One of the nifty cultural differences in Taiwan (or Chinese culture) is the use of the chop - or a special stamp with the Chinese characters for your name on it. They are cute, fun, cool, and I spent countless hours when I arrived in Taiwan picking out special ones that reflected my personality. 6 years later, specifically yesterday when I went to the bank, I again noted what a huge, frustrating pain in the ass they can be.
You have to have a name chop to do any kind of business, sign forms, contracts, apply for bank/license stuff... not a huge deal, but they don't fit in your wallet, and if your house is as disorganized as mine, tracking one down in a hurry is emotionally taxing.
They used to let me use my thumbprint. Yesterday I finally got them to take a 'signature' - except for them, our signature (which should be a 'mark', fluid, illegible and difficult to forge) is gibberish. So I had to print my name clearly so they could read it - which of course is a huge security risk; thus the need for a name chop.
What am I really complaining about? That they can't just speak English and use signatures like the rest of the world? I had 4 other pieces of ID; a name chop could also be easily forged (although you're supposed to keep the same one FOREVER so that it is exactly the same - heaven knows what they do if they lose one, the new one wouldn't be valid I guess because it doesn't match the old one.)
I suppose it's the Chinese cultural affection for order, safety, regulation, and propriety over more functional concerns that really irks me. But whatever. Not wrong, just different, and I'm a (anxiety ridden) round peg surrounded by square holes.
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