What a surprise!
Really appreciate for becoming one of the members in Esteem community.
I applied for Esteem account on Nov. 20, 2018 and finally received the approved message on Jan. 10, 2019.
From the views of days, it took 52 days to get certification of the account.
From the perspective of year, this account is across one year to get approved.
It's like the feeling to get the acceptance from your dream University. Though it took longer than expected, I will value this Esteem account much more.
Who am I and Why am I here?
My name is Jasper Chen, living in Taiwan.
I got my Master degree in Economics in 1990. I specialized in marketing and industry trend analysis. Recently, I do lots of research and study on blockchain and cryptocurrency related subjects. To conduct any kind of trend analysis is my favorite interest and specialty. I'll share and exchange my experience and knowledge in Esteem for the reference of like-minded friends here. This is what and why I join in Esteem.
Where am I from and better understand my country
After introducing myself, let me share my country: Taiwan some unknown and interesting facts for the members here who never know and visit Taiwan.
1. Republic of China
The country is commonly known by the name “Taiwan” but officially it is actually called the Republic of China (R.O.C). This should not be confused with the People's Republic of China (P.R.O.C). To this day, the majority of countries in the world, including the People's Republic of China, still do not recognize Taiwan as an independent country.
Anyway, the major difference between R.O.C. and P.R.O.C is
R.O.C in Taiwan is a free and democratic independent sovereign state where people have the voting right to choose their own President and different level officials as well as the lawmakers.
P.R.O.C in Mainland China is a communist country and the people cannot select their own President and other officials either.
Both sides of the people speak the same language with the same historical background.
I personally expect both sides can get unified in the future but it must be reunited under the free and democratic system like the united Germany.
2. Taiwan also names as Formosa
When the Portuguese saw the island of Taiwan back in the 16th century, they called it Ilha Formosa (Beautiful Island). The name was the official name for the island until the Second World War and nowadays Formosa is still informally used as a name for Taiwan.
3. Taiwan ranked second in the list of safest countries in the world ever in 2014 with low exposure to robbery, crime and violence. The ranking has been changing every year but Taiwan is always on Top list.
4. Taiwan ranked 6th most peaceful country in Asia Pacific, 34th worldwide.
5. 2019 Index ranks Taiwan passport as 29th strongest in world, 7th in Asia.
6. The density of convenient store in Taiwan ranked 2nd in the world, next to Korea.
On average, every 2000 people can have one convenient store. One thing special I share is the convenient stores in Taiwan like 7-11 are all 24 hours opening and not just sell some drinks, food and daily necessaries only. You can print documents, call a taxi, send a parcel, pay the bills, Order High Speed Train ticket, Movie ticket, Show ticket and do much more than other countries’, which are beyond your imagination.
7. The size of Taiwan is about the same as Belgium.
Taiwan (35,980 square kilometer) is 1.18 times as big as Belgium (30,528 square kilometer).
There are about 23 million people who live in Taiwan, about 2 times more than Belgium's.
Taiwan is a small island country that is quite densely populated.
8. Taiwan is the World's highest density of driving motorcycle, the population of Taiwan is 23 million.
The amount of motorcycle in Taiwan is over 14 million which means every person has 1.6 motorcycles on average.
9. Taiwan has over 40 products ranking No. 1 in the world, including Electric Motors, Foundry, Motherboards, Graphics cards, Network cards, Monitors, Scanners, Modems, Hubs, Chassis, Keyboards, CDs, and Mice. SPS, ABS resin, PU, PUC, PPE, Rayon, Sneakers, Monosodium glutamate, Sunglasses, Western drums, Christmas lights, Bicycles, Bicycle chains, Hats, Screws, Umbrellas, Dinettes, Raincoats, Sewing machines, Phalaenopsis, Cartoon animation, Grilling, Guitar, Prosthetics and so on.
10. Taiwan's love-in with Porsche
Ever noticed that you see a lot of Porsche's around Taiwan? It's not your Imagination. Porsche is a big deal in Taiwan! In 2017, more than 60 percent of Porsche's total sales in Asia were made in Taiwan. As a result of this huge market success, Porsche is really focused on the Taiwan markets right now and is planning to invest NT$2.7 billion in Taiwan in the coming years. Taiwan is the only Asian country to truly embrace Porsche so far.
Welcome to Taiwan.
7-11s and Wi-Fi are everywhere. People are very friendly too. Not just convenient but also amazing. It deserves your visit!!!