American Institute in Taiwan:
Trading in my passport for a visitor badge and leaving everything thing in the bus made this visit feel quite serious. From what i gathered from our visit AIT is somewhat of “ambassy” since the US cut ties with Taiwan in 1979 in order to strengthen ties with Beijing. During the visit we learned that AIT helps not only American business work with Taiwan but has recently helped increased Taiwanese investment into the United States. It was really interesting to learn that 24 states and many local governments already have relations with Taiwan even though the Federal government does not officially recognize Taiwan. From what I could gather from the visit Taiwan has been and will continue to be a pivotal piece in the world economy.
Supply Chain Management solutions:
I think it is extremely interesting that in the upstairs of a building on a busy street in Taipai there is an American company. SCM is a middle man for US based companies who have an idea for a product but do not possess the proper funds or equipment to manufacture said products. SCM connects businesses with factories in Taiwan. They also went into detail on how a supply chain management company works. Never have taken a course in supply chain management it was very interesting to learn about. The differences between OEM and ODM where quite interesting. We also got an introduction to Celinius which is an investment company across the hall from SCM. They do similar work as SCM with a stronger focus on small components that are needed to complete a finished product. The CEO brough up the idea of 6 Sigma as the best way to gauge tolerance when it comes to quality management. Both of these companies emphasized that Taiwan has been and will grow even more as an up and coming country. They even went into detail about how the us may have to look to Taiwan as an example for when it decides to re-industrialize.
Haircut and Night Market:
After our visits to the two companies we where free to explore on our own. Since it had been awhile since by last haircut I decided i would find a barber to get a haircut and practice someone my Mandarin. It went well and I got a much needed trim. Later after a couple of crowded MRT rides I arrived at Ning Xia night market where i tried a variety of foods and drinks.
Over all I think it was a great 2nd day in Taiwan and look forward to seeing more.