Etiquette for men paying for the female friends?

Is it common in Taiwan for men to pay or cover expenses for their female friends? For example, going to a restaurant or a paid event.

A Taiwanese female friend of mine gets invited by her guy friends (their backgrounds are Taiwanese, Chinese, or Malaysian) for coffee, dinners, or events, and they mostly, if not, all the time cover for her. She usually doesn’t return the favor. As an American, I see this as a sign that they have romantic intentions for her since I usually go Dutch and split the bill with my US/Western female friends. I’d say it’s safe to say in the US, if a guy consistently covers the bill for a girl, it means he’s romantically interested in her.

My friend says it’s a cultural thing and that it’s normal for Taiwanese or people with Chinese background or cultural connection to almost always cover for their female friends, and doesn’t mean anything romantic. And I’d like to better understand the differences in culture. Is etiquette on who pays for who that different?