To Shaun Bettinson: Why Taiwan Sucks - Boring, Miserable, Repressed

Dear Shaun Bettinson,

I read a few articles about your bizarre campaign to get everyone in Taiwan to say "I love Taiwan" and photograph themselves doing so, for no reason other than the sake of it. So I was wondering what you suggest about my no win situation in Taiwan. See here:

http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15807

Also, check out my article of the pros and cons of Taiwan, which lists things that other sites don't list, that are taboo, yet obvious, but other people don't have the guts to talk about. Let me know what you think.

http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14561

Anyhow, I have a question for you: Why should I raise up my hands and say "I love Taiwan" given the following:

What's the point of living in Taiwan if you don't get any attention from cute girls? I get attention from girls in most other foreign countries - e.g. Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Mexico, Philippines (see here for hard proof: http://www.happierabroad.com/ebook/Collage.htm) - but not in Taiwan. So how can Taiwan be so wonderful like you and everyone says?

Girls treat me like shit here, which undermines my ego and self-esteem. They are super cliquish and uptight about not talking to strangers (especially males) unless introduced by a mutual friend. Why should I love or enjoy that, just because it's taboo to say anything negative about Taiwan's social scene?

The biggest reason why Taiwan sucks is that to meet girls or try to get dates, I have to try to walk UPSTREAM against a raging river. If I go downstream and "go with the flow" I get nothing - no love, romance or sex. Everything in Taiwan goes against my love/sexual satisfaction. In Taiwan, I'm in a constant state of DEPRIVATION. It feels like everything is against me. I'm not allowed to flirt, talk to female strangers I like, approach girls without feeling like a creep/criminal, and they don't give me attention and won't offer to meet me if I chat with them on the internet, etc. That just plain SUCKS for sure.

So why should I raise my hands and say "I love Taiwan" in spite of that, just because Shaun Bettinson says so? Get real. How can Taiwan be so wonderful, if I can't even get girls I like to meet up with me, and none of the experts I know in Taiwan can help me? On dating sites and on Facebook, about 1 in 100 Taiwan girls I like respond to me, and among those that do, none of them ever want to meet up! WTF?! All they do is make excuses excuses excuses about being busy all the time... blah blah blah. So how can Taiwan be so wonderful?! WTF?

In contrast, in other foreign countries (besides USA, Canada and Taiwan), girls are happy to meet me and they will OFFER to when I am in their area. So why not Taiwan? What is the problem with Taiwan? Why are Taiwan girls so damn difficult and uptight about meeting up? It's crazy! And it totally sucks!

Having hot girls everywhere who ignore you and expect you to mind your own business while they mind theirs is a depressing society. What kind of guy likes that? What kind of life is it to be constantly deprived and unsatisfied in the areas of love, sex and romance? That SUCKS.

It's no different than living in the US. So what's the point of living in Taiwan? There's no advantage other than lower cost of living. Socially, it's no different to me than the US. At least in America, the air is fresher, cleaner and more healthy, drivers are more polite, and there is always a place to park your car.

Thus I have every right to say that Taiwan sucks, even though it contracts the popular cliche on every Taiwan website/blog that says "Taiwan is so wonderful and friendly!" Why should I conform to that? Is conforming more important than telling the truth? Should I conform or be honest?

Also, everything feels so repressed, stiff and miserable in Taiwan. It's like there is a wall or barrier around everything that blocks me from being who I am and doing what I want to do. That sucks. I can't be myself in Taiwan and I'm not allowed to tell the truth either. What could be more invalidating than that?

In fact, Taiwan is actually one of the less interesting countries in the world. Workaholic cultures tend to be less interesting, because they lack passion and soul. The environment is very sterile. There's no romance, passion, love, special moments, special memories, camaraderie with others, or intellectualism. Instead, there's extreme repression and misery. Interactions are cold, fake and financially based. Women are very cold, difficult and picky. And young people are not interesting to talk to, but are eggheads and not very bright. All people care about is work and food. In addition, the architecture is ugly and consists of ugly slabs of concrete, and the natural scenery is bland and nothing spectacular. How is that any better than America?

There also seems to be this dark negative energy vortex in Taiwan. Everywhere I go the vibe feels so negative and miserable 24/7. Why is that? I don't think it's all in my imagination since Taiwan does have a high suicide rate, and people do look extremely repressed and miserable on their faces, which is consistent with the vibe I feel. It's like there are hungry ghosts sucking the life out of you in Taiwan.

In any case, why should I rave about Taiwan being "so wonderful and friendly" just because everyone else does? Why should I put up my hands and say "I love Taiwan" just because Shaun Bettinson says so? Why can't I be honest, rather than appease you and your campaign?

Am I obligated to lie and conform? Or is it better to tell the truth?

Thanks for reading, if you got this far that is.

Sincerely,
Winston

Update:

Shaun Bettinson responded to me by email. You can read his response and mine here:
http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15832

See also:

The Four Biggest Problems With Taiwan

10 Reasons Why Taiwan is not good for social life, fun, happiness or romance

 The Dark Side of Taiwan

The Pros and Cons of Taiwan: A Taboo List

Taboo Observations and Truths About Taiwan

Critical Observations about East Asian Mentality and Culture

Chinese vs. Taiwanese girls on dating sites: See the difference in attitude!

Hi all,
I'd like to demonstrate a big attitude difference between Chinese and Taiwanese girls with some real examples I've experienced from dating sites. Now you'd think that they'd be similar since they came from the same culture, language and ethnicity, but it turns out not to be so at all.

On dating sites, I've written many women in both China and Taiwan. The difference in attitude has been astounding. For example, here is a typical response I get from Chinese women (which I have a high response rate from):

"Thank you for your sincere letter.
You are an excellent man. Hope someday I could manage my own business like you.I can't believe that a man like you ,so excellent,has no girlfriend.Maybe you have many chasers, but you just haven't met your real girl.
You look a little like my school counsellor.But he is much younger than you.You two both are handsome.??
Hope we can be friends.
Regards"

As you can see, she was complimentary and enthusiastic. The example was from PlentyofFish.

In contrast, 99 percent of the Taiwanese women I write to don't reply at all, and if they do, they only write one lame line. Here is one example from PlentyofFish:

"You just copied and pasted your intro. Isn't it a bit too lazy?"

After I explained to her that I only send out a form letter the first time to save time and be efficient, and that subsequent letters would be personalized, she disappeared and had nothing to say back.

Obviously, she wasn't even interested in me. She just wanted to make a wise-crack remark at me. (Gee thanks. We get enough of that from Western women, why go to Taiwan? Sheesh.) This clearly reflects a spoiled attitude. She didn't tell me about herself or comment on my letter at all. So much for friendly sincere correspondence...

Here is another one liner response from a Taiwanese girl with no point, also on PlentyofFish:

"I am gonna move to Taipei soon too:/"

I don't know why she said that. It had nothing to do with my letter nor did I indicate that I was moving to Taipei. It was a pointless airhead response. She didn't tell me about herself or comment on my letter at all.

Another time, on OkCupid, I wrote many Taiwanese girls and got only one response:

"sorry you're not my type"

Enough said.

On the other hand, see this response from a high quality sincere sweet girl in Shenzhen, China that I've been corresponding with for a long time. When I first wrote her, this was her first initial response:

"Hello Winston,
How are you?

Firstly, Please accept my apology of late reply because i haven't been checking the account for a while. i was so happy just now to read your email this afternoon, you seems a very nice person from email and your photos.
Meanwhile i am also glad that you like my profile and photos. I guess you must be a very patient,romantic,gentle and passionate people, the kind of which,however, i am looking for.

Secoldly, a little about me? I am 25years girl, living and working in the city of Shenzhen where it's near to HongKong, have you been to either of them?
I am a buyer working for an exporting company, I like reading, chatting with nice friends, listening to romantic music and also I like TRAVELLING. hehe..

Finally, Iam so happy to hear about your compliment about Chinese girl and you like Chinese girl.
As for myself, I am seriously looking for a boyfriend as well, the relationship of which might possibly lead to a marriage.
Maybe we can try to get to know each other more better and who knows, we might be the one that we have been looking for.

BTW, when you will go China? have you ever been China before?
hehe, i speak Mandarin, Cantonese, and some English, if there is a chance, i could teach you more Mandarin or even Cantonese, and because of my oral english is not that good, maybe i need your help too. hehe.

Best wishes and talk to you soon."

As you can see, she is sincere, sweet, positive, and enthusiastic. And she introduced herself with a proper letter. Now this is the kind of response that authentic sincere guys like me dream of receiving. With Chinese women, that dream becomes a reality. But I NEVER get a letter like that from anyone in Taiwan!

In her letter, you can see that she is feminine, sweet, sincere, down to earth, and educated as well - what more could you ask for? That's what every normal guy wants, a girl that's sweet, feminine and down to earth. It's not a lot to ask for, yet in spoiled westernized countries like Taiwan and America, where women have a bad attitude, it seems like it's too much to ask for. In such cultures, expecting women to be nice, sincere, and open is unrealistic and asking for too much. Sheesh. What a difference location makes eh?

Well that's the beauty of it. Location often makes all the difference. It's a simple yet taboo secret. Yet you are never told this by mainstream media or conventional sources. Instead, you are given the illusion that people are the same everywhere. What a pity.

This is why I like showing you all such differences, so you can see how real they are, even though other websites don't talk about them. Hope you all appreciate that. As you know, I'm the type that tells truths that others don't have the guts to tell. I guess it's taboo and "uncool" to make such comparisons, but nevertheless they are VERY REAL, as demonstrated in my experiences depicted above.

As you know, there is an unspoken rule in this world that when you speak or write publicly, you are only allowed to say nice, polite, positive, lighthearted things about people and places. The only time you are allowed to talk about negative things is if it's on the news - which is usually related to jobs, economics, disasters, etc. But as to the topic of spoiled rotten people with bad attitudes in westernized countries, no way, you aren't allowed to talk about that. It's taboo. But as you know, I don't give a @#$% about taboos. I just tell it like it is, and I back up what I say with real examples and valid arguments and reasons.

So you gotta wonder: Why the big difference? What is the problem? Who is the problem? Is it me or the sterile environment of Taiwan and the overly picky spoiled girls who are cold and stuck up?

If the problem is me, then how come girls in many other countries treat me better, are more warm and open, and more enthusiastic and appreciative toward me? Why do I feel so much more valuable to foreign girls? They make me FEEL so much better about myself. How can I feel like a totally different person to women from different cultures? The difference is staggering. It's like I'm two different people - a worthless guy in Taiwan, and a valued desired guy in many other countries.

It's really weird how location changes everything and makes all the difference.

Before anyone attacks me, let me ask you this: If you were me, would you prefer to feel wanted, desired and valuable? Or unwanted, undesired and worthless? Which one?

What's Wrong With Taiwan Girls? Closed, Cold, Cliquish, Inhuman, Stuck Up, Flaky, Divas

The biggest problem in Taiwan is that the women are very closed, cold, stuck up and cliquish, as if they are almost inhuman. They are anything but open and engaging with strangers. Wherever they go, they carry that "don't bother me look" on their face, which makes them VERY unapproachable. Yuck. It's very sad and depressing to see that everyday. I hate it. Taiwan has got to be one of the HARDEST places to approach and engage women. Their body language is cold, stuck up and cliquish.

Alongside Japan and Korea, Taiwan girls are among the least open and engaging of females in the 200 countries of the world. Even in retail sales and customer service occupations, Taiwanese girls are cold and business-like. I don't know how they got that way, but their cold demeanor seems very inhuman.

To give you a simple example, if I say "Excuse me miss" (in Chinese or English) to girls walking by in Taiwan (who are totally cold and closed) none of them will stop. But in most other countries, when I do that, very often the girls will stop and talk to me. That's a very big difference that says a lot, no matter how you try to spin it.

Taiwanese girls are extremely picky, shallow, judgmental, difficult, vain, and spook easily like deer do in the wild. They are overly cautious and unnaturally shy to the extreme, and don't like talking to strangers without an introduction through mutual friends. These extreme traits that are common in Taiwanese females make them almost inhuman and definitely unnatural. Now there is nothing wrong with being a little shy or cautious. That can be cute. But Taiwanese girls take it to the extreme and are too excessive in their closed-ness and shyness. Ironically, their own ancient Chinese wisdom says that nothing in extremes is any good, and that everything must be in moderation.

Also, Taiwanese girls have hang ups about dating. To them, dating is a stepping stone to marriage, so they won't just go out with you for fun, at least not the good girls. You have to jump through a ton of hoops. So you can't just simply ask them out like you can in most countries, otherwise you will be met with polite rejections and excuses. To make matters worse, the normal courting process of flirting is considered a taboo in Taiwan, seen as creepy bad behavior. So if you are a Romeo or Casanova who likes to flirt, that will be a big let down for you, because you are not allowed to use your main arsenal of seduction. Furthermore, it's very hard to vibe with Taiwanese girls if you are not on their small minded, shallow, narrow, insular wavelength. 


So it's like everything is against you in Taiwan if you want to try to fulfill your romantic or sexual needs, which sucks and is terrible beyond words. Taiwan does have a high concentration of hot girls, but what's the point if they are all look and no touch? That just makes it more depressing and frustrating. Personally, I find Taiwan to have the most unnatural and ego-deflating dating scene I've ever seen. The miserable vortex in Taiwan compounds it and makes it all worse. 

Everywhere I go in Taiwan, the only people who will socialize with me are elderly Taiwanese and foreign travelers. That sucks, but that's how Taiwan is. The only way a stranger can get some attention from Taiwanese girls is to look like an Asian pop star, or be a foreign White guy. Otherwise, you'll have to meet women through organized activities, school, work, or through mutual friends. Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world where women are not open for casually chatting up, flirting, or "love at first sight" stares. That's the BIGGEST DOWNSIDE of Taiwan. Other than that, Taiwan is a nice place overall, but there's nothing unique or special about it.

I know the problem is not me though, because women in the other 200 countries of the world (except for Japan and Korea) are not like that toward me. They are far more "normal", not like deer that spook easily as Taiwanese women do. So, if the problem were me, then all women would be antisocial and closed toward me, but they aren't (fortunately). Thus Taiwanese women are an abnormal quirk. This majorly sucks because it means that in general, Taiwanese women are "all look but no touch". So what's the point of them being hot then? All that does is exemplify the irony of Murphy's Law.

Moreover, even if you are lucky enough to get acquainted with a slippery standoff-ish modern Taiwanese girl, you will find that they usually have very difficult and complicated personalities. They are not straightforward and direct like their counterparts in mainland China. Instead, they like to play games, give mixed messages, and flake out. They are selfish and narcissistic - and rotten and spoiled to the core. In short, all they are good for is "eye candy", nothing else. That's sad, but that's the truth, as politically incorrect as it may be.

Now, please don't flame me for saying all this. I didn't make Taiwanese girls the way they are, I'm just the only one brave enough to tell the politically incorrect truth about them. Therefore, by attacking me, you would not be doing so because I am wrong, but because I am the only one telling the truth. Thus, you would in effect be advocating the suppression of truth, and upholding the facade of political correctness. Is that what you want? Think about it.

"The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth." - H. L. Mencken

“Devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality; there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking.” - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

See also:

The Four Biggest Problems With Taiwan
Taiwanese people are empty shells with no soul or emotions
10 Reasons Why Taiwan is not good for social life, fun, happiness or romance
The Dark Side of Taiwan
The Pros and Cons of Taiwan
Taboo Observations and Truths About Taiwan

Critical Observations about East Asian Mentality and Culture