The Washington Post
Date: April 14, 2018
By: Simon Denyer

Shanghai’s Bund Bull statue. Mainland Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Bejing have attracted many young job seekers from Taiwan, a trend that is causing worry about a brain drain from the island. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg News)

TAIPEI — After studying fashion management in London, 33-year-old Gaga Liu considered her choices: a move back home to her native Taiwan, or a job in the glitzy city of Shanghai on the Chinese mainland.

“Shanghai is a very fashionable city, a big market. Every brand wants to set up a flagship store there,” she said. “Taiwan is a very small market.”

It was no contest. Three months ago, like many of Taiwan’s young people, she moved to mainland China to work as a visual merchandiser for Hermès.

She is one of hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese flooding to their booming neighbor to find work, fueling fears of a brain drain from their island home.    [FULL  STORY]