The President of the Association des Francais de Taiwan (AFT) said Wednesday Taiwan is a very friendly and lively place that keeps him young, but he thinks it needs to become more internationalized so that the rest of the world can learn more about it. Based on his experience of living in Taiwan for the past 28 years, Dominique Levy said, he thinks the country needs to promote itself more, to become more internationalized and to standardize its English translations of general signage. Levy, who was recently honored by the French government for his efforts to promote French wine in Taiwan, said that after living in Taiwan for so many years, he sometimes feels he is actually Taiwanese. Asked what keeps him in Taiwan, the wine distributor said 'it's the people here -- they are friendly and always love to learn.' Levy said his wife and two sons also love living in Taipei. His older son, who is 23, is studying at Ming Chuan University, while the younger one attends the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, he added. 'They love studying here instead of in France, ' Levy told the Central News Agency. He also thinks the quality of education in Taiwan is much better than in France, he said. The entire family speaks fluent Mandarin, English and French. Levy said he encourages his children to embrace both Eastern and Western cultures in order to foster the development of a broader worldview. As president of the AFT, Levy said, he takes this same approach and opens the doors of the association to anyone who can speak the French language. 'In our association, there are not only French people, but also foreigners from other countries and some local people who participate in the activities of the AFT,' he said. The overall number of French citizens in Taiwan has remained constant over the last few years at about 1,500, but recently a younger group has been coming to Taiwan mostly to work in the design, food, and bakery industries, he said. Asked how he views the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China and their proposed trade agreement, Levy suggested that the two sides open their markets step by step, but he reiterated Taiwan's priority should be to become more internationalized. He is of the view that future developments will not only involve mainland China and Taiwan, but may also encompass Japan, Singapore and other areas, which could represent an even larger pan-Asian market. 