan's music field was almost eliminated.

Today's Taiwanese music environment is money-oriented.

 
The Art of Dance Taiwan’s myriad dance forms are intricately linked with the country’s ethnic composition and historical background, and each of the local dances draws their unique colors from the island’s rich cultural heritage.

Even Cloud-gate dancing shows are much less popular than Taiwan's heavy slapstick or funny actions in Taiwan's TV programs by funny actors/actresses.

An article in the United Daily News (Oct. 5, 2010) criticized Taiwan's TV programs  commercial, programs are not quite OK , news programs are astonishing low class ...   

Taiwanese people are rich (richer than Japan and Korea, according to IMF 2011) but spend very little on tasting arts,  a statistics a few years ago is attached as below :

  per person per year
movie NT470 (about US 15)
drama NT91 (US 3)
dancing show  NT65 (US 2) 

 

 
Chinese Calligraphy in Taiwan the gentle art of Chinese calligraphy can soothe the heart and mind.

calligraphy also exists in the “cultural circle of Chinese characters”—namely Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia — but in fact each of these systems descended from ancient China.
Nomenclature aside, they all refer in essence to the same art form.

Taiwan remains the only place in the world to preserve classical Chinese characters

 (1) Most youngsters in Taiwan don't practice enough so that they can't have good calligraphy by a soft, flexible brush-pen.

 (2) Many Taiwanese people can't write excellent calligraphy by a pencil.

 (3) The calligraphy by Japanese or Korean looks wild (lacks elegance), most of which are worse than those by Taiwanese or Chinese.

 

Pottery and Porcelain During the 1960s, pottery and porcelain served as a channel for expressing creativity; and as artists poured their aesthetic viewpoints and original ideas into their products,

 Today, the art of pottery and porcelain has already become Taiwan’s most flourishing and developed craft,

 Taiwanese pottery and porcelain to possess rich and abundant connotations. Not only does it represent the continuation and development of the pottery culture of the Orient, but it is also a gateway into the pottery and porcelain culture of the world and a place where that global culture can be viewed in miniature.

(1) Pottery and Porcelain in InnGir city
 looks not as luxurious as those by artists in France or Russia, etc.

(2) In Taoyuan int'l airport or  National Palace Museum , I personally feel best pottery and porcelain are ancient China's style. 
  Maybe below is one example
of modern Taiwanese creativity  the present that ROC president Ma gave to Beijing China's envoy Chen Yunlin ( the most senior Chinese official visited Taiwan since the 1949 communist revolution).

Chinese Lunar New Year in Taiwan

 

“spring couplets” are paper scrolls and squares hung up around the house,   inscribed with blessings and auspicious words, such as “good fortune,” “wealth,” “longevity,” and “springtime.” The paper squares are usually pasted upside down, because the Mandarin word for “upside down,” dao, is a homonym of the word “arrival.”

For children, the most exciting part of the holiday comes when they receive their hong bao (紅包), red envelopes full of cash.

(1) Chinese Lunar New Year still excite today's Taiwanese, but the atmosphere wore off.

(2)  Today's children as well as gov. officials in both Taiwan and communist China receive lots of 'hong bao' (red envelopes full of cash) ―  bribery. 

Taiwanese Opera Singing songs (ge zi 歌仔) was the most important form of entertainment in Taiwan’s early agricultural society.

Taiwanese opera is part of daily life in Taiwan, reflecting the thoughts, feelings, and aesthetics of the people.

Not popular any more, perhaps its exotic flavor or new-formed version attracts western tourists, but not most Taiwanese any more.

The Art of Tea

 Aspects of the art of Taiwan tea—whether it’s the tea-flavor, tea water, tea sets, tea-serving techniques, tea connoisseurs, teahouses, tea refreshments, or tea feasts—have been developed to a consummate level in Taiwan. Thus, whether focusing on aesthetical theory or practice, every aspect of Taiwan tea can serve as a paradigm for both life and art.

 

(1) Having coffee is more popular than having tea in today's Taipei metro.  you can see coffee shops everywhere like US's Starbucks, as well as Japan's Ikari ... but tea shops are fewer. ( Taiwanese're still used to drink tea, various bottled tea and instant tea are available everywhere )

(2) Green tea is good for against some cancers... but too many tea were imported from Vietnam (US army dropped lots of poison-bombs in Vietnam War, poison may stay there for long long years) - may be dangerous ...

 

Glove Puppetry in the early 1960s, glove puppet shows were one of the island’s primary forms of entertainment. 

Glove puppet performances integrate various aspects of culture, including dialects, folk music, carving, color painting, embroidery, and puppet manipulation techniques. 

Taiwanese glove puppetry is constantly being reinvented.

... no longer Taiwan’s most important drama activity

Not popular any more in TV

 
Taiwan gov. info. (left column) are excerpt/extracts, you may read details from GIO website http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/ ;  this page was updated Nov 10, '10

 

Taiwanese Opera,  Glove Puppetry, Chinese Calligraphy in Taiwan, and Taiwanese dance are not  popular to modern Taiwanese, so those stuffs are not today's Taiwanese mainstream cultures, their value probably lies in attracting international tourists by exotic flavors ( Taiwan needs to win world's heart by some real beef ).
Taiwan government's long-term strategy "focus on economy rather than culture" resulted in a "culture desert" status.

Taiwan's massages (Chinese version) : A very popular culture in today's Taiwan ! ;   Taiwanese massage (English version) 
 New Critiques:   Taiwan's tourism and travel,    Taiwan's hospitals and medical doctors  (unbiased views)                          

 

 

 

★   Taiwan culture  wiki      

 


Culture of Taiwan ―  Wikipedia

The Culture of Taiwan is a hybrid blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings. The common socio-political experience in Taiwan gradually developed into a sense of Taiwanese cultural identity and a feeling of Taiwanese cultural awareness, which has been widely debated domestically. Reflecting the continuing controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan, politics continues to play a role in the conception and development of a Taiwanese cultural identity, especially in the prior dominant frame of a Taiwanese and Chinese dualism.

 
C
ultural heritage

culture


      China's cultural heritage in UNESCO world heritage list:

  • Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
  • Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
  • Mogao Caves
  • Mount Taishan
  • Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
  • The Great Wall
  • Mount Huangshan
  • Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
  • Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains
  • Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa
  • Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde
  • Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu
  • Lushan National Park
  • Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
  • Ancient City of Ping Yao
  • Classical Gardens of Suzhou
  • Old Town of Lijiang
  • Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing
  • Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
  • Dazu Rock Carvings
  • Mount Wuyi
  • Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun
  • Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
  • Longmen Grottoes
  • Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System
  • Yungang Grottoes
  • Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
  • Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom
  • Historic Centre of Macao
  • Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains
  • Yin Xu
  • Kaiping Diaolou and Villages
  • South China Karst
  • Fujian Tulou
  • Mount Sanqingshan National Park
  • Mount Wutai
  • China Danxia
  • Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”

          News at Nov 16, 2010 - According to the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),  a total of 13 traditional celebrations, healing techniques, crafts and culinary arts (i.e., The Chinese Peking Opera and acupuncture, Armenian cross-stone art, Colombian Marimba music and French gastronomic meal,  the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving, the Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival in Turkey, and Castells human towers built during festivals in Catalonia.) were newly inscribed into the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.

 

 

 

ps:  Taiwan's food scandals again and again ...  For full text pls. read Taiwan food !!

◎ 2015 Taiwan food scandals / Illegal import of banned (suspiciously polluted) food products to Taiwan from five prefectures in Japan (included in 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant incident) prohibited by Taiwanese authorities.
       
 ● Taipei Times, 3-26-2015: Taiwan review Fukushima food ban under Japan's pressure
       
 ● Apple Daily 3-26-2015: already imported 4 yrs, Medical experiments were made on Taiwanese human beings as if they were guinea pigs. (輸台4年 "拿人民當實驗")
       
 ● Liberty Times 3-25-2015: Taiwan's member of the Legislative Yuan/ parliament: It's a premeditated murder, a willful murder!!

◎ 2014 Taiwan food scandals
        ●
The New York times (9.8.2014): The authorities in Taiwan are scrambling to control a tainted-cooking-oil scandal that has affected hundreds of manufacturers and raised fears about health risks posed in many commonly consumed food items... the new scandal shows that there is still not enough being done to eliminate lawbreaking production lines,” The Taipei Times said ...
          ● TIME (9.8.2014): Gutter Oil' Scandal Raises Food-Safety Fears Once Again in Greater China.  A Taiwanese food-safety scare has spread to Hong Kong...
          ● Bloomberg BusinessWeek  (9.8.2014): Tainted Lard: China's Latest Food-Safety Scare Comes From Taiwan       The case is the second major food-safety scandal by a Taiwan-based company in the past year,...The new gutter-oil scandal has “shocked local consumers” in Taiwan who expect more from their government, ...“I hope the law could be revised to impose tougher punishment on those who breach food safety regulations,”...   
       ●
The China Times (9.5.2014, head-page headline news): Disgusting ... Even pigs don't eat those tainted oil we Taiwanese ate !     

2013 Taiwan's food safety crisis or "poisonous food" panic
Taiwan's food were found some very bad materials, e.g., Cloudy Agents Contaminated by Plasticizer,
'Poisonous (toxic) starch',  maleic acid (an industrial material).
Ref.
Cover story of some popular Taiwanese magazines (in 2013) :
(1) <Business Weekly> no. 1334 ― "Eating in Taiwan, needs latest common sense" ! ("吃飯  需要新常識" !)
(2) <Business Today> no. 856   ― "Fatal & horrible materials in Taiwan's food, the secret that restaurants' boss won't speak out" !("要命的恐怖食材, 餐廳老闆不敢說的秘密" ! "黑心醬油毒害全台  夜市、小吃、餐館幾近淪陷"!)
(3) <Common Health Magazine> no.36  ― "How to survive in
'Poisonous (toxic) starch' storm in Taiwan" ! ("毒澱粉風暴下的生存術" )
(4)
<Business Weekly> no. 1331 "Focus News" ―  "Watch Out ! You are eating 'Poisonous (toxic) starch' all 24 hours", "Black-Heart food products on all the streets in Taiwan". ( "小心  你 24小時都在吃毒澱粉", "...滿街黑心食品".)
Ref. 2
<Apple Daily News> editorial (6.1.2013) : "We grew up by eating
poisonous food" (辣蘋果: "我們吃毒長大!" ): Taiwan food safety storm ―  poisonous food with industrial materials,  expired preservatives... Taiwan food problem now is a national security issue... government needs more active ...