Hualien County Government draws on the living experiences of international residents to create an international-friendly city for relocation

(中央社訊息服務20231209 09:00:00)Located between Taiwan's Central Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean, Hualien is internationally known for its diverse culture and natural scenery. It is a magnificent place facing the world and a key city for international residents choosing to live in Taiwan. According to statistics from the National Immigration Agency's big data analysis platform, the foreigners living in Hualien come from nearly 80 countries, including Indonesia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Japan, and Australia, totaling 6,715 individuals. These residents not only add new blood to Hualien's diverse ethnic cultures but also build bridges to the international community. Over the years, the Hualien County Government has spared no effort in creating an international-friendly environment. In February of this year, Hualien County was voted the second most hospitable city in the world by the renowned travel website Booking.com, a significant affirmation of the county government's long-term promotion of “international friendliness”.

County Magistrate Hsu Zhen-Wei promotes the “International-Friendly” policy, which not only is friendly to international tourists, enhancing the international tourism industry, but also makes Hualien an international city where foreigners can stay, work, and live for a longer period of time. With the policy vision of “Hualien Goes Global, The World Comes to Hualien”, various exchange events such as “Fun Tour of Hualien Markets” and “International Gourmet Market” were organized in 2023. These events focused on Hualien's local ingredients, allowing international residents and local vendors to learn and exchange through practical English language courses and hands-on activities. At the end of October, the “Hualien, My Home: World Citizen's Exploration, Experience, and Dialogue in the Hualien Culture” series was launched. It invited international residents living in Hualien to gain a deeper understanding of Hualien's indigenous culture and organic agriculture. A World Cafe dialogue was organized to share life experiences in Hualien and provide personal insights and policy suggestions for Hualien's international-friendly policies. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 15 international residents from various countries and with different reasons for moving to Hualien, sharing their reasons for choosing Hualien as their home and their touching stories. Visits to Hualien from various countries were arranged to exchange perspectives on culture, industry, and environmental protection, transforming Hualien's policy achievements into globally relevant issues, making Hualien better known internationally and laying a good foundation for friendly exchanges between Taiwan and the world.

This time, a survey of international migrants showed that the reasons for choosing to live in Hualien were diverse, with the natural environment and local culture being particularly attractive. After living in Hualien for a while, they felt that public transportation, road traffic, local community participation, and the language environment could be more carefully planned. The Hualien County Government listens to the voices of international residents, especially in this project, and compiles their suggestions as a reference for future governance.

The Hualien County Government states that international friends need more support and recognition in adapting to work, life, social systems, and identity transitions. In the future, short-, medium-, and long-term strategies will be implemented, focusing on adapting to life experiences, providing comprehensive life information services, facilitating daily exchanges, and building friendly communities. A more comprehensive promotion plan will be developed, including building an information platform to provide comprehensive life information services, active mediation to effectively integrate social resources, developing international bases, and strengthening local community interactions with international residents. Through these specific services, not only will more proactive recruitment messages be sent to international residents, but it will also demonstrate Hualien's determination to embrace the world.