wfn.org | Taiwan's Foreign Brides Call For New Designation

[Taiwan Church News <pctpress@ms1.hinet.net>]

Taiwan Church News 2664, March 23, 2003
Reported by Ku Hao-jan. Translated and rewritten by David
Alexander

   Pan Yao, a Thai woman who married a Taiwanese man, spoke out
her frustrations at a recent meeting of the Women's Awakening
Foundation in Taipei. "I came to Taiwan six years ago.	I've
given birth to two children here.  Why must I still be called a
'foreign bride?'"  She said her hope was that her Taiwan friends
might see her as herself, and no longer view her with disdain.
   According to census figures from 2002, Taiwan is now home to
over 70,000 women from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, The
Philippines, Cambodia and other countries who have married local
men.  They are here on permanent residence papers, but none has
yet been granted local citizenship.  Besides these "cross
cultural" immigrants, there are also an estimated 70,000 from
China.
   Despite the fact that their numbers alone make them a
significant factor in the population makeup of this nation of 23
million souls, they remain outsiders and suffer heavy
inequalities.
   A year ago, Yuan-shi Yan-hong was in Vietnam.  Now she works
with her husband in the Taipei suburb of Yung-ho selling fishball
soup.  She told how she suffered in her early days here, often
meeting people who, hearing her accented speech, would ask if she
were a foreign bride. The question alienated her.  Were it not
for encouragement from her husband's family, she could not have
stood the opprobrium.
   Ms. Pan feels that she has been discriminated against and
hurt, often driven to tears.  Even after six years here she still
hears people say, "You're just a foreign laborer, what good are
you?" As the mother of two children, she participates in the hope
for Taiwan's future. Yet she wonders if even when she grows old
here she will still be seen as a foreigner.  Her desire is to be
seen by Taiwan's people as a friend of Taiwan, and a student of
Taiwan's culture and languages.
   The Women's Awakening Foundation, a local association,
recognizes the discrimination faced by these women.  Service
Director Hsia Siao-juan says, "This cohort of Taiwan's population
has contributed a great deal to the local economy. They hold up a
mirror to us for our self-understanding. There is no reason to
hold them in disdain."
   Since part of the problem is nomenclature, the foundation
offered an exercise to meeting participants.  An open-ended
question was posed, "Instead of 'outsider', please call me
________________."  Each of the new immigrant women was asked to
offer a suggestion to fill in the blank. The three best ones were
selected for use.
   These came out as: "New Female Immigrant"  "First Generation
Immigrant", and some combination of their ethnic origin,
hyphenated with "Taiwanese"  (ie: Thai-Taiwanese,
Philippine-Taiwanese, etc.)
  Vietnamese-Taiwanese are welcomed to phone in their suggestions
before April 15th at the Awakening Foundation's Taipei office,
(02) 2502 8715.

For more information: Women's Awakening Foundation  TEL: +886 2
2502 8715

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