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For quite some time, 'internationalization'
has been the word on everyone's lips in Taichung and Taiwan
as a whole. As
attractive as that concept sounds, actual realization of such
a goal is far from easy and far from guaranteed.
Taichung has long been home to many, many foreigners
and continues to rank second in the island outside of Taipei
city when it comes to the number of outsiders living here.
For decades, waves of foreign guests--missionaries,
military personnel, teachers, students, business people--have
made their homes in central Taiwan. Surprisingly, it has only been in the past decade that this
has led to the formation of organizations which have the important
purposes of both serving the foreign community and acting
as a crossroads for foreigners and Taiwanese to socialize,
interact, network and simply get to know each other better.
It is the latter purpose that makes these organizations
so important to the internationalization of Taichung.
They are at the forefront if local residents and businesses
want to know their foreign counterparts better and vice versa,
if more foreigners are to choose Taichung as a place to visit,
do business in and live in. As a guide to both foreigners and Taiwanese
who want to get acquainted with these groups, below is a brief
guide (click on links):
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