and I'm a civil engineer

that's about it

I'm Daisy

I'm an English teacher

I'm into music and art

and I'll be 26 this year

I'm Pinti Zheng (Zheng Qingxin)

I study architecture at Shih Chien University

and I graduate soon

I'm 24

The stereotypical Xicanmei

Would be someone who wears sexy clothing in bars

They wear high heels

and they'll try to dance with foreign men

They like foreign men and will approach them themselves

Most people assume the guy will take the girl home

and the girl will have a good time, with a new guy every night

That's what most people think of Xicanmei

But, of course, that's not what it's really like

When people say 'Xicanmei', it's the type of girl

They see foreigners and stick to them like glue

No matter if they know you or not, they'll stick close

Do I think I'm a Xicanmei?

Of course I don't

Does anyone think I'm a Xicanmei?

No

If anyone's said that about me I guess I wouldn't know

but I think

If an Asian girl, a Taiwanese girl, has a foreign boyfriend

Taiwanese people, especially guys, will say she's a Xicanmei

When I was 19 or 20 I had a group of friends

Everyone would joke that I "travelled the world"

They wouldn't call me a Xicanmei though

because I don't look like a typical Xicanmei

I've dated a white person before

But I didn't think of him as ;white: or any particular type of person

I think cultural issues are a lot more important

the way people think

Of course, you can't make generalizations

but foreigners tend to be more open-minded, more liberal

Yes, I've dated a foreigner before

What kind of questions are these?

Everybody...women all have different personalities

like if I really like eggs

If I see an egg I'll eat it

That's perfectly normal

Some people really like foreigners

They think foreigners are very exotic

So they'll be easily attracted to foreigners

But that's not the same as exclusively liking foreigners

It's just something that they particularly like

like how guys like girls with big breasts

Lots of people will

For example, if a Xicanmei sees a Russian guy in a bar

They probably don't know much about Russian culture or Russian people

They'll just think - he's a foreigner

Because Taiwan's status is somewhat awkward in terms of global politics

So people will say stuff like "London's pretty" or "the French are so romantic"

In fact they just project stereotypes on people from these countries

So... for example if I'd never been to France

And I see a Frenchman

I might think: "Oh! He's French, he must be romantic"

That's what Xicanmei think

The space left for your imagination is bigger

If it's a Taiwanese guy on the other hand

And he lives in Wanhua, or better Ximending

if he lives in an alley in Ximending

I can imagine the way he grew up

I've probably even passed by his house several times

The closer you are, the less space for imagination there is

If it's a foreigner you'll think "I've never been to France"

So I can imagine a wonderful life for him in France

But maybe he's really ordinary and just grew up next to some dreary fishing port

I think it's to do with people's imagination

Xicanmei are not people who

fall in love with a particular foreigner

Society is liberal enough these days

So maybe she'll do it just to say "I slept with a foreigner last night"

As if it's some sort of achievement in life

It's mostly just for bragging rights

I think Taiwan is very welcoming to foreign cultures

I think that this is a good thing

But if the limits on immigration are loosened too much

If lots of foreigners wanted to come to Taiwan

I'd worry that our own Taiwanese culture would be invaded

Or other problems like that

Maybe there would be more and more Xicanmei

and then Taiwanese men would be left without girlfriends

These kinds of problems

I think it's bad to view everything in this light

Why?

With this type of couple, people will think the girl is a Xicanmei

Why? Just because she's Taiwanese

Then suppose it's an American guy

Then between the countries

People will think America's powerful and Taiwan's just a small island country

whose economy is going down the tubes

You could stretch this to say that Taiwan is weak in international terms

and they think this is the reason Taiwanese girls stick to foreigners

I think this is

It's pathetic, that Taiwanese see themselves in this way

I think it's to do with education

Our education tells us that foreign things are all great

Like, that red wine is great, better than rice wine or sorghum wine (kaoliang)

And you have to speak English, to be "International"

You have to be "International"

All the big stars are foreigners too

So we think of foreigners as special

And if you can fly to America on holiday, it looks good

Or if you have a boyfriend in Germany it looks good too

That kind of thing, seems interesting and cool

Actually I think this phenomenon is changing

Although I think it will be a good few years before it disappears completely

Subtitles by Conor Stuart