Thousands gathered Dec. 17 in Taipei City to take part in a festival celebrating diversity and inclusiveness as well as to acknowledge immigrants’ contributions to Taiwan society.
Organized by the National Immigration Agency under the Ministry of the Interior, the event took place at 228 Peace Memorial Park ahead of International Migrants Day Dec. 18, which was designated by the U.N. General Assembly in 2000 to bring awareness to global migrants and their rights.
The festival featured parades, cultural performances and booths with local cuisine as well as arts and crafts from many new immigrants’ home countries. According to organizers, nearly 3,000 people participated in the festivities, many of whom are from New Southbound Policy target countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Speaking at the event, MOI Deputy Minister Hua Ching-chun recognized the contributions new immigrants have made to Taiwan. He thanked festivalgoers for supporting the government’s New Southbound Policy by promoting regional development through people-to-people connections and enhanced exchanges.
Hua noted that the total number of foreign spouses in Taiwan recently exceeded 520,000, while foreign-born blue and white collar workers employed in the nation now number around 610,000 and 30,000, respectively. The deputy minister said such individuals can contribute their skills and talents as well as take advantage of their cultural and linguistic knowledge to inject fresh momentum and vitality into Taiwan’s development.
The government has implemented many measures to safeguard the rights of new immigrants and their children, Hua said. Such initiatives include centers that provide employment opportunities, government subsidies, job training and projects to promote cultural exchanges, he noted.
A key component of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy, the New Southbound Policy seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. (KWS-E)
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