Taiwan is not all technology and business!
"Taipei Main Station is a destination that wears many hats. Aside from being the largest land and rail transport hub for Northern Taiwan, it is also a critical space for the city’s unhoused population – where many gather, keep their belongings, and settle down.
Official statistics show there are about 3,000 homeless people, also known as “street friends” (街友), across Taiwan: 620 of them are said to be living in Taipei, a similar number may be found in neighboring New Taipei City, and the rest can be found dispersed in urban centers across the country. Social workers say most of the unhoused are male, with an average age of 60. Many, but certainly not all, are single and unmarried.
Despite this, Taipei’s aid workers believe the actual figure is much higher, since the official statistics only cover those who fit the government’s definition of a homeless person: someone who “sleep(s) on the streets or in any public area.” Additionally, non-government groups like Homeless Taiwan state that the number does not consider “rough sleepers,” or persons who have a permanent address but sleep in shelters, institutions, internet cafes, or couch-surf in the homes of friends or relatives.
Non-government groups like Salt Collectiv, which runs feeding programs around Taipei Main Station, say the homeless are mostly concentrated in three areas: in and around Taipei Main Station, at Bangka Park (艋舺公園) near Taipei’s Longshan Temple (龍山寺), and in the neighboring Wanhua district (萬華區). The areas are so well known they attract recruiters who often go to designated spots to find people willing to undertake low-paid, casual work.
Allowing homeless people to settle in high-traffic, high-visibility areas confounds both tourists and commuters ..."
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