Foreigners think Taiwanese are friendly, diligent

In the eyes of foreign visitors and residents, Taiwan is a friendly and democratic country and visitors are most impressed with Taiwan's culture, people's friendliness and beautiful scenery, according to a survey released by the Government Information Office (GIO) yesterday.

The poll also found that visitors are least impressed with the nation's environmental protection, internationalization and tourism facilities.

The survey, conducted between Oct. 26 and Dec. 31 last year, questioned about 1,000 foreign visitors and over 500 foreign residents, found that the dominant impression of Taiwanese people was of their friendliness, followed by diligence, politeness, reliability, openness, flexibility and high quality of life.

Foreign tourists and residents agreed that Taiwanese society is family-centered. The tourists also stressed Taiwanese society's competitiveness, safety, fast-pace, ethics, modernization, internationalization, efficiency, freedom, order and diversity.

When asked about their impressions concerning Taiwan's government, more than 55 percent of the foreign residents said that they were most impressed with the freedom of the media and about 53 percent cited democratic development.

More than 80 percent of foreign visitors and 85 percent of foreign residents agreed that Taiwan is better than China in terms of its democratic development and economic, cultural, social and technological development, as well as in terms of internationalization and quality of life.

When asked about their tourism preferences, the survey indicated that foreigners were most interested in Taiwan's food.

For foreign visitors, this was followed by the nation's cultural heritage, historic sites, shopping, night life, hot springs, offshore islands, adventure activities, eco-tourism, exhibitions and city tours.

For foreign residents, this was followed in descending order by cultural heritage, night life, historic sites, shopping, hot springs, adventure activities, offshore islands, eco-tourism, exhibitions and city tours.