About Taiwan: People
The friendly people of Taiwan
Taiwan has a population of 22 million. The larger part of the
island's inhabitants are the descendants of immigrants from the
various provinces of mainland China, but in particular from the
southeastern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Because
the different ethnic groups have fairly well integrated, differences
that originally existed between people from different provinces
have gradually disappeared.
Some 360,000 indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Taiwan,
still live here; they can be distinguished into 12 different
tribes, namely the Saisiyat, the Atayal, the Amis, the Bunun,
the Puyuma, the Rukai, the Paiwan, the Tao, the Sao,the Taroko,the
Kemalan and the Zou.
The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese (Guoyu),
but because many Taiwanese are of southern Fujianese descent,
Min-nan (the Southern Min dialect, or Holo) is also widely spoken.
The smaller groups of Hakka people and aborigines have also preserved
their own languages. Many elderly people can also speak some
Japanese, as they were subjected to Japanese education before
Taiwan was returned to Chinese rule in 1945 after the Japanese
occupation which lasted for half a century.
The most popular foreign language in Taiwan is English, which
is part of the regular school curriculum. However, to be on the
safe side, when taking a taxi in Taiwan it is advisable to prepare
a note with your place of destination written in Chinese to show
the taxi driver.
Taiwan is also the most ideal place to learn Chinese. There are
numerous language schools that offer Chinese classes, ranging
from hourly-based classes to recognized university programs.
Many foreigners from Europe and the United States, as well as
other areas, come to Taiwan to spend their holidays, or one or
two years, studying Chinese.
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