About Taiwan

When I teach English in Taiwan for the first time, I had already taken several courses in Mandarin Chinese. I had done well in these courses and enjoyed them very much. I thought maybe I could immediately improve the dialogue with the Chinese speakers and my Chinese begin the process. I was excited.

However, when I was talking to myself immersed in an oppressive environment of Taiwan fear. See all the signs written in Chinese, always open flows to the long of spoken Chinese that I was unintelligible, and as the yield stress of some foreigners who have been there for a while, I started very differently about my ability to feel Chinese. Things felt very different outside of the classroom.

And so when I went to Starbucks, or ordered in a restaurant, I only spoke English, except a polite “Xie Xie” or “thank you” to waiters and waitresses, and an occasional soft “Ni Hao”. Sometimes I wondered if my first degree in Mandarin Chinese was a waste.

What really happened to me what each day for students of Chinese language. I was scared and overwhelmed by the strangeness of the language, and have not stopped with the fact that with a little start “in practice and a little more” daring things that would make sense to consider. Paralyzed by the fear that I was in my ability to communicate is limited with the Chinese.

Something happened a few weeks later. I spent much time in public, and the sound of spoken Chinese is becoming more common for me. Despite the fact that I had practiced my Chinese and not consulted my vocabulary flash cards, I began the long, uninterrupted flow of the Chinese, a few words that I announce recognized by my university courses. First I heard a single word. “Dianhua” – cell phone. Then I began to hear more words. Sometimes I feel a few words in a sentence.

So I took my cards and looked into an online program called in Chinese Chinese missile to learn. Words began increasingly to stand out for me. I began to Chinese characters and be started in a position, small blocks of text in the advertisement I see out my window to read. It may seem ridiculous, but I felt an intense feeling of victory. I was not able to carry on a conversation, and most Chinese still incomprehensible to me, but I had a feeling. I developed the belief that with constant practice and an attentive ear, that the Chinese would come into focus for me.

If I were in conversation in Chinese with the Chinese I met, the smiles that I received in return was a great satisfaction for the work I done had to learn the language. It was a great feeling, food from a restaurant in China in order, or make a comment about time for the lady who works in a bank.

I have not learned Chinese. I would say that I have a low degree of smoothness. My reading is still very bad. But I firmly believe that the reputation of a difficult language like Chinese is undeserved, and that comes into focus for those who are willing to listen and try to speak. I hope that others are not paralyzed by fear, as I do, but seized the opportunity to speak. I also hope that many others have the same intense feeling of small victory, I was feeling. Chinese language learning a fascinating and rewarding, and absolutely everyone can learn.

Chinese stocks are hot. Taiwan stocks are not. That should change.

Taiwan will continue its presidential elections on 22 March respected. Without an extraordinary surprise election, Ma Ying-jeou, the candidate of the pro-business and not against China, the KMT will win the election. (Cur Ma Ying-jeou is at 63% in Taiwan’s future political leader.)

The relationship between China and Taiwan is best seen as a failed marriage. China wants to reconcile the gap with their own terms, and threatens consequences if that should happen. Taiwan, on the other hand, suffers from multiple personality disorder. A party that a divorce will be final. The other wants to stay with the possibility of ultimate reconciliation to separate.

In the past eight years, Taiwan has a president who governed the divorce favors final. His government was responsible for impeding the economic interactions between China and Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan’s economy languished, precisely when China made a great leap forward. Taiwan’s stock market is basically where it was eight years ago. But many emerging economies have seen their stock markets to double or even triple in that time. E ‘likely to see a catch-up rally once the dust settled after the election.

Even a surprise victory for the DPP candidate Frank Hsieh was not bad for stocks in Taiwan. He is seen as a pragmatist in his party. Rhetorically, he would still want a divorce. Economically, however, I would not go to bed with the Chinese mind.

Inclusion, if you want a little piece of China in your retirement investment portfolio, you still have the cheap with Taiwan ETF (EWT) or some ADR Taiwan.