|
Serving
Students at
Santa Ana
College and
Santiago
Canyon College
TAIWAN
Etiquette
|
Introductions
It is
polite to wait to be introduced to another at gatherings and parties; arrange
for a third person to introduce you to a person you wish to meet.
When meeting someone for the first time, a nod of the head is sufficient.
When meeting friends or acquaintances, a handshake is appropriate and will
be expected from Westerners. Respect is shown by bowing slightly
with your hands at the sides and the feet together. Elderly people
are very highly respected, so it is polite to speak with them first; a
complement on their good health is appropriate. With younger or foreign
educated Taiwanese, a handshake is the most common form of greeting.
The standard Asian handshake is more of a handclasp, sometimes both hands
will be used; it is rather limp and lasts for over ten seconds compared
with most North American handshakes which are of short duration.
Chinese
women will rarely shake hands; Western men should not try to shake hands
with Chinese women. Western women will have to initiate a handshake
with Chinese men.
The common
greeting is to be asked if you have eaten; this phrase is comparable with
“How are you?” in the West. A polite response is “yes”, even if you
have not eaten.
Names
Names
are listed in a different order from Western names. Each person receives
a family name, a generational name, and a given name at birth-in that order.
Generational and given names are often separated by a hyphen.
Most people
you meet should be addressed with a title and their name. If a person
does not have a professional title, use Mr., Mrs., or Miss, plus their
name.
Chinese
wives do not generally take their husband’s surnames, but instead maintain
their maiden names. Although Westerners commonly address a married
woman as Mrs. plus her husband’s family name, it is more appropriate to
call her Madam plus her maiden family name.
Thankfully,
many Chinese adopt an English first name so that English speakers can have
a familiar sounding name to identify them by.
If many
Chinese seem to have similar clan names, it is because there are only about
400 different surnames in China. However, when these surnames are
transcribed into English, there are several possible variations.
Physical
Contact
Do not
put your arm around another’s shoulders. While young children of
the same sex will often hold hands, it is inappropriate for others to do
so or to make physical contact with people who are not good friends or
family. Do not touch the head of another person’s child. Feet
are considered dirty and should not touch things or people.
Non-Verbal
Communications
Do not
wink at a person, even in friendship.
Men should
keep their feet flat on the floor, while women may cross their legs.
Chinese
point with their open hands, since pointing with a finger is considered
rude. They attract the attention of another by extending their arms
palm down and waving their fingers.
While
Westerners point to their chests to indicate the first person, “I”, Chinese
will point to their noses to indicate the same thing.
Dining
Entertaining,
and being entertained, is an essential element of doing business in Taiwan.
Sharing dinner can be important in building friendships that will establish
the necessary trust, as well as building a rapport that will greatly contribute
to overall business success.
The first
meeting with a prospective business partner may take place over a meal
at his or her
invitation.
This generosity is essential to building business contacts. Show appreciation
for the food, and use chopsticks. The Taiwanese take great pride
in their cuisine as it plays an essential role in their culture; plan to
reciprocate. A social relationship is directly related to the conduct
of business for a Taiwanese businessman.
The largest
meal of the day is taken in the evening, at about 6:00 p.m. Entertaining
is most often done in a restaurant and rarely in a home.
Never
visit a home unannounced; being invited to a home is an honor. Do
not discuss business during a meal unless your host brings it up first.
Before leaving, express your thanks and bow slightly. Send a thank
you note to your host after a meal and reciprocate by inviting your host
to a meal of equal value at a later date.
If you
are the guest of honor at a round table, you will be seated facing the
door. It is also customary for the guest to be the first to sample
a dish before anyone else starts eating. At a meal, eat lightly in
the beginning, since there could be up to twenty courses served.
Empty bowls will be refilled by the host. Leave some food in the
bowls and on the plates. Do not empty a serving bowl or plate.
Chinese
use chopsticks for eating and a porcelain spoon for soup. Your attempts
at using chopsticks will be appreciated. Set chopsticks on the table or
on the rest. Do not place them parallel on top of a bowl or sticking
straight up in a rice bowl. Hold the rice bowl near the mouth to
eat.
Do not
put food taken from a service dish directly into your mouth. Transfer
it to your plate or bowl first. Bones and shells are placed on the
table or a spare plate; they are never placed in your rice bowl or on your
plate.
Appropriate
topics of conversation include Chinese sights, art, calligraphy, and family
and inquire about the health of the other’s family. Topics to avoid
are the situation with mainland China and local politics. Generally,
conversation during a meal focuses on the meal itself and is full of compliments
to the preparer. Leave promptly after the meal is finished.
Links
to More Information
Sources:
U.
S. Department of State
Small
Business Exchange |
