Matchmaking, The Ultimate Government Service

NY TIMES -- May 25 -- Next month, Justin Mei, 20, will be on his way to the Love Boat. That's the nickname for a month long cultural tour of Taiwan sponsored and partly subsidized by the Taiwanese government. The program, officially called the Expatriate Youth Summer Formosa Study Tour to Taiwan is designed to expose young people with Taiwanese roots to the motherland through courses in Mandarin, sightseeing and traditional arts. This trip has a reputation for flirtations, flings and wedding proposals. According to Census Bureau figures, the percentage of Asian women born in the US who marry Asian men has declined to 37% from 59% since 1994. The proportion of American-born Asian men who marry Asian women has also dropped, to 52% from 65%. Taglit-Birthright Israel, a program that sends young American Jews on 10-day trips to Israel, is less guarded about its romantic record. A survey conducted in 2000 and 2001 by United Jewish Communities found that American Jews who married since 1996 had an intermarriage rate of 47%. The Israeli government partly sponsors Taglit (Hebrew for "discovery"). FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES