I knew that officially you are not allowed to enter Taiwan without a ticket to leave. But I wanted to leave by merchant ship and the only place I could buy a ticket was the shipping company headquarters in Taipei.
So I arrived at the airport with only my frequent flyer purchased one way ticket. My plan was to explain the ticket situation. Also I had a visa for travel to Russia and a receipt for a Japan Rail rail pass to show I intended to travel onwards.
The only issue was with QANTAS. The woman at the check in counter considered not letting me on the aircraft as they would have to fly me back to Australia if I was not permitted to enter the country.
The flight was interesting for one reason. It was 100% full and 99.999% Chinese peoples. While I am half Chinese, I was the odd man out in having a Caucasian appearance.
Luckily there were no issues. I entered Taiwan through Chang Kai Shek airport like any other. No issues or hassles.
Later I did go to the headquarters of the shipping company and purchased my trip on a merchant ship. The only complication was the inability of the Taiwanese roads department to spell Ren Ai Lu the same way on any street sign.