[english grammar man]

Racism in Taiwan

As a Chinese-American male, I think that Taiwan is a cool country! Taiwan is nowhere near as violent as America, and Taiwanese police come across as rather gentle.

BUT some of the social practices in Taiwan, in some instances, are reminiscent of those practiced in America in the 1960's but with less severity.

For example, I met an African-American male en-route to Taipei who was coming here to conduct scholarly research on Taiwanese customs and the upbringing of children. After landing at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, the customs officers allowed the white males to pass without inspecting their bags.

When the African-American male reached the customs officer, he had to take everything out of his bags and also undergo a body search. When it was my turn to enter, I was asked some minor questions by the officer and was allowed to pass without incident.

I was embarrassed, but relieved that I was not subjected to such blatant bigotry.

Reece G.
(English Teacher - Taichung, Taiwan)