Time Travel, Taiwan Style

If only the banks were as advanced as this.

Want to travel in Taiwan? You don't need expensive equipment or new theories of time and space. You just have to go to your local bank, where it is still 1961.

Went into the bank today to deposit (note: not cash) a US$1000 check from my mother. We've deposited checks from overseas with them many times during our nearly 15 years with that bank. I sign the check and then we fill out the onerous and unnecessary paperwork. A waste of time, but like all Taiwan procedures, if all the proper papers are filed, eventually you get what you want.

Not today. First, the teller informs us that we have never done that before. She was very polite and apologetic. "We have no record of any checks from you." Patiently we explained. Finally, after much back and forth in which we identified dates of specific checks, and conferencing between several employees, and, no doubt, viewing the intestines of slaughtered chickens to see whether the auguries were positive, they did indeed find the records.

Then they told us, which much apology, that we would need a third person guarantor. New rules, ya know.

Let's put that in perspective. We're depositing a check -- we won't be able to use the money til the check clears. If there is a problem, it's a check. No money comes in, bank loses nothing.

And think about this: if I want I can swipe my credit card from this bank, which I have had for 15 years, for many times the amount of that check, and I don't need a guarantor. I can pick up the phone and ask them to enlarge or reduce the amount of credit on the card. I don't need a guarantor.

But I can't deposit a check without a guarantor?

"How about my wife?" Nope.

"But we've been customers here for 15 years! Steady, no problems! This is an insult!"

Downcast. "Sorry."

My wife and I look at each other. Who are we going to invite into our financial business? Who can come down during working hours to guarantee a check for us?

"Who can we use for a guarantor? Is my father in law ok?"

First they couldn't really define who an acceptable guarantor would be, except that it had to be a Taiwan citizen. Finally they agreed my Dad in law would be ok.

That's right. Two people, one a citizen, both with identifiable and legal incomes and assets, can't sign a check which they've done 100 times before. But an 87 year old retiree on a fixed income in ailing health, that's no problem.

As my wife said in consolation as we headed out the door, "Lucky we weren't trying this India."

Taiwan is not quite that primitive. But for a mighty trading nation, the banking system is incredibly backward, especially when it comes to foreigners. Everyone has their own horror story, but the real problem isn't the occasional horror story, but the fact that everyday activities like this are so time-consuming, bureaucratized, and difficult to use...
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Forward Taiwan: Latest NDC Proposals on Liberalization of Laws related to Foreigners

Threading our way through the mass of downed trees and debris on a forest road near Sanyi.

This was posted to Forward Taiwan's Facebook page. Very important stuff here....  because it is long I have posted it below the READ MORE line. UPDATE: Dont miss the excellent comments.

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National Development Council’s Plan to Create an Environment for Retention of Talent in Taiwan
FORWARD TAIWAN 。 向前台灣·MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

Introduction
This note translates the various proposals made by the National Development Council to the Executive Yuan on September 1 2016. It is divided into an introduction followed by translations of the proposals themselves with comments and explanations from Forward Taiwan. We look forward to your feedback and any corrections.

Want Citizenship in Taiwan? Peter Whittle with a great piece....

Longtime resident and government regulations boffin Peter Whittle has a long article explaining a fairer path to citizenship for local long-term expats and giving excellent background on the issue at Taiwanease.com. The article addresses an outrageous unfairness in Taiwan citizenship rules: if you immigrate to Taiwan, you must give up your original citizenship, but if you are born here, you can hold two passports, no problem. A taste:

Ms. Hsiao was prompted to raise the proposal on behalf of two Pakistani men, long-term residents of Taiwan with Taiwanese wives, who had applied for ROC citizenship, met all of the qualifying requirements, been issued with candidature certificates, and then duly proceeded to renounce their original citizenship. Having completed the renunciation, they were informed by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) that their applications had been rejected due to disqualifying factors that, through no fault of the applicants, had not been revealed during the initial phase of their application. This left the two applicants in the terrible plight of being stateless, unable to regain their original citizenship, while denied new citizenship here. In this situation, they were unable to travel outside Taiwan, unable even to visit a terminally ill mother in Pakistan, and with no way of resolving this difficulty at any time in the foreseeable future.....

.... read the whole thing; Whittle's discussion of the MOI's reasons for not revising the rule shows once again how silly prejudices dominate the MOI view.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

They're Rogering Our Women! Why I have no respect for Apple Daily

"I want foreigners' big hot dog!" Crap like this is why I have no respect for Apple. The final screen is outrageous. YFFM will likely be commenting on this so I will restrain myself. ADDED: Here is YFFM's excellent post.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Simon Tisdall Scores! And Me Too

Want to take a break from the usual pro-Bejing stuff in the foreign media? Simon Tisdall of the Guardian has a good piece on Taiwan-China-US relations that manages to avoid many of the pitfalls (still reproduces the "renegade province" formulation, though, a phrase that is an invention of the western media) that plague foreign reporting on Taiwan. It manages to be informed, not make egregious errors, not incorporate Beijing propaganda, not say that Chen "provokes" China, and include comments from Taiwanese officials. Few pieces in the international media are as good. Thanks, Simon! Here it is:

While the US frequently encourages Taiwan to buy new and second-hand US weaponry to be better able to defend itself, it has criticised Taipei's indigenous development of the long-range "Hsiung Feng' cruise missile, which it (and China) views as an offensive weapon. Chen was recently obliged to pledge to "consult" Washington before firing the missiles. US fears about fuelling cross-strait tensions, stoked by Beijing, also appear to have delayed Taiwan's purchase of 66 state-of-the-art, US-made F16 fighters.

Taiwanese officials say China has become adept at manipulating the Bush administration. "They are under pressure from China. China is very clever. If they want to do something on Taiwan, they call the White House and tell the Americans that Taiwan is rocking the boat. Then the US government puts pressure on us," a senior official said.

"We tell the Americans they should deal directly with us, they should take our national interest into consideration. But of course we are afraid about the growing cooperation between the US and China. It is a problem for us. It is definitely squeezing Taiwan."

Political factors are also straining Taipei-Washington ties as Taiwan moves towards next year's contentious legislative and presidential elections, in January and March respectively. Chen, who is standing down after two terms, is determined to hold a national referendum before he goes on changing the country's official name - Republic of China - to the more familiar Taiwan. The plan is then to apply for UN membership (it is currently excluded) under the new name - thereby raising "global awareness" of the Taiwan issue.

Poll watchers say the referendum proposal, opposed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) but backed the ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP) and 3 million signatures, is likely to pass as matters stand now. That prospect infuriates China, which rightly sees the vote as a ploy to emphasise Taiwan's separateness, and alarms the risk-averse US.

Mayhap Tisdall can flip this piece to his colleague Jonathon Watts in Beijing, whose articles are generally disastrous regurgitations of what Beijing is thinking.

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Meanwhile Highway 11, the East Coast's leading expat magazine, graciously consented to run my piece on drowning. The regular editors must have been out at the bar, I guess, when the editorial decision was made. Also in this month's issue are a collection of articles held to a much higher standard, including a piece on hostels in Hualien, and an article on the craft fair there. Show your support for Highway 11 by clipping one of the many ads and taking it to a local restaurant next time you're in Hualien.

[Taiwan]

Pssst -- Wanna buy a bar?

A historical site in Tainan.

Owners Dan and his lovely lady Sammi are selling The Edge, a bar right across the street from the gate of National Chengkung University in Tainan, on University Road behind the train station, above the 7-11. Their third floor location seats 70 and can hold 150. Comes with equipment for DJs, a projection system, a stage area, and a fully-equipped kitchen. Please email me at turton.michael@gmail.com and I will put you in touch with Dan and Sammi.

[Taiwan]

Interview of Anthony van Dyck of Forumosa

Anthony van Dyck, who has done so much for the local expat population here in terms of getting out resources, was interviewed at Expat Interviews recently.

Anthony finds that the positives of living in Taiwan far outweigh the negatives, no wonder it has been his home for so many years now. Living in a suburb of Tapei, he and his wife own and run an English buxiban. In addition, Anthony is part of a company that caters to the international community there. There is certainly more to Taiwan than meets the eye, and Anthony shows us a bit of that in his interview.

Anthony helps run Forumosa.com, Taiwanese, and other projects that bring expats together and inform them of things Taiwanese. Keep up the great work! The handsome Anthony is also interviewed at the sadly defunct What's Up in Taiwan.

[Taiwan]