China and Taiwan -- What's the diff?

 Disclaimer: We found an old blog post draft that was never published. When I say old, I mean SEVEN YEARS old. Some of this information is from 2014, some things we updated to the current status of Taiwan.

Taiwan and China 

by Jenny with help from Soleil

Many people have asked us what the difference is between Taiwan and China.  It is hard to compare because I don’t know which differences are specific to certain places, and which are because I have seen China in the past and am seeing Taiwan now. But anyway, these are some of the things I have noticed. For some of the linguistic differences, please see the blog called China Penguin and Taiwan Penguin, posted June 19, 2014.

China - in the 1990s and 2000s	Taiwan - 2013-14, 2020-21
More bikes, cycle for transportation	Cycle for leisure, sport and transportation (students bike to school)
RenMinBi is the currency.	The currency is the New Taiwan Dollar.
Political protests are not shown on TV.	Protests against the government are in the news.
Lots of my relatives are there.	I only have a few relatives here.
Bathroom stalls might have doors.  Few public restrooms provide toilet paper.	Bathroom stalls have doors. Some public restrooms provide toilet paper.
Mostly squatty potties in public restrooms	In public restrooms you have a choice of squatty potty or toilet
	Bathrooms are generally cleaner
	More private cars and scooters
	People line up when waiting.
Sidewalks are not always useable.	Sidewalks are often unusable for walking
Has REAL pandas, but not many.	Has lots of  Food Panda (drivers on scooters of a food delivery service) (2020-21)
It is very competitive to get into university	It is easier to get into university.
Enormous class size	Extra large class size
Traffic laws exist. However... there is some degree of traffic FREEDOM.	They obey traffic rules more. Drivers are somewhat more cautious. This is relative.  I still see people cross on a red light and in some places parking is a mess.
	Less spitting
Lots of men smoke.	Some men chew beetle. bīngláng 檳榔
Many sales people are aggressive/proactive.	Salespeople are more chill. 😎
Yes, technically there are elections in China, but...	They have political campaigns and elections.
Falungong is illegal.	Falungong is accepted.

Homosexuality is generally not accepted.

Homosexuality is more accepted but there are still plenty of people who disapprove of it. (2014) A marriage equality law was passed in 2019. (2021)

Some Food Panda Delivery Guy: