Well, I used to live in a small town in Taiwan. There is a high value placed on education in that culture. Children know that the best thing they can do to please their parents is to study hard, do well on exams, and that way become a professor or government official. Kids do not even get chores, because studying is the number one way to be a good kid.
I visited the Confucius temple in Beijing once, and it was inspiring to see the stone stelae in the courtyard engraved with the names of those who had passed the competitive exams to become magistrates throughout the dynasties.
I do miss students bringing me flowers on Confucius's birthday. I do not really miss parents telling me I could beat their children if they are bad. I asked a junior high student how his day at school had been once, and he said, "Pretty good, nobody hit me."
But the academic culture in Taiwan does not really encourage creative thinking or dissent. Students are discouraged from asking many questions or making comments. Rote memorization and imitating the model of the teacher is big. Cheating is tolerated, to a surprising extent.
So, no. I would not nominate Taiwan as the best environment for gifted kids.
