華府文化中心

Washington D.C., the U.S. capital as well as the center of global politics, is a landmark city for all the overseas compatriots communities in the U.S.A. For years, OCAC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and TECRO have been working on the establishment of the Culture Center of TECRO, overcoming different levels of limitations in legal as well as financial aspects. The plan for establishing the Culture Center of TECRO at D.C. was approved by the Executive Yuan of R.O.C. (Taiwan). in 1997. In early November 2000, The American Institute in Taiwan approved our proposal to build the center at Gaithersburg, Maryland, located in the suburb D.C. area. The construction project was initiated on February 29, 2004 and the grand opening on June 19, 2005. We are the 11 th overseas compatriots culture centers in North America and the 18 th in the worldwide. The focus of contemporary overseas compatriots affairs work is on providing diversified services for our compatriots, including liaison services aimed at overseas businesses, guidance to overseas students returning for further studies, overseas compatriots identification services, correspondence education, and overseas news broadcasting and information dissemination, etc. Most of all, we aim to promote the Taiwanese culture and further enhance our understanding and interaction with the American society.

The Culture Center's business focuses on overseas compatriots community services, listed as follows:

1. The Cultural Center offers facility support to cosponsor compatriots cultural and heritage events. The facilities are available for rent upon request.

2. The library houses a vast collection of books and multi-media resources, available for the patrons to check out. The center also offers costumes and related cultural equipments for rent.

3. The center hosts various conferences and activities to strengthen the ties among overseas compatriots organizations.

4. To promote the passing-down of the Chinese language as well as Taiwan's cultural heritage, the center provides related textbooks, references, and software for educational purposes. The center also sponsors training in pedagogies for teachers, and selects some teachers to return to Taiwan for further studies.

5. The center cooperates with the local overseas compatriots communities and schools to host related cultural activities.

6. To promote commerce, the center recommends outstanding professionals to return to Taiwan for related conferences in international trade, business administration, and other specialties.

7. The center recommends and selects overseas compatriots youths to attend language courses and visiting groups in Taiwan. The center also takes charge of overseas students' returning to Taiwan for further studies.

8. The center regularly hosts various courses and lectures.

We are ceaselessly striving to enlarge the network of our services as well as improve the quality. We will keep enriching our facilities to provide better services. We will also further strengthen the ties among overseas compatriots groups. We aim to promote the Taiwanese culture and further enhance our understanding and interaction with the American society and participate in community work.

Located around the capital of the United States, Culture Center of TECRO can serve as a gateway to Taiwanese culture as well as promote Taiwan's international image. Uniting the overseas compatriots we aim to promote the Taiwanese culture and further enhance our understanding and interaction with the American society, the center will play a crucial role as the backup support for our government's diplomatic network in the United States.