Posted on January 10, 2023

X-Cube in Taichung, Taiwan Refuses Entry to White Males

Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, January 7, 2023

Foreign residents in Taichung City have posted negative Google reviews of a nightclub after it implemented a policy that discriminates against white males from Europe and America.

On Monday (Jan. 2), Taiwanese and foreign residents began posting one-star reviews on Google for the X-Cube nightclub, on Daguan Road in Taichung’s Nantun District. Many Google users accused the venue of being racist for its discriminatory policy against foreigners.

The club’s representative responded to the criticism by claiming it allowed many “foreign friends” to enter the venue in the past, but that club staff had become “physically and mentally exhausted” by their presence.

The representative confirmed the club’s policy in a message to Taiwan News on Friday (Jan. 6). The full statement is quoted below (translated from Mandarin).

“In our experience of receiving guests, there have been too many incidents of tall, white males losing control after drinking. Our staff has suffered from an inability to mediate, and we currently have insufficient security personnel to deal with these situations.

“Therefore, to avoid unpleasant conflicts, we have decided not to allow people of this demographic into our club for the time being. Further, (men) of European or American ethnicity are overly enthusiastic in their efforts to party with (Taiwanese) girls. In many cases, their enthusiasm and physical actions are perceived as harassment by Taiwanese women.

“This often leads to physical altercations with the male Taiwanese guests accompanying (the women). I believe you can understand this point well enough.

“In fact, we have not discriminated against white European or American males (in the past). We have tried our best to serve every patron of our business, but our staff has become physically and mentally exhausted.

“We hope that your publicity will help the public understand our decision. Additionally, some of our club’s new signage was recently destroyed by people belonging to the group mentioned above.

“Their destructive tendencies are too strong. That is why we will no longer receive white European and American men as guests at our establishment.”

In an earlier post on Google reviews, the company representative said, “We cannot accommodate foreigners who are out of control.” In a second post, they clarified that it is only “European and American white males” who are barred from entry, while “all other foreign friends” are welcome.

The representative noted the staff’s inability to communicate and control the situation, while recommending foreign men visit another “more suitable” club nearby.

The representative claimed that this policy has been put in place out of fear that “they (white males) will be beaten up by other guests.” In the post, the representative reasoned that they would rather get negative reviews than allow white men to enter and be “beaten up.”

A 28-year-old American man speaking with Taiwan News surnamed Carlino* also confirmed the club’s policy. He attempted to enter the club on New Year’s Eve with his Taiwanese girlfriend and several Taiwanese friends, but was told by staff that he could not enter because “foreigners have caused trouble in the past.”

He said that this was unfair because he had never entered the club before. “What this has to do with me is quite baffling,” Carlino said.

A 34-year-old Canadian man surnamed Collins* said that he was charged NT$2,000 (US$65) to enter the club, while male and female Taiwanese were only charged NT$1,000.

The representative confirmed that for a “short period of time” it had charged NT$2,000 for foreign nationals at the door, while Taiwanese citizens were allowed to enter for free. According to the representative, this policy was meant to dissuade foreigners from entering the club, but because it failed to deter them, club management decided to ban foreigners altogether.

Article 62 of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) states that, “Any person shall not discriminate against people residing in the Taiwan Area on the basis of nationality, race, color, class and place of birth.”

Article 81 adds that when the competent authority receives a complaint of such a violation it will notify the person who violated the law to take “necessary corrective action.” Those who break the law may face a fine of between NT$5,000 and NT$30,000.