I can't tell you how many times I've spoken with overeas friends or family member and they say, "wow-I just love Taiwanese food, so spicy, and you have such pretty beaches there…" It's at that point when I know they mean Thailand and not Taiwan. No, Taiwanese food is not spicy actually kind of bland but healthy. The beaches here are unexceptional due to lack of development mandated by the government's paranoia over the mainland Chinese attacking, hence many of the beaches host military posts.
There is a legacy of confusing names & titles for this place. When I was studying about China and Taiwan in school it seemed a daunting task to bring clarity to these different names, a task akin to seperating the the many strands of spaghetti that form one bowl of the noodles. Here we go: Formosa, Taiwan, Free China, Republic of China (R.O.C.), Chinese-Taipei. Th flip side of this coin is the many names for China as well: Red China, People's Republc of China(PRC), Communist China, Mainland China, etc. This can easily lead to some perplexed head scratching and wondering, "How many China's are there?"
To be continued
Here are some links that I believe will be interested
Comment by wpeiug43 — August 9, 2006 @ 1:34 pm