When interviewed, Professor Hsin Ping-lung from National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development said: "Taiwan's flourishing startup culture reveals that young people are quite pessimistic about the workplace."
According to research by a Hong Kong City University professor covering over 1,000 students from six universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan, approximately 66% of Taiwanese university graduates want to start a business—nearly 7 out of 10—while in Hong Kong it's only about 42%, which is 20% lower than Taiwan.
Why are young Taiwanese people so different? This can be explored through three economic environmental factors: taxes, prices, and wages.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Hong Kong university graduates earn HK$14,000 starting salary, which converts to approximately NT$52,000. Taiwan's minimum is NT$22,000…a difference of NT$30,000!
Next is the tax situation. According to the "2016 Tax Environment Report" which surveyed 189 economic systems, Hong Kong's tax environment was found to be among the best globally. Hong Kong's tax advantages lie in having only three types of direct taxes and a tax exemption system that further reduces tax burden.
- Corporate profits tax maximum rate: 16.5%
- Personal salaries tax maximum rate: 15%
- Property tax rate: 15%
The following tax categories are entirely exempt, another advantage of Hong Kong's tax system:
- Sales tax / consumption tax / value-added tax
- Withholding tax
- Capital gains tax
- Dividend tax
Taiwan's tax system has a running joke: "The Republic of China has countless taxes." Direct taxes alone include comprehensive income tax, corporate income tax, securities transaction tax, futures transaction tax, estate and gift tax, house tax, land value increment tax…with so many tax categories, for the working class, May's tax filing season is another cause for stress…
（Image / National Tax Revenue Net Collection by Category / Source）
Regarding prices, Taiwan is much lower than Hong Kong—the only advantage among these three factors. In addition to differing social resources, the same research indicates that half of Hong Kong's fresh graduates prefer to become police officers, civil servants, or work in finance, because the benefits and salaries are generous. In contrast to Taiwan's high taxes, low wages, and low prices, people are unwilling to work in corporations. Hong Kong is the complete opposite, which also creates Taiwan's atmosphere where people hope to flip their fortunes through entrepreneurship.
Many young Taiwanese have lost confidence in the workplace. Additionally, Taiwan's large corporations often have entrenched organizational structures with a "seniority over talent" culture that leaves fresh graduates feeling confused and anxious about entering society. Such anxiety breeds pessimistic thoughts like "Am I not good enough?" and "Why doesn't anyone see my talent?" Therefore, entrepreneurship often represents the ability to "realize self-worth and embody personal ideals."
Tamkang University Professor Chen Yi-wen also once stated: "The more people desire to start a business, the more dissatisfied they are with the current economy." With Taiwan's sluggish economy, combined with years of low wages and long working hours, young people under 35 entering the workforce just as Taiwan enters a wage stagnation period have lost hope in the job market and thus "treat entrepreneurship as a shelter from the storm." Regardless of success rates and sustainability, or whether young entrepreneurs rush in without properly assessing risks, if you hold such a mindset and fail to showcase your talents, wouldn't that be a waste?
Of course, beyond pessimism, the governments and industries of Hong Kong and Taiwan also differ in their support for entrepreneurship. The founders and partners of HiGH.5 are Hong Kong entrepreneurs who came to Taiwan to start their business. They believe that Hong Kong's financing units don't oppose entrepreneurship, but only support financing-related startups; anything else gets easily blocked. In contrast, Taiwan has all kinds of startup models and types sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. Just this difference alone is striking, showing that Taiwanese society is quite free and open—so much so that Hong Kongers specifically come to Taiwan to start businesses!
However, entrepreneurship carries certain risks. Capital, human resources, whether your business model meets market demands, whether you've found like-minded people, and most importantly, determination—all must be carefully evaluated before starting. Once you commit, you must persevere and ensure your effort is worthwhile!
【Original Report】
