Foreigners help their own adapt to life in Taiwan.
When Briton Malcolm Higgins first arrived in Taiwan, he only intended to stay for a year. Yet after a 12 -year stint and a local wedding on the horizon, Higgins may soon call Taiwan home. Higgins is like thousands of foreigners who have chosen to live their lives in Taiwan, but unlike most of them, he, along with several other foreigners, decided to reach out to the foreign community and help recent arrivals adapt to their new home.
Since 1993, Higgins has had a fulfilling job writing teaching materials and working as a personnel manager for a local English-language school. "I didn't intend to stay here for so long. It just happened. I really enjoy living here," he says.
Higgins believes that like him, most foreigners enjoy themselves here. "When people have a good time, they don't speak or write about it. They only complain when things go wrong," he says. "In the early days the information we read about Taiwan was mostly negative, but my friends and I had had a good time here. We thought we needed to do something to find balance."
He is talking about the mid-1990s, when the Internet was still young. There were only one or two Web sites that provided limited information about Taiwan. That situation propelled Higgins and his colleague to set up a Web site, taiwanho.com, to provide objective information on Taiwanese issues. "The mission of our site is to build foreign communities and keep them more informed about anything they need or want to know about Taiwan," he says. The Web site has expanded in response to requests from a widespread readership and covers everything from history to housing.
Like Malcolm, Canadian Anthony van Dyck is striving to present Taiwan in a different light while helping foreigners adapt to the local environment as quickly as possible. A resident since 1995, he is the chief administrator of Forumosa.com, a Taiwan-oriented online community founded by Gus Adapon in 1999. "Our Web site aspires to be the ultimate online exchange where Taiwan's real-life global community can help one another," van Dyck says. "If you face a challenge that seems unique to life on this island, you'll probably discover a solution in our forums."
For the time being, Forumosa features 37 sub-forums that range from taxation to transportation. There is also a special women's forum providing "sister support" and advice on issues like child raising and marital relationships.
"Currently, we have 25 experienced moderators that can tell interested people what the alternatives are, where to go and with whom you should speak," he says. "At the same time, you can hear opinions from a lot of people who might be in similar situations, or share the same problems as you such as mixed marriages and kids, for instance."
Another good thing about the Web site, van Dyck says, is that people can complain about their bosses, jobs or anything that bothers them in the forum section. It is a perfect place for them to let off steam, they do not need to worry about losing face and nobody gets hurt.
Van Dyck and other administrators also organize recreational and social activities, including get-togethers like happy hours, a games club and a movie club for people who do not have a date or partner. "As well as being an Internet community that provides advice to help people cope with issues they encounter in Taiwan, we also seek to foster physical contacts to share perspectives and feelings in a more intimate way," he says. "We're trying to build the community to make things better and easier for foreigners here."
Forumosa keeps growing in terms of content and membership: it has more than 3,600 registered members, and on any given day there are 300 to 400 members logging in.
Twenty-eight-year-old Briton Darren Freeman is a newcomer here. He says that to really get to know a country, one must live there for some time rather than merely travel through it. That, and because his wife is Taiwanese, is why he decided to come to Taiwan for a longer stay. He is now working for Ipsos Taiwan, a market research company, as a research manager.
By and large, Freeman says that although his life here is enjoyable, there are some things that bother him. The most difficult thing for him is language. "Mandarin is somewhat difficult to learn. Some shop owners can't speak English, and some names on maps and street signs are romanized differently," he says. "I hope they'll standardize the romanization system for Mandarin, and I believe that over time, English will be widely used here due to increasing government effort and civilian interests."
Language stands out as the primary problem foreigners face living in Taiwan, according to American Mary Chua, director of the Community Services Center. "With French and most other European languages, we can recognize some words and attempt to pronounce them as there are some connections between them," she says. "But Chinese characters are completely strange and intimidating to us."
Chua's center wants to help people understand and adjust to the living environment. Since its establishment in 1987, the non-profit Community Services Center has endeavored to serve the international community in Taipei with counseling, orientation, cross-cultural adjustment, continuing education and walk-in inquiries. "Our mission is to provide outreach and early intervention through counseling, life skills programs, cross-cultural workshops and information to meet the needs of the international community," she says. "It's gratifying to know that people have a place to turn to when in need."
Chua says the core task of her center is to provide professional counseling. "Our counselors all are Western-trained, hold at least a master's degree, and have about five years of experience. They have a diverse spectrum of skills, and collectively, they speak six languages," she says. "We are the only organization here doing such work."
As far as continuing education is concerned, the program offers nearly 100 courses a semester. "Many newcomers register for our survival Chinese class, where they make friends and learn the basics of Mandarin," Chua says. "We also offer a wide range of courses on art, tai chi, Taiwanese law and religion."
The center publishes a magazine, Centered on Taipei , 10 times a year. The magazine runs profiles and highlights points of interest in Taiwan. Taipei Living, published by the center as well, is a 400-page comprehensive resource guide to goods and services in Taipei, which offers various tips on everything from how to obtain a driver's license to exploring the island. "We do a lot for the community. At the same time, we have a lot of support from the community both in terms of financing and people's willingness to donate their time and expertise," says Chua. "Because of this, we are able to do the work we do." There are approximately 50 volunteers working for the center, and 50 percent of the center's funding comes from corporate and individual donations.
Chua first came to Taiwan in 1984 and stayed for around 10 years. She spent the next nine years in Manila and returned in 2002. "Compared to 15 years ago, the quality of life in Taiwan has seen substantial improvement. The infrastructure is better, the traffic is more disciplined, and the city is greener in that there are more parks," she says. "In addition, western products are widely available in the local supermarkets. In general, we are able to find the goods and services we need, once we know how and where to get them."
She thinks Taiwan offers a safe living environment where people can go out at night free of fear. By world standards, it is extraordinary and a peace of mind particularly to those raising children. The dense population of Taipei, however, may be uncomfortable for those used to having a lot of space; the incessant flow of shoulder-to-shoulder people on its busy streets may call for some adjustment. "Living here is a good combination of challenges and the comforts of home. The traditional Chinese value of hospitality makes the challenges much easier to cope with."
A major concern of the international community, Chua notes, is International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT). The station, set up by the US military but now privately owned, has gradually shifted toward appealing to local audience, partly as a result of the outflow of multinationals to China, as well as an increase in patronage by Taiwanese advertisers.
"Foreign communities here rely on ICRT heavily for critical information relating to public health, safety and the news," she says. "If the Taiwanese government wants to make Taiwan a more livable place, it needs to extend more support to ICRT as an English-language radio station that provides English programming."
Similarly, Forumosa's van Dyck says the primary mandate of ICRT, the sole English-language radio station in Taiwan, is to serve the foreign community. He is calling for ICRT to revive its original format using natural English-language commentary, and claims that foreign residents are willing to assist it financially. "English is a lifeline for many foreigners in Taiwan, both white-collar professionals and blue-collar laborers. It's particularly valuable for those who can't speak Taiwanese, or are new to the country and don't have many friends," he says. "Taiwan is a developed country. It's not unreasonable to have an English radio station."
According to van Dyck, Taiwan's banking and telecommunication regulations could be more foreigner-friendly. Applying for credit cards and phone accounts--even though one meets the criteria in presenting necessary credit, work and financial records--can be exhaustingly difficult.
Despite all the hurdles, many foreigners decide to stay. It is easy to find children in any public elementary school whose parents come from different cultures. Van Dyck met the right Taiwanese girl last year and married her. "Taiwan is my second home. I'm not just visiting, but working and living here. I have my favorite restaurants, I know my neighbors, and I have a lot of Taiwanese friends. People ask me when I'm going home. I am home!" he says with a broad grin on his face.