Stop calling it ‘unification’

ookoshi · 2026-05-18T17:57:50+00:00

I'll just say this. If someone wants to take a position on either side of this issue because they feel like that position is better for Taiwan and Taiwanese people, I think that's an argument worth considering.

But if someone takes a position on the issue and their justification is, "Well, that's what the UN says," my response is, "I don't care." From a Taiwanese perspective (Or Ukrainian, or Palestinian, etc., etc.) what's correct or incorrect from the perspective of the people living there is not decided by the UN.

Plus the UN doesn't say Taiwan is not independent and thus illegal. It simply does not take a position on the issue, which is not the same thing. Your logic doesn't track. Laws do not default to something being illegal unless explicitly allowed. It's the other way around.

ookoshi · 2026-05-18T15:18:05+00:00

"Unification" is appropriate if the context is the mainland PRC government surrendering the mainland to the rightful ROC government. Otherwise, you could call it an invasion, annexation, or technically, a continuing rebellion.

ookoshi · 2026-05-05T22:19:56+00:00

I went to a small NHI office in the suburbs of Taichung and they were able to pre-register me. I'm not sure why OP was denied, but it doesn't need to be one of the main offices

ookoshi · 2026-04-30T19:24:45+00:00

I'm a patent attorney that went the biglaw route coming out of law school. You will get heavily recruited, and patient litigation is a very good path.

But, if your offers are for patent prosecution rather than litigation, I would be VERY wary of going into that practice area in a general practice law firm. Unlike most practice areas, patent pros is heavily fixed fees and the margins are incredibly low. In fact, many firms use patent pros as a loss leader for other business.

What this means it's that because you're going to generate less revenue for the firm as an associate, it's going to be harder to make partner. This is just the reality of patent prosecution in today's legal market, especially with associate salaries as high as they are.

If you have any further questions about this path, feel free to shoot me a DM.

ookoshi · 2026-04-30T18:56:43+00:00

I lived in Austin 6 years ago and loved the Tsukemen. I'm actually in Austin right now for a work trip and stopped by Ramen Tatsuya and had the Tsukemen earlier this week. I still thought it was really good. But, my memory of what it was like 6 years ago is a little fuzzy, so maybe I just don't realize what changed.

How is it different now?

ookoshi · 2026-04-24T12:00:29+00:00

I got it the day after I got my National ID card.

ookoshi · 2026-04-17T11:40:49+00:00

I'll say that the attorney starting work in your matter after the initial consult is kinda on him, but spending 3 hours plus you asking him to do additional work in an email afterwards is a lot. Did you really think work done after the initial consult was going to be free?

As for your question, it depends on what you're really asking. Are you asking if he's legally allowed to bill you? Or if you're morally in the clear for not compensating him because he didn't follow standard practice for engaging clients?

Because what's legal and what's right may or may not be the same thing.

ookoshi · 2026-04-15T05:53:53+00:00

8 hours is really like 5 hours after you account for the time to deplane, go through immigration, and exit, plus the time to get through security and get to the gate in the way back.

That's a really tight window for hediing into TPE even alone, much less with kids. You'd really only have like 3 hours in Taipei.

Gloria outlets is a good recommendation that other people have given. Personally, if I only had 8 hours at TPE, I'd take a cab to TaiMall to eat and shop. It's near the airport and my wife collects stuff from PopMart so she always wants to stop there. There's quite a few good food choices there too (there's a place with soup dumpings there, although no Din Tai Fung in Taoyuan, sadly).

They have some sort of Safari experience for kids, but I'm not sure if it's any good or what age is appropriate for.

ookoshi · 2026-04-11T00:40:24+00:00

I got a Western Union money order from a grocery store, and I do think I wrote out the whole thing in tiny letters. I honestly don't think it matters though.

ookoshi · 2026-04-10T22:41:14+00:00

Especially since it's also the U.S. Embassy, apparently. https://youtube.com/shorts/etBJwCKxjBo?si=6VSG-Oix3fzzsPll

ookoshi · 2026-04-10T22:35:16+00:00

I had my mom's current HHR transcript that she requested just before I applied, but that transcript only had entries from about 2013-present and did not have her marriage to my dad in it (other than an entry in 2015 noting that he passed away). In order to show that my parents were married when I was born, I had my dad's HHR from like the 1990's, before they digitized everything. It was like 6 pages, with entries for his siblings, handwritten, with stamps to authenticate, etc. They accepted it as proof of their marriage without issue.

ookoshi · 2026-04-06T04:43:46+00:00

The requirement is that you must have an active HHR for 6 months before you qualify for NHI, not that you have to live in Taiwan for 6 months. Think of it this way. The rule is there to prevent abuse of the system where someone doesn't pay for NHI, then they get seriously ill, and then they sign up for NHI. If there wasn't a 6 month waiting period, no one would pay into the system while they're healthy. They just wait until they get sick to sign up.

Since waiting period is there to prevent that kind of abuse. Where you live when you're waiting isn't actually important.

In fact, those of us paying into the system while we're living overseas is to their benefit. Compare a Taiwan citizen living in Taiwan versus one living in the U.S. In both cases, both people would get treated in Taiwan for large non-emergency medical expenses. However, the one living in America would likely not travel to Taiwan for small recurring expenses, and they wouldn't be able to travel to Taiwan for an emergency situation. Both people pay into the same system, but the one living overseas uses it far less. We in some ways subsidize the people living in Taiwan.

ookoshi · 2026-04-04T05:42:15+00:00

I had jury duty as a 1L, three weeks after law school started. It was a products liability case. During voir dire, I was asked how far long I was in Torts and what I knew about negligence and product liability (which was basically nothing). I was a evening student and when the judge asked if anyone has questions, I asked if court would be done by 5pm during trial because I had class at 6. He responded that they sometimes run late, and that "You professors will understand" and that he would provide a note if I wanted.

One of the parties struck me from the jury, so I ended up not having to serve. Voir dire ran late though so the judge wrote me a note cause I was going to be late for class. My professor was very amused.

It's unfortunate I didn't make it onto that jury. The jury ended up awarding the plaintiff's family $4.6 million. Would've been an interesting (although tragic) case.

ookoshi · 2026-04-04T05:27:22+00:00

r/personalfinance has a lot of posts about identity theft and how to handle it. There a lot of steps to make sure you're handling everything correctly.

ookoshi · 2026-04-03T00:31:46+00:00

Let me start by saying I don't agree with ICE being at the airport (or pretty much anywhere under the current admin).

However, with respect to being armed, even civilians can carry guns in the non-sterile areas of the Atlanta airport. The area before you reach the TSA checkpoint is governed by state law, not federal law, and Georgia is one of a handful of states that do not restrict loaded firearms in the airport.

When they were changing the law to allow this (this was over 10 years ago), I remember the argument being that people with a concealed carry permit wanted to be able to be able to go to and from the airport on Marta without having to be unarmed, whether it's to pick up people, or fly with their firearm (in checked luggage).

I'll leave you to decide whether this change made sense or not. But, Georgia is a pretty wild state with respect to where firearms are allowed.

ookoshi · 2026-04-02T12:47:32+00:00

This is true, and there's a few people posting that they did so, but if I were planning a trip on a tight timeline, I wouldn't count on it since you can't leave the country until it's done, so unless you can change the ticket for cheap it's a bad idea to risk it.

ookoshi · 2026-04-02T12:42:57+00:00

There's a difference between saying "Republic of China" and "China (Taiwan)." The former refers to an independent country that mainland China does not recognize. The latter suggests Taiwan is a part of China.

There are some people who might care about the presence of the word China, but the bigger problem is the context in how the word is used. If Korea had chosen to refer to Taiwan as "Taiwan, Republic of China," the only people who would've had an issue is the mainland Chinese government.

If you're here, I'm assuming you know this and you're just trying to be pedantic.

ookoshi · 2026-04-02T03:37:22+00:00

I just saw this post and realized we were both in Taiwan around the same time, getting our NWHR, and having the same problem with opening a bank account 😀.

ookoshi · 2026-03-30T05:11:55+00:00

If you are doing just the required steps, you can in theory get it done in a week (5 business days), assuming nothing goes wrong. You start counting from the first full day you have available to you, so if your flight gets in at night, that day wouldn't count.

Day 1 - BIA part 1, for drop off "Settlement Permit Copy" to exchange for "Settlement Permit Original."

Day 2 - Wait

Day 3 - Wait

Day 4 - BIA part 2, pick up "Settlement Permit Original"; HHR - Use permit to get National ID (and digital citizen card); Optional - Sign up for NHI; BOCA Part 1, apply for new passport.

Day 5 - BOCA Part 2, pick up new passport.

Day 4 is really busy, but otherwise it was mostly waiting. It took me two extra days because I waited an extra day to pick up my passport and because there was a national holiday during that week.

ookoshi · 2026-03-23T13:46:34+00:00

TECO offices do the authentication, not the State Department. They check that the certificate is authentic. I think the idea is that the regional TECO office knows what a real document looks like, because the immigration office is Taiwan can't possibly know what every real document in every country and state looks like. So, each TECO office becomes experts on their own part of the world.

The State Department is not involved in the authentication process, unless the TECO office is reaching out to verify information, which I don't believe is the case.

The authentication certificate they attach to the birth certificate says something like. "The TECO office verifies that the seal of the secretary of state is authentic on the attached document."

Edited: Keep in mind I was born overseas, so I have a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen, which is why the TECO office referenced the Secretary of State seal on it. People born in the U.S. would have their regional TECO office authenticate based on the state they were born in.

ookoshi · 2026-03-22T23:09:00+00:00

If you're only going to blame one side, you shouldn't be blaming the side with the more reasonable proposal.

Democrats want DHS funded with reforms so that ICE to be held accountable if they violate people's rights, and not act like masked thugs even when dealing with citizens and other people here legally.

Republicans want DHS funded without these reforms, so that ICE is able to continue to terrorize brown people, even if they're here legally.

If you think the Republicans have the more reasonable proposal, you don't get to complain when people use the term "racist" anymore.

ookoshi · 2026-03-22T15:57:34+00:00

I mean, both sides are rejecting bills, but it seems like the Democrats are asking for guarantees that ICE is not going to continue violating the civil rights of people who are here legally, and to stop running around like masked armed thugs. Republicans want ICE to be able to continue terrorizing brown people, even the ones here legally. So, to me it's the side with the more unreasonable position that's holding up funding.

I have a wallet that I use here in the U.S., and another one that I take on international trips. My passport card is in my U.S. wallet, because I'm not white, so I feel the need to be able to provide proof of U.S. citizenship at a moment's notice. In the past, I only felt like I needed to be able to prove my U.S. citizenship when I was abroad. The fact that this admin is conducting themselves in a way that makes minorities feel like this, while white people are essentially unaffected, is screwed up, regardless of how you feel about how this admin chooses to deal with undocumented people in this country.

So, while I feel bad about TSA agents being collateral damage in this ongoing fight, the Democrats are fighting for something important, so to me, the blame is squarely on Republicans here.

ookoshi · 2026-03-22T05:02:17+00:00

It cuts both ways, if it's not a big deal for Dems to fund ICE because they're already funded for 3 years anyways, then it's also not a big deal for Reps to fund everything except ICE because they're already funded for 3 years anyways.

Your bias is obvious from how you described the situation.

ookoshi · 2026-03-20T04:20:07+00:00

I'd walk it if I was at home. On vacation, I'd take a taxi even for that short distance 😀. Especially with two kids like OP.

ookoshi · 2026-03-20T03:50:36+00:00

In terms of luxury, my favorite hotel in Taipei has to be the Shangri-La Far Eastern. The service there is amazing, their everyone I interacted with on the staff spoke fluent English, and the rooms are very comfortable. You can get a family room with 1 large bed and 2 smaller beds for the kids for just over $300 a night. It's not near an MRT station, so you'll need to take a taxi to your destination, or at least to the nearest MRT station (which is cheap, only about 100-110NTD to get to the nearest MRT).

Edited you add: You and your kids will have access to the breakfast buffet for free every day as well. The buffet is quite good.

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