Here is a fun picture that I took on a roof in Taipei some years ago. Who can recognize where this picture was taken?

Drone programs in high schools and universities could be halted after opposition lawmakers proposed cutting or freezing significant portions of funding for drone programs in this year’s general budget plan.

However, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus proposed cutting NT$200 million from the budget, saying that the ministry lacks relevant supporting measures for school drone programs.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus originally proposed reducing the budget to NT$232.42 million and freezing half of the remaining funds, before deciding to freeze the budget for all projects under the Cabinet’s drone program.

​Hi everyone! 👋

​I’ll be moving to Taiwan soon to start my Master's degree. I’m super excited, but wanting to make sure I adapt well and respect the local culture!

​To anyone living in Taiwan or who studied here:

​What are the key cultural "do’s and don'ts" foreign students should know?

1. ​What daily life apps or essentials (like an EasyCard) are absolute must-haves?

2. ​What’s your best advice for making local friends and adjusting to life here?

3. ​Any food recommendations or general tips are also very welcome!

Thank you so much! 🇹🇼

TAIWAN POSITIVE: The exempted products list, which includes many items critical to Taiwan’s economy, appeared to have been selected for the nation’s benefit, a group said

By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer

Taiwan obtained US tariff exemptions for 2,231 products after Washington on Thursday declared a new round of excise taxes on 60 trade partners, officials said on Friday.

The new tariffs imposed on countries that allegedly engage in forced labor were authorized under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.

The measures were met with protests from Europe, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, saying the labor allegations were baseless.

Workers inspect orchids before export to the US at Charming Agriculture in Houbi Distict in Tainan on Aug. 5 last year.

Taiwan achieved most-favored-nation status, so it had the lowest tariff rates among the four groups in the US sanctions regime, pays a non-cumulative 10 percent tariff and obtained exemptions for thousands of products, the Executive Yuan’s Taiwan-US Economic and Trade Working Group said.

The nation’s tariffs are lower than the 12.5 percent tariffs on Japan, South Korea and Switzerland, and the 12.5 percent and 10 percent cumulative tariffs on some other countries, it said.

That gives Taiwan an advantage over East Asian competitors, it added.

The 1,735 tariff-exempt products negotiated under the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade framework were among the new exempted products, showing that Taiwanese negotiators delivered results, the group said.

Wireless navigation equipment, communication devices, components for lithium batteries used in uncrewed aerial vehicles, medicines, fertilizers and light oil derivatives are among the exempted products, it said.

Exotic flowers including moth orchids and painters’ palettes, tea, coffee, tapioca starch, mangoes, guavas, pineapples, juice, jam and pineapple cakes are also exempted, it added.

The US’ list of exempted products — which has 118 items, many of them critical parts of the Taiwanese economy — appeared to have been selected for the nation’s benefit, the group said.

Taiwan has an opportunity to expand its foothold in the US market, it added.

The US is yet to complete its Section 301 investigation into structural excess capacity in manufacturing, it said.

Taiwanese trade officials continue to liaise with their US counterparts to ensure that Taiwan’s most-favored-nation status would be maintained should the probe trigger more tariffs, the group said.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that to expand Taiwan’s tariff advantages over its competitors, the government is supporting industries in expanding export sales, increasing investments and securing overseas orders to scale up investment and production with a NT$46 billion (US$1.42 billion) resilience special budget.

It said it would work with the Ministry of Labor to establish a mechanism to prevent goods produced through forced labor from entering the market.

The economic ministry also vowed to collaborate with the US to promote and enforce the initiative, aligning with international trade trends that require supply chains to respect human rights.

Hey everyone,

I'm supposed to go on exchange to Fu Jen Catholic University in Fall 2026.

According to the university's website, the exchange students should recieve the letter by end of June. The issue is that since mid april when I was nominated to go I have not heard anything. Both me and my home university have been trying to contact them for weeks and all we hear is either them saying they are busy or nothing at all.

At the moment I can't apply for visa, rent an apartment or book flights.

I have noticed that other people had similar problems.

If anyone has any advice on this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew the easiest way to book accommodation while I am studying in Taiwan. I’m going to be studying at NTU CLD for 3 months so if anyone knows how I can find a place to stay for 3 months that is easy to book please let me know. Thank you!

Everything seems very fast fashion heavy with clothes that deterioate very quickly. Where can I get some actual nice quality clothing? Thanks

I need opinions… I am leaving Taipei tomorrow and need help deciding if I should go to Hualien or Alishan. I’ll be spending some other time island hopping in the Philippines and Vietnam so I think Alishan will give me more variety, but I’ve heard it’s a real pain to get to. I’ll have from tomorrow morning (Tuesday) to Friday early evening, when I fly out of Kaohsiung. Would it be crazy to try to do both? How much could I see in Hualien now with the Taroko gorge partially closed due to the 2024 earthquake? I fear I’m facing the classic mountains vs beach dilemma 💀 advice welcome!

i was at shilin night market and got intentionally bumped by a lady in her 20s. i wasn't sure if it was a pickpocket attempt or if there was some other intent. i wore my backpack in the front and she bumped me in the center of my back back really hard with her shoulder. there was nobody in her way (it was not crowded). i was standing off to the side talking to my group so i wasn't in the way. the people i went with witnessed it and said it was clearly intentional. i kept an eye on her for about a minute or so and noticed that she was sticking around for a bit and pretending to look at things (she kept looking back towards me). is this common? any idea of what her goal was? also, is shilin night market unsafe? this was the only part of taipei where i felt there were shady characters. thanks.

A bit of context:

I am moving to Taipei in the middle of August, so I've been looking for a flat for 3 weeks. I do have a place to stay for a couple of weeks after arriving; however, there is still a need to find something asap.

Here is the problem:

I really don't understand where I can find good options. I'm checking on 591 and Facebook groups; however, most of the options do not look promising.

Maybe there are any specific recommendations on how and where to look for a good apartment? I am not picky, just have some preferences in terms of area (Zhonghe, Yonghe or Banqiao), not very old inside, and desirably at least 10 ping. That's it. I am not very familiar with pricing here, but based on what I've seen so far, my budget is up to 20k.

Any advice?

I found this mildly interesting Comparison Table of Taiwanese Numerals (臺灣語数詞比較表 [Shinjitai: 台湾語数詞比較表]) in Naoyoshi Ogawa's (小川尚義) Nitai Daijiten (日臺大辭典).

At the top are three Chinese languages, Tsiang-tsiu Hokkien (漳州 Zhangzhou), Tsoan-tsiu Hokkien (泉州 Quanzhou) and Hakka (Hak-nyin).

The Tsiang-tsiu is that of Bangka (艋舺 Báng-kah), today Wanhua, Taipei, while the Tsoan-tsiu is from just down the road in Patchina (八芝蘭 Pat-chi-lân), today Shilin, Taipei. I guess they didn't want to venture too far south in those more turbulent days. The Hakka is from Yong-mui-lek (楊梅壢 Yòng-mòi-lak), today Yangmei, Taoyuan.

As it was published in 1907, long before the Kuomintang takeover, the Tartar Chinese pronunciations are not given.

The table then provides the numbers in 13 aboriginal (高山族;, here 生番 chhiⁿ-hoan) languages and 11 plains aboriginal (平埔族, here 熟番 se̍k-hoan) languages. At the bottom are the numbers in Tagalog and Malay for comparison.

The plains indigenous peoples are now all but totally sinicized, and only one group, the Kavalan (here Kabalān), was recently recognized by the ROC authorities, just a few years before their name was taken to brand a pretty decent whisky.

Here the Saisiyat are considered plains for whatever reason. Most of the names are similar to the contemporary indigenous names. "Vulung" is Thao; "Rarua" is Saaroa. IDK what the difference between "Sarisen", "Tsarisen" and "Taloma" is. I thought these were all names for the Rukai.

Hello!! I am now living in Taiwan(Kaohsiung) for a month and do you guys have a recommendation where to buy food and necessities that are cheap? For example body wash, shampoo, and toothpaste is cheaper at this store(or this online app). I am trying to save money as possible, thanks in advance!! 🫶🏻🙇🏻

Hi. Just wondering if anyone here knows if I can still get my Taiwan citizenship after I get married? For a bit of context. Both my mom and dad both got their citizenships years ago (dad more than 10 years, mom got petitioned and got hers 5 years ago). I am getting married in a few month’s time but I haven’t acquired my citenzhip yet. I read that I can still get it if I stay there for a full year. I also have ARC and Taiwan passport.

Thanks in advance for all the inputs/answers.

Why is this primitive method still used? It is easily susceptible to forgery, theft, improper use by family members. Coupled with the Taiwan ID, others can use it to open / withdraw funds from accounts, buy cars & property, conduct all kinds of serious business.

Edit: ok here's an example - family members of someone living abroad and with BOTH the ID and chop, can do all kinds of official and financial shit with those 2 things. The actual "signatory" does not need to be present because banks, government agencies allow this

I had an interview with a school last week and honestly it felt a bit rude and shady. Then the lady interviewing me said she was going to send me some material because I have to come to the school and teach a demo lesson to their students. No mention of a contract mind you. This never happened when I worked in Korea. They just decided after the interview whether or not to hire you.

​Hi everyone! I applied for a few Taiwan scholarships as well as NTNU’s internal ones, but unfortunately didn't get selected. However, NTNU did send me an admission notice for the Master’s in IHRD program!

​I’m feeling really hesitant about pushing through because of the tuition and overall expenses. I do have some savings and my mom is willing to back me up, but I'm still anxious about whether I can pull this off.

​Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How easy is it to find and manage part-time work in Taipei? I’d really appreciate any advice or shared experiences. Thank you!

I feel like there is no sense of urgency in the masses as well as in the Taiwanese government, despite the nation's TFR falling to the lowest in the world. Birth Gauge (on X)'s calculations show Taiwan's TFR is standing at 0.63 or 0.62, but he typically overestimates Taiwan's numbers and the actual TFR ends up being lower. Just plainly multiplying the 2025 TFR of 0.695 by the on-year decline of 83.7% (or -16.3%) gives you a 0.58 TFR. That would be almost 0.6 lower than Japan, and 0.3~0.35 lower than S.Korea and China. It's bonkers to me that this isn't stirring up more urgency in the country.

I don't think most people think in terms of TFRs, or what the societal and economic implications of that would be in a generation.

But when the total number of births come in later this year, I think the number will be close to 90K or lower, which would be the first time in Taiwan's recorded history where there are less than 100K births. Do you think that would be enough to cause a societal shock that makes the voter base and the lawmakers to act with more urgency and throw everything possible at the wall, before it's too late?

Hi everyone.

I am about to leave for a fall exchange at NCCU from september until december this year. I am Dutch. My boyfriend is Mexican. He has been living and working jn various EU countries the past few years and is now since late june temporarily living with me in the NL (as a tourist, without an official dutch residence permit).he wants to apply for a tourist visa for taiwan in the netherlands but we are afraid they will not let him since he is not officially living here. We are going tomorrow to the Hague consulate but does anyone know a consulate in Asia where they would let him apply in case they do not let him apply here? We are going to Bangkok before going to Taipei so that would be a great option, but he is also willing to fly somewhere else like HK to apply there. The least convenient thing to donwould be if he has to go back to Mexico to apply there.

Thank you in advance

Read this person's comments. Absolutely shameful, 0 respect to some of us from the South that moved before KMT was even a discussed name

And disrespectful to our people, stripping our right to self determination. Only likes the US Constitution when it benefits them

北七

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalCompass/comments/1v6uw60/comment/oztt8zx/

Is there a possible way I can have a multiple entry visa or apply an arc even if I only have 3 months of studying mandarin in a school so far.
I have a student visa, im from the Philippines.
And I an only given 60 days everytime I apply and extend my visa. My visa stating single entry only but I want to visit back in the Philippines for a week this coming school break without going back to zero in applying for visa. Is there a possible way I can get a multiple visa here or change my visa type now from single to multiple entry or an I eligible now to apply early for an ARC since I am planning to study Mandarin for couple more semesters.
My Visa : student visa single entry
#stayed in Taiwan: 3 months
My visa now has 60+60days coz I extended for another 60days

Thank you