Friendly, helpful Taiwan people are welcoming

Editor's note: Dr. Terry Kriesel of Puget Island will be teaching this school year in a Taiwanese seminary. We invited him to share his observations of life in Taiwan on an occasional basis. Here is his latest dispatch:

A four year old Taiwanese boy shows off some moves he learned at the Taiwan Wang Lion Dance Association Well, here it is income tax day in the U.S. I have to file taxes both in Taiwan and in the U.S. (for those of you who are complaining)!

A couple of weeks ago Carol and I spent a weekend in Taipei. We did a lot of sight seeing that weekend. I took the picture above while we were eating at a buffet restaurant in Taipei. It is of a cute little four year old guy showing us some of his Judo or Taekwando moves (I can’t remember which). He belongs to the “Taiwan Wang Lion Dance Association” which was visiting Taipei from a rural area in south Taiwan.

Belonging to such a group is kind of like Little League is for our kids. They learn Dragon dances and compete in those and judo and things like that. The boys were shy at first but after they got going you couldn’t stop them showing off in front of our table. The parents also came over and talked to us. When I went to pay our restaurant bill another Chinese couple had guessed that we were missionaries and had already paid it for us.

People here are generally like that. Friendly and helpful. During that weekend in Taipei Carol and I were lost three times. Each time someone walked up to us as were on the street or in the train depot and said in English, “Are you lost. Can I help you find something?” And each time not only did they give directions but they also walked with us to wherever we were going. Ages of our “helpers” ranged from 17 to 50 or more. People here are almost invariably polite. They are taught that from the time they are little children. And I have to say that it makes life both more calm and more enjoyable. Women walk home after dark here without a second thought.

Taiwan is also a welcoming country for refugees from other countries who are fleeing persecution. I guess they know what it is like since many of them fled mainland China around 1950. They have also been occupied by different countries from the west and the east for much of their history and persecuted themselves for much of their history. And they have only had democracy themselves for the last 20 years. Even Chiang Kai Shek’s Kuomintag army which arrived here in 1949 from China is said to have killed 10,000 Taiwanese when it arrived. Besides the natural Chinese courtesy perhaps that is partly behind their kindness to others. See you in June!