Taiwan in a very "tricky" country in the world. Some nations recognize it as an independent country while some don't. The controversial topic "It is a province of China" has become a chain that bothers Chinese and Taiwanese more than a century. To some extent, I am a mix in Taiwan due to my father came from HuiBei, China, and my mother came from Tainan, Taiwan. I lived in a veteran village before I got married. So I would like to share some personal experiences with privilege and/or prejudice in my society.
RACE
Even though some Chinese traveled to Taiwan since the 17th century, after WWII, lots of Chinese followed the government to Taiwan and treated this island as a foothold if one day they could fight back to mainland China. The earlier comers became Taiwanese and newly comers called Chinese. Chinese people have been in the higher status among these races in society since then. I was lucky because my father was a Chinese, my friends always envied my Chinese speaking without Taiwanese accent also because the only Language permitted was Chinese. Ironically, now I am in America, but I still have to clarify my nationality but in an opposite way. I can sense local people have no friendly attitude toward Chinese who are notorious for their behavior in the world. And every time after my clarification, I could have kind of relief between my new friends and I. Honestly, I don't like it, and that's why I would like to put more effort helping Chinese to adopt this society.
RELIGION
To some extent, Taiwan definitely has freedom for a variety of beliefs. But sometimes it also gets some impact from politics. For instance, Falun Gong is a sensitive issue in Taiwan. It originated from China since 1992 and spread to more than 114 countries and areas so far, it's a traditional Qigong practice and popular among people due to help people get the healthy body and peaceful mind. People can learn it for free and practice it anytime/anyplace. But China Communist Party started to persecute it due to the political interest and stigmatized it as a cult. I am also a Falun Gong practitioner. In Taiwan, I suffer the same pressure under the atmosphere. Taiwan government has very strong connection with China Communist Party and our medias get lots grant from relevant China companies. Most people don't know the truth and try to avoid talking about the topic. It causes many practitioners being marginalized and labeled as the gullible group.
GENDER
Taiwanese share most cultures from Chinese and it is a patriarchy. Many men have privilege in all walks of life. They are offered more salary and respect in companies. During the process of physical and mental development, boys are provided more chances and fewer limitations not only from school but also from family. Many young couples can not afford the parenting cost and cause the situation that Taiwan has the lowest birth rate in the world. Under that circumstance, most families choose to have a boy instead of a girl. In my marriage, I also experience that unfair treat. It is always my obligation to take care y three children and do most of the house chore. If I want to buy something to pamper myself, I usually need to wait until my husband has extra budget.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Taiwan is a new country in comparison and people there would like to embrace new ideas. Recently, it is going to pass the law having the legal right for LGBT. But it's still long way to go in my opinion. Including myself, I respect others' identities but I would try my best to prevent my children from being one of the groups.
ABILITY/DISABILITY
We have been imprinted for generations that the scholars have the supreme position in society. Students with outstanding grades can do whatever they like to some extent. Teachers would tolerate their bad attitude just because they are brilliant intelligent. I was an excellent student when I studied in middle school, and my parent treated me like a princess. But after I started to ponder the meaning of life during high school and college, and became reluctant to my academy, my parents thought I was a looser. No matter what I did, i.g. earning pocket money through part time jobs and accumulating my social experiences, they just turned their heads and assumed I didn't follow the correct path.
These experiences allow me to realize this world needs more time to fix the problems, and people who are at the moment need to put aside the burden, learn the lessons and find the strength that can really help us get our own stand.
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