Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 85 posts

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#51

Post by komali2 »

bobthepanda wrote: post #50
ilamont wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some differences between 1972 and 2019 include the U.S. no longer has a military presence in Taiwan, and the PRC has engaged in a vast modernization of the PLA, including its air force and navy ( https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/less-visible-aspects-of-chin... ). Is it enough to carry out a successful amphibious assault on and occupation of Taiwan? Maybe not (see https://www.ft.com/content/44586804-195c-11e9-9e64-d150…

Taiwan is - small, dense, and urban, which means that everything of value is close together, and urban warfare is extremely difficult and costly. - forested and mountainous, which would present problems with guerillas after a main invasion is over - across a sea, so they will probably lose people just trying to get to Taiwan in the first place If China were to militarily invade Taiwan they would probably bleed quite…

>king of ashes in the end

At the very most, king of at least 2 generations of extremely politically active, very pissed off people.

These are the people that took over their government buildings back in 2014 because of a suggested trade deal with China. As the young people did so, local businesses donated food, water, blankets, pillows etc in droves, demonstrated a cross-generational political activism that would be an absolute fucking nightmare to deal with as a brute-force conqueror.

Oops, the water lines to your PRC bases all clogged at the same time, weird!

Oops suddenly the internet doesn't work for PRC government offices, huh, strange!

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#52

Post by komali2 »

jimrhods23 wrote: post #18

I lived in Taiwan for a couple of years. The cost of living is also extremely low, which will benefit Google and many other companies that open offices there. A nice apartment in a great part of town was only around $350/month USD. I also had the benefit of making US wages contracting at the time.

> I also had the benefit of making US wages contracting at the time.

Ohhh, do tell more. This is my plan sometime over the next 5 years. Lived there as a broke English teacher in my early 20s, can't wait to go back as a working engineer.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#53

Post by vram22 »

scythe wrote: post #37
ilamont wrote: post #29

I am glad to see Taiwan getting this type of attention from a major tech company. Taiwan's economy really needs an economic lift, after decades of brain drain and economic dominance by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Japan. I am concerned, though, that this is Google's way of getting around issues of not being able to operate with a free hand in China, i.e. it will serve as a platform for devel…

>Google is placing a bet on annexation Why would that possibly be a reason to invest in Taiwan? Unless you can somehow imagine that "annexation" is a purely de jure arrangement that leaves Taiwan's regulatory structure untouched ( very unlikely), any corporate structure you erect will have to be totally rebuilt upon annexation (employment law changes, people move, etc); if you're lucky you can keep the buildings (ass…

> safer than mainland SE Asia

Safer in what sense? crime? traffic? other?

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#54

Post by rootsudo »

steve76 wrote: post #20
komali2 wrote: post #3

>Last year, the project trained about 5,000 students in AI technology and 50,000 digital marketers. I feel like Taiwan represents a talent opportunity like no other. I dream of starting an engineering company there that is literally a clone of some upcoming business model, and doing nothing but capping the work week at 40 hours and guaranteeing 4 weeks vacation. I could snipe the best talent on hand in the country, w…

>> a clone of some upcoming business model >> target foreign contracts Both involve working for someone for a long time, then leaving on your own. Really high risk, and people will just dump all their problems on you.

This is actually what I've been looking into - and the biggest issue is:

1. Capital

2. Crony/Local Graft.

3. Supply Chain/Logistics

4. Talented people/niche rows. Thankfully if it's software, Eastern Europe has best bang for buck, Filipinos are 50/50 and the language barriers for Chinese/Japanese are high (but not so high if you take some time to learn nuances e.g. JLPT N4-N3 for Japanese)

5. Local banking regulation/Residency/Working as a non-national (foreigner.) Especially if you're an American (FACTA)

Tried, and tried again and just you need a solid team of people that know the natural climate/society and see if your clone can be molded to fit theirs.

Still trying though :)

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#55

Post by d_burfoot »

I think this is a great opportunity for some Asia-oriented Americans. I lived in Japan, and the quality of life there is amazing when compared to what we get in US cities. The problem is that most Japanese companies are terrible to work for. If you work for Google but live in a modernized Asian country, you can probably get the best of both worlds.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#56

Post by cco »

tanilama wrote: post #42
cco wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure this is new office is for Google to move its "Chinese work" away from a campus where Western or other liberally minded employees would protest.

And that is good. If they don't want to do it, the jobs will go elsewhere

Facilitating authoritarian control of a population is a...good thing? Mind expounding?

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#57

Post by paxy »

cowmoo728 wrote: post #14

I visited Taiwan recently and was shocked by the weird economics there. Rent, food, clothing, and labor are extremely cheap. Foreign goods and property are insanely expensive. It's clear there's wealth, as I saw several dozen rare BMWs and Audis, and some Lambos, Ferraris, Bentleys. But then I read that the average annual salary of a new university graduate is $11,000 USD. It's also a very friendly place to foreigner…

That's a common sign of huge wealth disparity. There isn't a middle class for luxury goods manufacturers to target, and the ultra rich can pay pretty much whatever you want them to.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#58

Post by tanilama »

cco wrote: post #56
tanilama wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that is good. If they don't want to do it, the jobs will go elsewhere

Facilitating authoritarian control of a population is a...good thing? Mind expounding?

Support a language that billions use is a bad thing?

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#59

Post by yellow_lead »

ilamont wrote: post #29

I am glad to see Taiwan getting this type of attention from a major tech company. Taiwan's economy really needs an economic lift, after decades of brain drain and economic dominance by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Japan. I am concerned, though, that this is Google's way of getting around issues of not being able to operate with a free hand in China, i.e. it will serve as a platform for devel…

This is a common practice today, even among startups. Being in Taiwan can give you access to mainland markets without the risk of the PRC coming by and demanding your tech, or someone frivolously suing you and you losing in a PRC court.

Re: Google will open a new office complex and add hundreds of jobs in Taiwan

#60

Post by Latteland »

ilamont wrote: post #29

I am glad to see Taiwan getting this type of attention from a major tech company. Taiwan's economy really needs an economic lift, after decades of brain drain and economic dominance by the People's Republic of China, the United States, and Japan. I am concerned, though, that this is Google's way of getting around issues of not being able to operate with a free hand in China, i.e. it will serve as a platform for devel…

I don't see what it follows that google is placing a bet on annexation, this seems almost the opposite of that. If you wanted to support that out of china, go to Hong Kong maybe. This seems against annexation if anything.
Post reply on HN