Hey, I'm Jasmine
and I'm a civil engineer
that's about it
I'm Daisy
I'm an English teacher
I'm into music and art
and I'll be 26 this year
I'm Pinti Zheng (Zheng Qingxin)
I study architecture at Shih Chien University
and I graduate soon
I'm 24
The stereotypical Xicanmei
Would be someone who wears sexy clothing in bars
They wear high heels
and they'll try to dance with foreign men
They like foreign men and will approach them themselves
Most people assume the guy will take the girl home
and the girl will have a good time, with a new guy every night
That's what most people think of Xicanmei
But, of course, that's not what it's really like
When people say 'Xicanmei', it's the type of girl
They see foreigners and stick to them like glue
No matter if they know you or not, they'll stick close
Do I think I'm a Xicanmei?
Of course I don't
Does anyone think I'm a Xicanmei?
No
If anyone's said that about me I guess I wouldn't know
but I think
If an Asian girl, a Taiwanese girl, has a foreign boyfriend
Taiwanese people, especially guys, will say she's a Xicanmei
When I was 19 or 20 I had a group of friends
Everyone would joke that I "travelled the world"
They wouldn't call me a Xicanmei though
because I don't look like a typical Xicanmei
I've dated a white person before
But I didn't think of him as ;white: or any particular type of person
I think cultural issues are a lot more important
the way people think
Of course, you can't make generalizations
but foreigners tend to be more open-minded, more liberal
Yes, I've dated a foreigner before
What kind of questions are these?
Everybody...women all have different personalities
like if I really like eggs
If I see an egg I'll eat it
That's perfectly normal
Some people really like foreigners
They think foreigners are very exotic
So they'll be easily attracted to foreigners
But that's not the same as exclusively liking foreigners
It's just something that they particularly like
like how guys like girls with big breasts
Lots of people will
For example, if a Xicanmei sees a Russian guy in a bar
They probably don't know much about Russian culture or Russian people
They'll just think - he's a foreigner
Because Taiwan's status is somewhat awkward in terms of global politics
So people will say stuff like "London's pretty" or "the French are so romantic"
In fact they just project stereotypes on people from these countries
So... for example if I'd never been to France
And I see a Frenchman
I might think: "Oh! He's French, he must be romantic"
That's what Xicanmei think
The space left for your imagination is bigger
If it's a Taiwanese guy on the other hand
And he lives in Wanhua, or better Ximending
if he lives in an alley in Ximending
I can imagine the way he grew up
I've probably even passed by his house several times
The closer you are, the less space for imagination there is
If it's a foreigner you'll think "I've never been to France"
So I can imagine a wonderful life for him in France
But maybe he's really ordinary and just grew up next to some dreary fishing port
I think it's to do with people's imagination
Xicanmei are not people who
fall in love with a particular foreigner
Society is liberal enough these days
So maybe she'll do it just to say "I slept with a foreigner last night"
As if it's some sort of achievement in life
It's mostly just for bragging rights
I think Taiwan is very welcoming to foreign cultures
I think that this is a good thing
But if the limits on immigration are loosened too much
If lots of foreigners wanted to come to Taiwan
I'd worry that our own Taiwanese culture would be invaded
Or other problems like that
Maybe there would be more and more Xicanmei
and then Taiwanese men would be left without girlfriends
These kinds of problems
I think it's bad to view everything in this light
Why?
With this type of couple, people will think the girl is a Xicanmei
Why? Just because she's Taiwanese
Then suppose it's an American guy
Then between the countries
People will think America's powerful and Taiwan's just a small island country
whose economy is going down the tubes
You could stretch this to say that Taiwan is weak in international terms
and they think this is the reason Taiwanese girls stick to foreigners
I think this is
It's pathetic, that Taiwanese see themselves in this way
I think it's to do with education
Our education tells us that foreign things are all great
Like, that red wine is great, better than rice wine or sorghum wine (kaoliang)
And you have to speak English, to be "International"
You have to be "International"
All the big stars are foreigners too
So we think of foreigners as special
And if you can fly to America on holiday, it looks good
Or if you have a boyfriend in Germany it looks good too
That kind of thing, seems interesting and cool
Actually I think this phenomenon is changing
Although I think it will be a good few years before it disappears completely
Subtitles by Conor Stuart