How do you message people in Taiwan?

I come from a country where Facebook Messenger is the primary communication platform used, with Viber and Instagram messages running closely behind.

But here in Taiwan, you will find that LINE is the main APP.

Prior to coming to Taiwan, I have never heard of this platform. But when I received my school acceptance letter, one of the initial instructions given to me was to make a LINE account and join the group of this corresponding QR code.

More than personal messaging with friends, I would say LINE has become a necessity to be able to communicate in Taiwan.

I remember back in school, LINE group chats are formed to inform the class of any announcements. In work, colleagues also make a group chat to give work reminders for the upcoming workday or just keep in touch with each other outside the work setting. Stores in Taiwan also have official LINE accounts that you can add, and it offers features for you to purchase product, register or bind membership, and announce promotions. It can also serve as an appointment platform such as if you want to get a haircut or even dental check-up!

LINE is so integrated in the Taiwanese society that even the government used it as an official announcement platform during COVID-19.

One of the culture shocks to me is how reactive the Taiwanese are through messages. In person, you might find them to be a little nonchalant, but in LINE, they can bombard you with lots of emojis, 「～」 and stickers.

And note that it is not only the girls who do this, even guys are avid users of stickers. In the more ‘formal’ group chats, even the teacher and bosses use it.

At first I found stickers cringe and childish. But I realized in Taiwanese culture, it is very much normal, and even cute. It makes socializing easier, putting the setting in a more intimate set-up and makes members in the group chat more interactive.

I thought, if I wanted to adapt to Taiwanese society, I should try using these features alot more.

When I did finally jump on this train, I realized how convenient it was to use stickers. Alot of them contain words or greetings, and the moving ones can even display the emotion or situation you are in. It is visually stimulating, and takes less effort compared to typing out the whole sentence.

In addition, the person receiving the message will have more context if a person is happy or sad, compared to a merely black and white text on the screen. For example, if you say ‘Okay’, you can say it with different levels of enthusiasm depending on the sticker.

There’s a lot of sticker packs to choose from, some free but most of them need to be purchased. And to purchase, you need to have LINE Pay.

LINE Pay is the payment feature of the APP. I can link my Taiwan credit card as well as the Uniform E-invoice code (載具). Aloooot of stores accept LINE Pay as payment method, making it almost unnecessary to bring cash or cards when I go out. They also offer a cashback system in the form of LINE Points which correspond to 1 Point = NTD1.

When going out for dinner or drinks with friends, Taiwanese just use LINE Pay to send their part of the bill to the person who paid.

I think this is one of the features that makes it very convenient, relevant and continuously popular to use in Taiwan.

If you’re planning on coming to Taiwan, I recommend to download this APP beforehand and getting familiar with it.

To register, it needs a phone number for verification. You can use your home country’s number at first, but once you have a Taiwan phone number, you can change it accordingly to make it less of a hassle in the future!