Taiwan has experienced significant growth in immigration from Southeast Asia during the past several decades. According to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), over 150,000 of the nation’s more than half a million new immigrants hail from the region, while Ministry of Education (MOE) statistics show over 123,000 elementary and junior high school students, or 6.2 percent of the total, have a parent from Southeast Asia.
In addition to enhancing the country’s ethnic and cultural diversity, these new immigrants are making significant contributions to society by fostering closer links with the nations of their birth. Under the government’s New Southbound Policy, Taiwan is seeking to expand business, cultural and educational ties with South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and the government anticipates first- and second-generation immigrants will play a significant role in the implementation of this initiative.
The vast majority of new immigrants from Southeast Asia moved to the country through marriage to Republic of China (Taiwan) citizens. Various ministries have formulated policies to help these residents integrate into society and ensure second-generation immigrants possess knowledge of their parents’ mother tongues and cultures. In particular, the MOI administers a NT$1 billion (US$30.8 million) New Immigrants Development Fund, through which it offers financial support to a range of programs including child care services, job training courses and language classes.
The fund contributed a total of about NT$98 million (US$3 million) to such projects in the first half of this year. These efforts to foster social inclusion are already paying dividends, as evidenced by the achievements of many recent immigrants.
Cambodia-born Lin is Taiwan’s first new immigrant lawmaker.
History-Maker
Cambodia-born Lin Li-chan (林麗蟬) made history in February this year when she was sworn in as the country’s first-ever new immigrant lawmaker. A naturalized ROC citizen, she represents the main opposition Kuomintang in the Legislative Yuan, the nation’s highest lawmaking body.
Lin is quick to note she does not consider her election as a legislator-at-large to be a personal achievement. Rather, “it marks a positive development for Taiwan,” she said. “I genuinely believe that in Taiwan’s inclusive society, anyone can achieve whatever they set their mind to, regardless of their ethnic background.”
Born in Phnom Penh in 1977, Lin came to the country 19 years ago for marriage. Her husband, Xie Shui-jin (謝水金), owns a manufacturing business in the central Taiwan county of Changhua. During her first seven years in Taiwan, Lin gave birth to two children and lent a hand in the family business.
While helping a friend prepare for a beautician certification exam in 2004, Lin was inspired to expand her own professional horizons. She became a volunteer at her children’s school before later enrolling in college and ultimately earning a master’s degree in nonprofit organization management from National Chi Nan University (NCNU) in central Taiwan’s Nantou County.
Over the past decade, Lin has spearheaded a variety of community projects in Changhua, including setting up a small library and arranging book readings and other activities for immigrants and locals. In 2011, she and more than 30 other foreign-born spouses founded the Association of Development and Communication for New Immigrants. “Volunteer work is at the core of Taiwan society and provides a great opportunity for new residents to learn about the country,” she stressed.
Speaking from her own experiences, Lin said the government has done an excellent job of helping new immigrants adjust to life in Taiwan, especially in the first five years after their arrival. “But in the subsequent stages of their lives here, they face different challenges, like participating in their children’s education and finding employment. It’s important that the government places a greater focus on helping them address concerns in these areas.”
Given the rapid changes in the economies of Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries, Lin said new immigrant residents “are big assets, especially as the government is keen on expanding economic and cultural ties with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.”
While Lin does not see herself as a role model, she encourages new immigrants to become more active in their communities. “In Taiwan, what truly defines you is not your background, but who you are and what you do,” she said.
Taiwanese opera star Annie applies makeup before a show in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County.
Star Performer
A resident of southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County, 30-year-old Nguyen Ngoc Anh (阮安妮), or simply Annie to her family and friends in Taiwan, is proud of her status as the first Taiwanese opera singer of Vietnamese birth.
Annie came to the country in 2005 as a performer in the National Circus of Vietnam. The circus had been invited to spend a one-year residency in Chiayi and during her time in the county she met her future husband Chang Fang-yuan (張芳遠), whose family runs the Xin-Li-Mei Taiwanese Opera Troupe. The couple tied the knot the following year.
Unable to speak the local languages of Mandarin and Holo, Annie initially struggled after settling down in Chiayi. “I had no friends here and I could barely communicate with my in-laws,” she said.
However, with the help of local support groups, she quickly improved her language skills and integrated into society. “The friendly people of Taiwan really made me feel at home,” she noted.
The opera singer takes pride in her efforts to preserve the traditional performing art.
After giving birth to two daughters, Annie was asked to help out in the family business, initially by playing walk-on roles. Despite her prior stage experience, she found it challenging to learn Taiwanese opera, a traditional dramatic art combining acting and singing in Holo, the language of Taiwan’s largest ethnic group. “I knew nothing about this folk art and I couldn’t even read the scripts,” she explained.
But with hard work and perseverance, she managed to pick up the necessary skills and eventually became the diva of the troupe. “I understand my ethnic background is a big draw for audiences, but I want to be recognized for the quality of my performances,” she said.
In addition to touring with her family’s troupe, Annie is pursuing a career in television and has already earned parts in several productions. Her story has also received extensive media coverage and was the subject of an award-winning documentary, “God’s Play.”
While Annie has found success in her career, she has experienced challenges in her personal life, with her youngest daughter requiring dialysis due to a birth defect. Annie said she is grateful for the quality of care provided by the National Health Insurance system and is happy with her life in Taiwan. “I will continue my work with the troupe because it’s an important part of local culture.”
Baking Up a Storm
Nguyen My Lan (阮美蘭), also from Vietnam, saw her entrepreneurial dream come true when she opened a bakery four years ago in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County. The business has become so successful that she sometimes has to work up to 16 hours a day to meet the huge demand for her sponge cakes.
Nguyen My Lan prepares sponge cakes at her bakery in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu County.
She came to Taiwan in 2000 through marriage. After giving birth to the first of her two children, Nguyen found a job at a local bakery to help support her family. She ultimately worked there for about a decade before deciding to use the skills she had acquired to start her own business.
“I was committed to making it work so my daughter and son wouldn’t have to go through the same hardships that I did back in Vietnam,” she said. “I also wanted to use the profits to help others and share with people the happiness I get from baking.”
Although Nguyen received positive feedback when she launched trial sales of her cakes, her business failed to turn a profit in its first year owing to her lack of management and marketing experience. The financial stress she endured during this period took a toll on her health and impacted her family life. “I was under so much pressure that I almost quit.”
Help came when her daughter’s teacher found out about her predicament during a family visit organized through an MOE program offering educational consulting services to new immigrant parents. The teacher referred Nguyen’s case to the MOI’s National Immigration Agency (NIA), which helped promote her new venture.
Nguyen, third right, regularly visits a local care facility for people with special needs.
Soon afterward, a local newspaper ran a story about the bakery, which led to further media coverage, and orders started pouring in. “The publicity really helped my business. Many people also called to show their support and their kind words gave me the strength to continue,” Nguyen said, adding that sales have increased fifty-fold since her first year. “I wouldn’t have pulled through without the help of the NIA and the friendly people of Taiwan.”
The baker regularly donates cakes to charitable organizations and whenever possible visits a local care facility for people with special needs on weekends. Her good deeds were recognized in 2015 when she was named an Immigrant of the Year by the Hsinchu County Government. “I’ve been blessed with very generous support, so it’s only natural that I give back to society,” she said.
There were around 590,000 Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan in 2015.
New Possibilities for Southeast Asian Migrant Workers
Foreign workers can make an equally significant contribution to the government’s New Southbound Policy as immigrant residents if their capabilities are properly utilized, according to Hsu Jui-hsi (徐瑞希), chairperson of the Taipei-based Global Workers’ Organization (GWO).
Ministry of the Interior figures show there were about 590,000 migrant workers from Southeast Asian nations in Taiwan at the end of 2015. These immigrants play a vital role in the economy, helping address worker shortages in key sectors such as caregiving and labor-intensive manufacturing.
Established in 2013, GWO is among a number of nonprofit organizations that have emerged in recent years to protect the rights of migrant workers, promote their social inclusion and facilitate cross-cultural exchanges and understanding.
A former journalist and TV producer, Hsu founded GWO after hiring a Filipino nanny and being inspired by her constant kindness and dedication to helping her family back in the Philippines. The organization operates Taiwan’s first multilanguage online news channel focusing on migrant worker issues. The site is available in Cambodian, English, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.
Hsu said migrant workers already help foster people-to-people contacts between Taiwan and Southeast Asia and, given the opportunity and proper training, could assist local firms in expanding their presence in the region. “Even after returning home at the end of their contracts, they could still prove valuable in improving Taiwan’s business links with their countries,” she said.
These individuals can also help boost inbound tourism from Southeast Asian nations, a key facet of the New Southbound Policy, Hsu noted. “With their language skills, they could offer immediate assistance to local businesses in this field,” she said.
Hsu praised recent government efforts to bolster the social integration of these workers and expand their rights, noting the Ministry of Labor has taken an important step in the right direction by implementing regulatory revisions that allow qualified migrants who have been employed in Taiwan for more than 12 years to extend their stays. “If the New Southbound Policy is to achieve its desired effects, migrant workers must not be left on the sidelines.”
—by Meg Chang
Write to Meg Chang at sfchang@mofa.gov.tw
PHOTOS BY CHEN MEI-LING, CHIN HUNG-HAO, CHUANG KUNG-JU AND HUANG CHUNG-HSIN AND COURTESY OF LIN LI-CHAN