Visit Taiwan with Rotary Friendship Exchange

Rotary Friendship Exchange with D3460 Taiwan

There is a possibility for us to have a two-week Rotary Friendship Exchange with a district in southern Taiwan in 2013.  Our team would travel to Taiwan in the spring, and the return visit from Taiwan would be in the autumn.

Taiwan is a beautiful mountainous island with ocean and mountain vistas; the total land area is about 36,000 square kilometers (about 2/3 the size of Nova Scotia).  The population is close to 23 million.  On the map it’s shaped like a leaf that is narrow at both ends.

Owing to the scarce natural resources and high population density, agriculture was the main source of wealth in the early years of Taiwan's economic development.  However, the focus of Taiwan's economy shifted to the manufacturing and financial sectors in the 1950s. Taiwan was the world's largest producer of computers in 1998.

Taipei, the capital city, is the country’s political, commercial and financial center. 

Taichung  is located in central Taiwan with a population just over one million.  It is the third largest city in Taiwan, but the major center for culture, entertainment and art.   District 3460 is the largest Rotary district in Taiwan.  There are over 3200 Rotarians and 93 clubs in the District.   

The southern city of Kaohsiung  is prominent in the District.  It is the second largest city in Taiwan, with population around 1.5 million.  Kaohsiung is a major center for manufacturing and sea transport.

The international airport  is Taoyuan CKS in the north of Taiwan.   The trip between Kaohsiung and Taipei by high speed rail is only 2 hours, at speeds over 300 km per Hr.

There is an opportunity for us to become acquainted with visitors from Taiwan, as there will be a GSE team from D3460 attending our district conference in Charlottetown in May. 

For now we simply want to gauge the potential uptake for an exchange.  If you are interested, email RFE Chair Gordon Harper at skye@pei.sympatico.ca.  Indicate your club name and whether you would prefer to host a visiting Rotarian single or couple, be a member of the outbound team to Taiwan, or both.  

For those interested in joining the outbound team, state whether you would be travelling as a single Rotarian or as a couple.  The application and selection process for the outbound team will come later.

For more information on RFE including links to the Program manual, see the District 7820 website.