A word on medical checks

Taiwan requires medical checks to work in their country. There's a blood test, a vision test, a chest x-ray, and some other things.

If you get the medical tests done in your home country, it will cost quite a bit of cash (especially if you don't have health insurance- mine cost 3 or $400 US), perhaps several visits and several weeks (more expensive if you order rush results), and it will be a little more in depth. Our doctors take this stuff seriously. For example, when the medical test sheet that Hess sent me asked for a 'stool sample', my doctor asked me for a stool sample, and I'm not going to tell you what that entailed.

However, if you get your medical test done in Taiwan, it's cheap (I think about $60 US)
and it takes one quick, streamlined visit- mine took maybe an hour, a far cry from what I went through to get all the paperwork done at home, and it's pretty chill. For example, when the medical test asked for an 'external genitalia examination', the doctor in Taiwan blushed and checked that box off- and my panties stayed firmly in place.

I can only conclude from this experience that it's a better deal to get your medical check done in Taiwan. I think Hess has you do it in your home country to save themselves some trouble once you get to Taiwan, and maybe to get your papers in order faster (to get your visa faster), which is a good reason, but I think saving a couple hundred bucks of your own hard earned cash is a good reason to wait, and do the damn thing once you get to Taiwan.