The Benefit for Taiwanese of More Interaction with Foreigners
David Chang, secretary-general of non-profit organization Crossroads, shares his thoughts on how Taiwan can better utilize foreign professionals while using exchanges to foster an international mindset among Taiwanese talent.
[Raising global visibility ()," [aligning with international trends ()," and [promoting internationalization ()" are phrases commonly heard in Taiwan, particularly in connection with government initiatives, business presentations, and political campaigns. Whether they serve as objectives for business or national development, these goals are unquestionably of utmost importance to Taiwan.
But a question too often ignored is whether the overall environment is inclusively diverse enough to cultivate local talent with the experience and perspectives needed to effectively engage and work with communities outside Taiwan.
Starting in June, non-profit organization Crossroads began conducting a survey on international career development, targeting locally based Taiwanese participants in its online events. Of the total respondents as of September, ranging from 16 to 50 years of age, 72% stated that they lacked any deep engagement with foreigners or people originally from other countries in their daily lives.
Meanwhile, 63% expressed their willingness to get to know foreigners, but said they simply did not know any suitable settings or opportunities to do so, and 50% admitted that they were usually too intimidated by foreigners or fearful that th