Taiwan!
The greatest country
Slash region
Slash province of China
It depends on who you ask.
What makes Taiwan so different from China?
Here are 5 more ways.
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
There are two governments claiming to be
the legitimate government of China.
In one corner, representing Mainland China,
you have the Red Terror,
the People’s Republic of China!
And in the other corner, representing the island of Taiwan,
putting the rock in ROC, the Republic of China!
This match has been going for 69 years.
And in that time, a lot of changes have happened.
Taiwan and China are very different places—
even though they share a lot of history and culture.
And since so many of you liked my first episode
about five differences between Taiwan and China,
I thought I’d do another one with five more differences.
So here is
China vs Taiwan:
Top 5 Differences Part 2
Number 5
Toilet Paper
You’d think this wouldn’t be a difference, but it is.
In many public toilets in China, you won’t find toilet paper.
That’s because there’s a huge problem of people stealing it.
So if you’re ever traveling in China,
you might want to bring your own.
But there’s an upside to living in a surveillance state.
In a few public restrooms, they’ve recently come up with
a perfect solution to both providing toilet paper,
and combating would-be thieves:
Dispensers with facial recognition!
The way it works is,
the machine scans your face,
and then distributes a small amount of toilet paper.
And it won’t give you any more unless you wait
a certain amount of time.
The downside is,
if you’re a criminal or a dissident,
you have one more type of surveillance to worry about.
Also no one gets enough toilet paper.
In Taiwan on the other hand,
there’s toilet paper.
Yeah, just...it’s like a normal country.
I’m sorry,
it’s not any more interesting than that.
Number 4
Different Visas
If you want to visit most places in mainland China,
you need to visit your local PRC embassy or consulate
and apply for a travel visa.
And just to get a normal 30- or 60-day travel visa,
you have to submit a lot of information,
like your current employment,
which hotels you’re going to stay out,
your criminal record,
and whether you’ve visited certain Muslim countries.
But even if you get that travel visa,
you still won’t be able to go just anywhere in China.
For example, Tibet.
These days,
Tibet is harder to get into than North Korea.
I wonder if there’s something there the Chinese Communist Party
doesn’t want foreigners to see.
Or maybe they just don’t want foreigners to get sick.
From the altitude, I mean.
And even if you get into China,
there’s always a risk that you just might never want to leave.
China has recently created a simplified visa program,
where visitors from certain countries can visit
a handful of major cities—
but it’s only good for 3 days,
and you can’t travel outside those places.
Now to visit Taiwan,
people from a lot of countries,
including the US,
can just show up at the airport,
and get a visa waiver to stay 90 days.
And don’t worry,
you can visit pretty much anywhere in Taiwan.
Maybe they don’t have so many things to cover up.
Number 3
Happy ethnic minorities
The Chinese Communist Party has a long history
of treating the 56 ethnic minorities of China right.
That’s why the Party calls them the happy 56 ethnic minorities.
Just look at the Tibetans!
State-run media
wants you to know they’re just so happy.
So happy, in fact, you probably don’t want to disturb them.
Say, by visiting Tibet.
Of course, for now—
if you get your visa—
you can still visit the happy Uighur ethnic people over in Xinjiang.
Just keep in mind, the state will be keeping tabs on you.
I’m sure it’s just to make sure you have a good time.
After all, the Uighur Muslims there are the happiest in the world.
And the Chinese authorities know this,
because they’re monitoring them 24/7.
Over in Taiwan, they also have ethnic minorities.
But their government has been very open a
nd honest about the fact that indigenous people
have not always been treated well.
The President of Taiwan even apologized in 2016.
I guess they could really learn a thing or two
from communist China about how to treat minorities.
Because that government has never felt the need to apologize!
Number 2
Constitutional Freedoms
Now you know at first I thought this would be something
China and Taiwan have in common!
I mean, after all,
the Chinese constitution guarantees freedom of speech,
the press, assembly, association, etc etc.
And Taiwan’s constitution guarantees pretty much the same things.
Except, there’s a reason why protests in Taiwan look like this.
And protests in China look like this.
It’s almost like...
having a constitution doesn’t actually guarantee rule of law.
And Number 1
International Relations
So by now you might have the impression that
Taiwan is essentially a modern democracy.
And China is a modern...
nightmare version of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
But with really impressive skyscrapers and high-speed trains.
But which one is the real China?
Get this: More than 170 countries have chosen
to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the true China,
and cut off official diplomatic ties with Taiwan’s Republic of China.
And I totally understand.
The People’s Republic of China has waaaay more people.
Which means you can make a lot more money there.
After the Chinese Communist Party took over mainland China in 1949,
most countries kept their diplomatic ties with the Republic of China,
which had fled to the island of Taiwan.
But starting in the 1970s, more and more countries
shifted their alliance over to the big China.
Sure it’s authoritarian,
and kills its minorities,
and it’s restrooms don’t even have toilet paper,
but...did I mention how much money you can make there?
Today, there are only 17 countries
that still have diplomatic relations
with the Republic of China.
They’re mostly smaller countries,
one of which is the Vatican.
And let’s just say, even that might not last.
The Chinese Communist Party has been using money
to isolate Taiwan internationally.
For example, in 2017,
they got Panama to switch allegiances
in exchange for the promise of millions of dollars
of Chinese investment.
And they did the same in 2018 with El Salvador,
the Dominican Republic, and Burkina Faso.
Maybe the Communist Party hopes that
if Taiwan has no more allies,
they can just take it over.
But there are countries like the US
that officially recognize the People’s Republic of China,
but also work closely with Taiwan.
In the US’s case,
that includes the promise to defend Taiwan
from any threat of Mainland invasion,
including by selling Taiwan weapons.
So those are five more ways Taiwan and China
are not the same.
What do you think?
And if you’ve been to both Taiwan and China,
let me know in the comments section below
what differences you’ve seen!
And before you go, remember,
China Uncensored continues to run because of the support
from my 50-Cent Army—
viewers like you who support China Uncensored through Patreon.
If you’d like to join,
sign up at patreon.com/chinauncensored.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.