Hi SJM. Great post, but I don't think it's accurate or appropriate to lump and generalize the Filipinos and Taiwanese into one single group ("Asians"). First off, the Philippines and Taiwan are two totally different countries with vastly different cultures. Many of the Filipinos and Tawainese forum members here can attest to that.
I bring this up because the idiosyncrasies in both country and culture spawn two totally different styles of pool play. I would describe the Filipino style as centering around fluidity, tenacity, and creativity...while the Tawainese style on precision, calculation, and proper fundamentals. I'm not saying that one style is better than the other, but they're nonetheless two contrasting styles of play. We can all agree, however, that both styles have been proven very effective.
I can agree with this, but add that the reasoning behind them being exposed to billiards earlier in life may be different for the Filipinos and Taiwanese. For the Filipinos, pool and gambling are a way of life. As Fred mentioned previously, many Filipinos feel the need to gamble to get by in life. I may be mistaken, but I think pool is a relatively new game in Taiwan culture. The Taiwanese have great government-sponsored programs to help the youths learn the game and bring national pride to the country. Just like table-tennis to the Chinese.
I agree, but I think I would regard the Taiwanese as more calculating while the Filipinos as more creative. I say this because many of the Filipino superstars barely have a grade school education. They probably can't number crunch the percentages in their head, but with their creative abilities they can think of a clever two-rail kick-safety.
The Filipinos did not grow up with much tighter equipment, but with much crappier equipment. That's why I feel the strength of the Filipino game is not in pocketing ability, but in position play. They grew up playing 15-ball rotation in crap cloth, in the humidity of a very tropical country, and with slanted tables (i might be exaggerating a bit on that one). I do agree that pocketing ability is a huge strength for the Taiwanese.
Maybe other Filipino forum members can help me out with this, but I don't think the Philippines have any developmental programs for the junior players at all...at least I haven't heard of any. However, the Taiwanese (so I have heard) have excellent programs for junior players.
Yes, both Taiwan and the Philippines deserve credit. I just hope the Americans and Europeans can keep up. Bring on the British snooker players!