How to behave like a Taiwanese snob. A Foreigner's view on Taiwan

 How to behave like a Taiwanese snob. A Foreigner's view on Taiwan

I want to start this article by saying that this is a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek sarcastic view of the way I think about Taiwan. Taiwanese people are friendly. There are snobs everywhere in the world, so this article is really about just people's behavior in general, and it’s not to say anything wrong about Taiwan. I love Taiwan. I want to show you guys some of the things that I experience in my daily life in Taiwan.

What is a Taiwanese snob?

Snobs are everywhere. I would say, probably with regards to Taiwan, that the Taiwanese snobs are a little bit different. It’s kind of like this whole idea that some people think they’re better than other people. Primarily, there’s a particular word in Taipei for people who live in Taipei. Believe it or not, the rest of Taiwan feels that people in Taipei have no idea what’s going on in Taiwan. People in Taipei are just focused on money, so they have no idea what’s going on with anything else except what’s happening in Taipei. So I would say probably the idea of people in Taipei is an excellent example of a Taiwanese snob.

Importance of etiquette in Taiwanese culture.

For example, it’s important not to get mad in Taiwan, especially if you are in public. Coming from a North American background, some people will get angry, some will be sad, and they will do whatever they want. But in Taiwan, it isn’t good to do that. I would say as far as Taiwanese snobs go, they would look at these people and tell those expressing their emotions so freely in society that they can’t control themselves. So they probably would look down on them. In Taiwan, you should restrain yourself so you don’t give off the impression that you have no self-control.

Things Taiwanese do to make them feel superior to others.

Sometimes in Taiwan, there’s a tendency for some people to think that they’re better than other people. For example, when some people don’t have as much money as these snobby Taiwanese people do, they will say, " Oh yeah, I’m better than you. “

There is a special place in Taipei where all the rich live, and everybody knows that. It’s called Tianmu. Some people that are in that area will think that they’re a little bit better than other people because maybe they have a few more dollars in their bank account. To me, that doesn’t mean anything. It seems to me like there’s this big competition in Taiwan about things like, for example, education. So you know, you might have some old ladies talking, and they’ll say that my grandson is better than you because he went to the best school in Taiwan. Or my granddaughter is better than you because she went to school in America, and she speaks English fluently. I don’t care about any of these things, but some people in Taiwan do.

Origins of the Taiwanese snobbery phenomenon.

I probably have no idea where this snobbery thing comes from. All I know is that it does exist. You have to keep up appearances, and it’s not necessarily the same as in America, where you’re keeping up with the Joneses. That phenomenon is a bit more like; I need a house as big as my neighbors. I need to have a car that’s better than my neighbors. Stuff like that, but at the same time, things like that do exist. I mean, I had a friend of mine who had a girlfriend, and his girlfriend wanted him to make a down payment on a house before they got married. And the reason why was that his girlfriend was terrified about what other people would think. That’s probably an example of this snobbery culture. Taiwanese are always thinking about what other people think about them. And part of it has to do with the fact that Taiwan is so small. Everybody knows what everybody’s doing.

Tips on how to behave like a Taiwanese snob in different situations.

Something that I’ve heard about but haven’t experienced myself: when you’re going into a situation involving food, don’t just crash into the food and eat as much as you can. It just doesn't look pleasant. 

Taiwanese people will judge you based on your education. They’ll think of you based on the friends that you have. It’s a little-known secret about Taiwan, but they will also judge you based on the country that you come from. It’s amusing because I feel that a lot of Taiwanese people will say yes; I want somebody who’s from Canada or America to teach them English. Still, when someone from Canada or America doesn’t look what they expected, they look down on that. Or they might say well, people who speak English as a second language can not teach English, but at the same time, maybe their teaching style is a lot better than somebody who has no experience in a first English-speaking country. Highly educated Filipinos may be better English teachers than Americans with no experience, but in Taiwanese people's eyes, they may not be.

The point is that many Taiwanese people will judge people based on first glance. They will judge people based on first impressions. And their first impression means a lot. Sometimes they will hold onto that impression until the end. You almost have to take a lot of time and effort to try to reverse the first impression if you have a terrible first impression with people in Taiwan.

Again I would like to say that this article is a little bit sarcastic. I would say that, in general, Taiwanese people are great. I’ve had an excellent experience in Taiwan. At the same time, there is this subtle subtext in many situations in Taiwan, where they want to compare themselves with others all the time. They want to show that they are better than you. They’re not as bad as some other people in different Asian countries, but at the same time, I would say that this culture does exist. Just because some people in Taiwan are snobs doesn’t mean you have to be. To me everyone is the same.