Dude, I don't get how you Taiwanese STILL feel you are rich or something compared to mainland Chinese TO-DAY. Taiwan's population is like what..that of Beijing? Get over yourself. It ain't 1982 no more.
The size of China's middle class in absolute numbers is comparable to the US, if not larger. And all of China's middle class is concentrated in the large cities, so it makes even more sense for Apple to build multiple stores in each major city.
Actually only 2% (about 26 million) of Chinese earn equivalent of $30,000 per year so they still have a long way to go and reality is that their economy is cooling down, lots of manufacturing jobs are being automated, and their labor is already getting more expensive compared to other Asian countries. China has made a lot of strides thanks to western investments starting in 1970s and a couple of their cities look very modern and impressive but its a huge country where most westerners in love with Beijing/Shanghai didn't really see whats 100 miles away from the main cities.
Why would you need an apple store that big? With the amount of products they have... awkward
GDP per capita (2011) China $8,500 vs Taiwan $38,200.
Population below poverty line (2010) China 13.4% vs Taiwan 1.16%.
There is still reason for the Taiwanese to feel richer than the Chinese.
What you don't get is that when they earn $30,000, they take home $30,000, all of it. The majority does not pay income tax other than the super rich, there is no real estate tax. So think about how much you have to make in U.S. to actually have 30k after taxes.
Hong Kong is also China and Apple product are the cheapest in the world there.
No.
Let me guess, you're Chinese?
Taiwan is it's own country. Maybe you're thinking of Hong Kong.
Also, who over upvoted your post needs to go back to high school geography class. Chinese propaganda states that Taiwan is theirs, but it's not.
=___=
According to what list? It doesn't matter though, the per capita use of Apple products here in Taipei is huge. I go on the subway every day here and a sizeable chunk of people on their phones have iPhones. The majority of tablets I see are iPads. And when I go to Starbucks here, a good chunk of laptops are Macs. Like I said, there are dozens of Apple reseller stores in Taipei alone. This is a common sight here (and they don't sell counterfeit products like in China):
Image
i moved to shanghai about 4 months ago and i'm back in the states on vacation. one of my goals is to get the new iphone and the new imac, so i've done the price comparison for these items.
even with the (california) tax included, in the end, the iphone and imac here are still about $150 cheaper than in china. i know that all imports are taxed at least 20-30% and as high as 100%, which is crazy when you see the amount of high-end cars on the street.
it sucks how apple products are considered imports (i understand why) when foxconn is domestic.
What you don't get is that when they earn $30,000, they take home $30,000, all of it. The majority does not pay income tax other than the super rich, there is no real estate tax. So think about how much you have to make in U.S. to actually have 30k after taxes.
These figures doesn't mean anything. Just check the apartment price in Beijing , can Taiwan middle class people afford 100 squares apartment there?
A person can dream, can't they?Looks like my house. Except the billboard is a giant TV.
Gee....wonder why massive/spectacular stores like this one are not built in the USA?
The size of China's middle class in absolute numbers is comparable to the US, if not larger. And all of China's middle class is concentrated in the large cities, so it makes even more sense for Apple to build multiple stores in each major city.
Does Apple charge the same pricing in China? How do these people afford Apple products if the average wage is actually below that of a Foxconn worker...
Here we go...
The officially name of Taiwan is Republic of China, so technically it is still China (come on, you guys speak Chinese don't you). Two different governments though.
Talking about high school education, ironically, in the dictionary of Ministry of Education of Taiwan, the geographic area of ROC covers the whole mainland China, with Nanjing being its capital (Taipei instead is only the temporary capital) ...
But if you are one of those ********* mainland China trolling guys, ignore me
Right, also most people don't own a car either (though a lot of have scooters). A lot of people are loyal to Taiwanese brands like HTC but the iPhone is the second best selling smartphone here.
They all come factory unlocked here too.
?
All I'm saying is that a real Apple store here is overdue and would perform very well considering the base of Apple users here. Nobody's disputing that there are more multi-millionaires now in China and that Taiwan is not booming like it was, but still. It's disappointing to see Apple focus so much on China and ignore us when the overall quality of life there is lower.
I remember watching the news and headline story was some politician / businessman using an iphone instead of HTC.
I was like really?! This is news in Taiwan
That's when you know you live in a safe country.
That's Browett in the photo. He's disguised as a Apple employee wondering what it is (iPad) he's looking at! He's wondering whether the pillars will be just as good painted. The female Apple employee looking at him is wondering what he would look like after a thousand cuts (maybe she'll be one of them).
There are a lot of people with money in China, despite the large amounts of poor.
But with a population of 1.35 billion, there are millions of people there now who can afford and own Apple products at the same price (well, Apple products are about the same price here in Taiwan as they are in the U.S., even if it is cheaper to ship it here).
When I was in China in June, I went to an apple store, and the prices were actually higher than they are in the US after conversion.
In China, tax has already been included in the price tag, that is why it looks more expensive.
Well it is and it isn't. Hong Kong differs hugely from mainland China. As well as being an SAR It's almost completely Tax Free as well.
Well it is and it isn't. Hong Kong differs hugely from mainland China. As well as being an SAR It's almost completely Tax Free as well.