Health & safety

Taiwanese people are extraordinarily health conscious. They eat the weirdest of things just because they are “good for you.” They don’t drink alcohol much at all and few people smoke. In parks I’m regularly overtaken by people in their 80s who are out for a jog. Not surprisingly, they have the longest life-expectancy in the world next to the Japanese.

At the same time Taiwanese people have little concern for issues of safety. Small kids often play in the busiest of roads. Entire families, including dogs, can be seen riding on the same motor bike. The house we just moved into has stairs that will kill you instantaneously if you happen to lose your balance.

Why do Taiwanese care so much about health and so little about safety? What’s the point of a healthy life-style if you die in a horrible accident?

Health & safety

Taiwanese people are extraordinarily health conscious. They eat the weirdest of things just because they are “good for you.” They don’t drink alcohol much at all and few people smoke. In parks I’m regularly overtaken by people in their 80s who are out for a jog. Not surprisingly, they have the longest life-expectancy in the world next to the Japanese.

At the same time Taiwanese people have little concern for issues of safety. Small kids often play in the busiest of roads. Entire families, including dogs, can be seen riding on the same motor bike. The house we just moved into has stairs that will kill you instantaneously if you happen to lose your balance.

Why do Taiwanese care so much about health and so little about safety? What’s the point of a healthy life-style if you die in a horrible accident?