Thread by @Noahpinion

1/Here's a thread of my recent newsletter about Taiwan!

Americans have very little "consciousness" of Taiwan, compared to Japan and South Korea. That needs to change!

noahpinion.substack.com/p/taiwan-is-a-…

2/How much does the average American know about Taiwan? Precious little, I'd say. Except for bubble tea, most Americans probably wouldn't even recognize Taiwanese food!

3/Some Americans think of Taiwan as part of China (China's government certainly thinks it is!). This may stop them from thinking about Taiwan as a country.

But most Taiwanese people don't consider themselves "Chinese" in the national sense.

4/America has not sworn to defend Taiwan. But we are taking a much more pro-Taiwan posture. And this new approach is BIPARTISAN, so it's going to stick around.

One more reason for Americans like me to learn a little about Taiwan!

5/Now, I haven't been to Taiwan! And I certainly would never prevent myself as an expert.

But I do know a lot of Taiwanese people, and I'm pretty good at doing research online! So here's a quick intro to some of the things *I* found that are really cool about Taiwan.

6/For one thing, Taiwan has superior public health -- maybe the best public health system in the world.

They really kicked COVID-19's ass.

thelancet.com/journals/lanwp…

7/In the U.S., about half a million people have died of COVID so far.

In Taiwan? Seven people.

8/Now, thanks to their amazing public health system, Taiwanese people have been able to go back to a mostly normal life.

cnn.com/2020/09/21/asi…

9/Note that Taiwan also has one of the best (if not the best) health care systems in the world, and it's a single-payer system.

Socialists, take note! Taiwan is the #M4A success story you should be talking about!

vox.com/health-care/20…

10/Anyway, in addition to great public health and health care, Taiwan has great urbanism.

Follow @TaipeiUrbanism to see how awesome the capital city is.

twitter.com/TaipeiUrbanism/

11/Or read this great thread by the incomparable @alfred_twu:

https://twitter.com/alfred_twu/status/1350723920144474115

12/Taiwanese cities have a look that I can only describe as "solarpunk"...

13/Taipei has one of the world's best subway systems...

insider.com/taipei-metro-v…

14/Taiwan uses Georgist policies to make sure every bit of land is used!

Georgists, take note: Taiwan is your model! (They also did great agrarian land reform, back in the day.)

https://twitter.com/alfred_twu/status/1350734681927401472

15/Taiwan also has a famously progressive society. For example, it was the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage.

16/It's also one of the world's most gender-equal societies, ranking right up at the top with Scandinavian countries.

focustaiwan.tw/society/202101…

17/Taiwan is also a pioneer in attempting to include indigenous peoples in its political process and society.

culturalsurvival.org/publications/c…

18/This definitely creates a marked contrast with China!

washingtonpost.com/news/worldview…

19/Taiwan is also a pioneer in the area of "digital democracy". The government is very proactive about using online tools to listen to all of its people and build consensus.

wired.co.uk/article/taiwan…

20/You will pretty much always see @audreyt discussed in connection with this, as Tang is among the most prominent pioneers of the digital democracy movement.

restofworld.org/2020/audrey-ta…

21/If you have not already done so, you really need to read or listen to this long podcast interview with Audrey Tang!

conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/audre…

22/And this ideology of democracy and participation may be spreading throughout the region.

https://twitter.com/yuzutea43325543/status/1355676417300725760

23/Anyway, public health, urbanism, progressivism, and democracy are serious stuff! Now let's talk about some fun stuff!

Taiwan is famous for street food and night markets.

24/It's also famous for its huge, packed dance clubs!

OONST OONST OONST!

(I've always wanted to type "OONST OONST OONST!" in a tweet.)

25/Here's Anthony Bourdain's episode in Taipei.

vimeo.com/132236104

26/And here is a video where a slightly goofy European man takes you on a tour of Taiwanese clubs!

27/So anyway, there is much fun to be had in Taiwan (I didn't even mention the hiking, which I hear is amazing).

Also, I should mention that Taiwan is extremely technologically advanced.

bloomberg.com/news/features/…

28/Anyway, what else can I say about Taiwan? Here's a music video that gives you a good idea of what the place looks like!

29/And remember, these are all things about Taiwan that you can learn just by reading and talking to people!!

The actual country is infinitely more interesting than this quick gloss, and I hope to go there as soon as possible.

30/In any case, Americans need to have more awareness and consciousness of Taiwan! It really is a very special place, and we should think about it more.

(end)

noahpinion.substack.com/p/taiwan-is-a-…

Anyway, if you like this sort of stuff, remember to sign up for my free email list, and get my Substack newsletter delivered hot and fresh to your inbox!

noahpinion.substack.com