Foreign spouses in Taiwan
Typhoon Longwang -- Dragon King -- just crossed Taiwan today, which meant that one of Lady D's brothers spent last night in our place. Being a head chef, he has to work whether there is a typhoon holiday or not -- a holiday means good business -- and he doesn't want to ride his scooter from Taipei County into the city in a full blast typhoon.
Yesterday, he brought us a letter from the Taipei County Government to Lady D. County, because Taiwan's outdated household registry system (good for controlling the movement and whereabouts of people, it's another leftover from the the old totalitarian state that still has to be abolished) means that we are registered with her folks in Jinshan, and D's brother brought it with him last time he went home.
According to the letter, foreign spouses in Taiwan are now offered completely free language courses and classes informing on Taiwanese laws, culture and customs. It is a result of the surge in what is called "foreign brides" -- young women from Vietnam in particular, but also other countries in Southeast Asia. They're brought here by Taiwanese men who can't find a Taiwanese wife who will accept their betel nut chewing, macho ways because they are getting used to having their own careers, money and lives. I saw a documentary on these wife buying trips once. The guys go to Vietnam (or wherever) on tours arranged like group tours. They all sit down together to watch a parade of local single girls who want to marry their way to Taiwan. They then make a couple of choices, which they get to see in a final, so to speak. They decide which one to get, they meet and talk, and if it works out, they get married. A straight forward business proposition, more or less. As I remember it, it took less than a week from first arriving in Vietnam before most of the guys were married and on their way back home.
Anyway, these free classes apparently apply to all foreign spouses, which I think is significant of something. It indicates that a change is taking place in Taiwanese society, that it is getting more used to foreigners and more likely to accept them, partly thanks to these foreign brides, but also thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Thai and Philippino workers that are here to do work that Taiwanese no longer want to do. I also think it means that Taiwan is beginning to realize that they have to take some responsibility for helping to integrate immigrants they accept, and in the case of workers actively invite, into Taiwanese society.
The letter of course goes all out and talks about the county government's love of a multi-cultural society and pluralism. But in some way, I think that has to be the basis of this whole idea.
Typhoon Longwang -- Dragon King -- just crossed Taiwan today, which meant that one of Lady D's brothers spent last night in our place. Being a head chef, he has to work whether there is a typhoon holiday or not -- a holiday means good business -- and he doesn't want to ride his scooter from Taipei County into the city in a full blast typhoon.
Yesterday, he brought us a letter from the Taipei County Government to Lady D. County, because Taiwan's outdated household registry system (good for controlling the movement and whereabouts of people, it's another leftover from the the old totalitarian state that still has to be abolished) means that we are registered with her folks in Jinshan, and D's brother brought it with him last time he went home.
According to the letter, foreign spouses in Taiwan are now offered completely free language courses and classes informing on Taiwanese laws, culture and customs. It is a result of the surge in what is called "foreign brides" -- young women from Vietnam in particular, but also other countries in Southeast Asia. They're brought here by Taiwanese men who can't find a Taiwanese wife who will accept their betel nut chewing, macho ways because they are getting used to having their own careers, money and lives. I saw a documentary on these wife buying trips once. The guys go to Vietnam (or wherever) on tours arranged like group tours. They all sit down together to watch a parade of local single girls who want to marry their way to Taiwan. They then make a couple of choices, which they get to see in a final, so to speak. They decide which one to get, they meet and talk, and if it works out, they get married. A straight forward business proposition, more or less. As I remember it, it took less than a week from first arriving in Vietnam before most of the guys were married and on their way back home.
Anyway, these free classes apparently apply to all foreign spouses, which I think is significant of something. It indicates that a change is taking place in Taiwanese society, that it is getting more used to foreigners and more likely to accept them, partly thanks to these foreign brides, but also thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Thai and Philippino workers that are here to do work that Taiwanese no longer want to do. I also think it means that Taiwan is beginning to realize that they have to take some responsibility for helping to integrate immigrants they accept, and in the case of workers actively invite, into Taiwanese society.
The letter of course goes all out and talks about the county government's love of a multi-cultural society and pluralism. But in some way, I think that has to be the basis of this whole idea.