The southern exodus
Dear Johnny,
You must have heard it countless times before in one form or another: “Northern Taiwan is more highly educated than the south and supports the blue. People of higher education will choose the blue over the green.”
With that in mind, please explain the exodus of people and massive traffic jams leaving northern Taiwan to get down south every time there is a holiday or even a long weekend.
Larry Schaeffer
Taipei
Johnny replies: When you first think about it, this does seem to be a peculiar phenomenon.
However, after consulting a few family members and a few shots of kaoliang, I can present some simple answers to your question.
1. More people will leave a metropolis for a holiday than enter it;
2. There is nothing north of Taipei except salt water and some rocky islets;
3. You don’t need to be educated to know that the south is more relaxing than the north;
4. If you look back far enough, most of Taipei’s residents have family outside Taipei, regardless of their politics and ethnic background;
5. Wealthier regions have populations with greater recreational mobility;
6. Why would anyone in the south want to spend money visiting a major city in the north right when it is deader than a Middle East peace agreement?
6. Dude, have you seen the babes in Kenting?
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