Job Discussion Forums

Etheorial · Joined: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 6 Location: New York, NY

I am trying to decide between teaching in Taiwan or on the Mainland in Shanghai or Guangzhou.

Is the cost of living in Taipei comparable to that of Shanghai or Guangzhou?

Are there generally more teaching opportunities in Taipei or in Shanghai or Guangzhou?

Is the general working environment better on the Mainland or in Taiwan or does it really depend from school to school?

It seems that it's easier to get the proper working visas for the Mainland. Is this true?

Is the entertainment in Taipei better?

Fortigurn · Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Posts: 390

From what I can see, you can earn enough to live on in Taiwan. I don't know about the mainland. Shocked

killian

having been on both sides of the china straight i can give you this honest advice: go directly to taipei. the money is better and the culture is equally alien to a westerner. yeah, china retains a bit more of a "mysterious aura" about her due in no small part to the fawning western media moguls hoping to get greater access to the middle kingdom. bah. how a media mogul makes money and an english teacher makes money are not 100% congruent.

where ever you land in either country you are going to be the foreigner. the owner is going to see you as a short-life commodity to be exploited to fullest extent before "shelf life" expires. go to taiwan. the money is better. if after a year or so you are still enchanted by china take a vacation or switch on over to the other side.

best wishes.

Pop Fly · Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 429

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

It would be interesting to see what the regulars over on the China board have to say about this thread. I supposed that we are a bit biased as we have chosen to be here in Taiwan, but I can agree with the above two posters 100%.

I, too, have lived in both China and Taiwan, and I see absolutely no reason to choose China over Taiwan.

The money is better here. You would probably get a job there that pays between NTD20-30,000 a month. Here the same job would pay NTD50-65,000a month. Sure the cost of living is more here, but financially you will still be better off here than in China.

There are plenty of teaching opportunities here in Taiwan. I doubt that there are more than China, but one thing is for sure. They are going to be better quality jobs, and you don't need to deal through a recruiter to find them like you do on the mainland.

The working environment here in Taiwan is 100% better. Most of the teaching jobs in China are in Chinese schools as opposed to private institutions. Class sizes of 40-60 students are the norm in China, as are chalkboards, non-airconditioned classrooms, bad school cafeterias and dormitory style living. Many schools are located on the fringes of the bigger cities or country areas and there are often limitations on how you can spend your free time. Of course there are some private insitutions in China that this does not apply to, but these jobs are few and far between.

Read the China board about visas. Getting the right visas to work there can be a real headache as schools mess teachers around. From the perspective of visas alone I would go for Taiwan. Provided that you choose a good school you will be legal and get a one year extendable visa.

Entertainment is better here in Taipei than Shanghai. Outside of Shanghai is downhill from there.

As I say, it would be interesting to hear what those in China have to say. I am particularly interested in hearing from those that may have left Taiwan to go to the mainland. If there are any!!!!

Is the entertainment in Taipei better?

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

I too have lived in China and on Taiwan. In my opinion the risk is about equal. Taiwan will offer you no more job security or human rights and only a slightly higher quality of living.
The only thing that Taiwan has over China hands down is the money. That however is changing rapidly.
Taiwan may have slightly less pollution and you won't get mugged but burglaries and organized crime are about the same or possibly worse on Taiwan as is the corruption.
If you want genuine culture and a learning experience go to China. If you want to get paid come to Taiwan or Korea. If you want both go to Japan.
A.

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

Culture on the mainland. Are you kidding? If you want to learn about Chinese culture and traditions then Taiwan is the place to be. Those on the mainland have very little cultural identity which may be due to the fact that the majority of the population there are just trying to eek out a living.

As far as studying, my personal choice is Taiwan. Sure the traditional characters are more difficult to write, but it is far easier to go from traditional to simplified characters than it is to go from simplified to traditional.

Taiwan's schools are far more developed than those on the mainland, as far as the perpective of employing foreign teachers. The visa process is also far more relaxed and neat than on the mainland.

The only thing that the mainland has going for it is travel options. Considering that you will be earning close to a pittance working there means that you will most likely not be able to afford to travel too much.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

killian · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2004 1:57 pm Post subject:

yes, china has culture. taiwan has the same.

where is the best museum of the chinese speaking world? taipei.

when ancient chinese culture was being crushed by the red guard, where did it take refuge? taiwan.

in many ways, taiwan is the last bastion of "real chinese" culture as there never was "liberation" from feudalism here.

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

Sorry naturegirl but I really don't agree. I am not overtly pro-Taiwan nor anti-the mainland. My opinion is based upon my own personal experiences in both countries and my contact with the peoples.

Ask any group of students in Taiwan (any age) around ten questions about cultural aspects of Chinese culture (such as the meaning of holidays, superstitions, history etc.) and you will get some pretty thorough and accurate answers. Ask these same questions to an equal group on the mainland and you will get very little in return.

How many people on the mainland recognize or pray to any God? Not many. Almost every other house here in Taiwan has a small shrine to some God or another.

Ask about the mythological characters of the past and the majority of Taiwanese can name them and even give you a bit of the history. Mainlanders would more than likely just give you that embarrassed smile that they give.

Sure they have culture on the mainland. A culture of pushing into lines, spitting on the street, totally disregarding traffic and other regulations, squatting on the sides of the road for hours on end smoking and talking, wearing their flannel pajamas out in public etc.

Taiwan is of course not perfect and has it's fair share of problems, but at least this is balanced with real Chinese culture.

Characters are obviously a personal choice, but surely from a totally cultural perspective no one could argue that pinyin and simple characters offer a greater cultural experience that bopomofo and traditional characters.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Looks like I lost. But then this is the Taiwan forum.
Try posting this question on the China forum. It would be interesting to see the replies. Some of us here have love-hate relationships with chinese culture.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

brian · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 299

Etheorial · Joined: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 6 Location: New York, NY

First of all, let me thank you all for your input on this subject. I appreciate getting the commentary of native English speakers who are actually living and working in Taiwan.

I would like to clarify one thing regarding the wealth of Chinese art in the National Museum in Taipei. It is my understanding that the Nationalist Army did not "steal" the art as Aristotle described, but in fact carried it off of the Mainland because they feared (and justifiably so) that if the Communists got a hold of it, they would destroy it. Undoubtedly the traditional art would have been branded "counterrevolutionary" during the Cultural Revolution. How many countless treasures were lost on the Mainland during the Cultural Revolution? Furthermore, the National Museum in Taipei was constructed in a manner that would allow it to withstand aerial bombardments. Apparently, the Nationalists feared a Communist attack.

As far as Chiang Kai-Shek being a tyrant, I think the word is a bit strong, if Chiang was a tyrant, then what was Mao? Shanghai in the 1930's was a much happier and freer place than Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. Chiang's policies in Taiwan, no matter how repressive, cannot even begin to compare with the way the Chinese Communist Party has abused and brutalized its own people from the very day it came to power. I need only point to the latest human rights violation: the torture and illegal imprisonment of the practitioners of feng shui on the Mainland, in which among other things, Communist thugs mutilated the genitals of the women they went after.