Taiwan women dating customs

Taipei (Taiwan News) – A Japanese cartoonist has created a comparison of the dating cultures of four countries "outside" and "at home," with Taiwanese couples the only group depicted as "sweet" both in public and private.

The cartoon, posted by Japanese illustrator Yosimichi Iwhata on Jan. 17, compares the dating cultures of the U.S., Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong in public and in private, and has already gained nearly 7,000 likes and over 2,500 shares on Facebook.

In the first frame, an American couple is shown kissing in public, while back at home, the American man slaps his female companion. In the second frame, a Japanese man strikes a woman in public, while behind closed doors they embrace. In the third frame, a Taiwanese couple is shown kissing in exactly the same manner both in public and private, while in the final frame, a Hong Kong woman is seen hitting her man both in public and private.

In an interview with the Hong Kong website WeMedia01, Iwhata said his illustration reflects the cultural differences of other countries: Americans are "sweet" while in public, but are chauvinistic at home; Japanese are macho in public, but at home are actually sweet in private; and Taiwanese are sweet whether they are outside or inside.

As for Hong Kong, Iwhata says that whether Hong Kong women are with their significant other in public or private, their powerful feminism always rules the day.

Iwhata was born in the United States and then studied in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Spain. Before settling in Osaka, he worked in Taiwan and visited Hong Kong on numerous occasions. He has many Hong Kong friends and based on his conversations with Hong Kong men and his observations, he says that compared to Japanese and Taiwanese women, Hong Kong women are more "aggressive." He recalled riding with a former Hong Kong girlfriend on a very crowded subway car, and when she was pushed by someone while getting off, she went into a fit of rage, in contrast "Japanese girls would never do that, they are very quiet," he said.

Iwhata also made a self-deprecating cartoon which he titled simply "Me" in Chinese and Japanese:

There were over 900 comments in response to the cartoon comparing dating across cultures:

"You are able to see world as it really is."

"It turns out Hong Kong men are so weak."

"This is too real."

"This diagram leads to pain"

"What I see is: the crown falls off a Hong Kong man's head, his girlfriend then hurriedly catches it. #TearfulLies"

In response to these stereotypes, one Hong Kong user said, "In 2012, there were 115,203 cases of domestic abuse in Taiwan. There are 110,000 reports of domestic violence a year, the nerve of this picture."

Last year, he also made waves on the Internet with a cartoon using dinosaurs as metaphors to symbolize his experience dating women from Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, respectively:

The caption reads:

"When walking together with a girl

With a Japanese girl: feeling relaxed
With a Taiwanese girl: hard to operate...
With a Hong Kong girl: being eaten dead dead."