The Tainan Foreigner Assistance Center was inaugurated Monday, becoming the first center in southern Taiwan to offer information and consulting services to foreign nationals. Tainan City Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair and Wei Kuo-yen, vice minister of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, jointly inaugurated the new facility, which was set up in Tainan City Hall. The inauguration followed the opening of Taiwan's first foreigner assistance center, in Hsinchu last Dec. 24. The center will provide sightseeing tours in the area and information on business and investment, health care, residence requirements, transportation, and culture and education, the city government said. Hsu touted the center as an ideal place for foreign citizens to make their 'first contact' to obtain information on their local environment. The assistance center, equipped with volunteer English-Mandarin interpreters, is targeted at the more than 30,000 foreigners living in Tainan County and City. The facilities were initiated by the Executive Yuan to establish an environment that is friendly to foreign manpower. 