Taoyuan New Immigrants Culture Hall
Begin your Attraction to Taiwan from Taoyuan
Building a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Hope the diverse and inclusive homeland we built can be the source of friendliness and warmth to you whom spread wings and soar with courage; Taoyuan always welcomes you.
"Taiwan is great. That's why I fell in love with Taiwan and don't want to return to my hometown!" Chen Yu-Qin is the mother of two daughters, a professional Indonesian interpreter, and a native language teacher for new immigrants in five elementary schools. Coming from Java, Indonesia, she has worked for 6 years and has been married for 12 years in Taiwan. Chen, who has been living in Taoyuan, laughed and spoke out loud about her love for this "new home".
Language Assistance as the Prime Objective
Chen Yu-Qin had a rocky start as she arrived in Taiwan. "The most difficult thing as I first came to Taiwan was the language barrier. At that time, I couldn't understand Chinese at all, so I needed translation."After receiving government-subsidized Chinese courses at night schools and her dedication, Chen Yu-Qin now has dual licenses of Taiwan judicial interpreter and general interpreter, and works as a shift interpreter at Taoyuan City New Immigrants Culture Hall and Bade District Public Health Center every week.
Language is the biggest difficulty to overcome for new immigrants or migrant when they come to Taiwan. Taoyuan New Immigrants Culture Hall has more than 90 interpreters providing translation services including Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia, Filipino, Thai, Burmese and Cambodian available for new immigrants and migrant workers recently arrived in Taiwan as well as individuals under special circumstances as they live in Taiwan. Chen Yu-Qin explained that when she serves in the New Immigrants Culture Hall Migrant Workers Service Center, she would meet migrant workers who get pregnant in Taiwan, who will then receive assistance from the Department of Labor of the City Government including arrangement of settlements and work.
Making Mother Tongues Education in Taoyuan More Diverse
At present, the Department of Labor's "Implementation Plan for Foreign Residents' Fertility Consultation and Settlement Service Platform" provides two major services-consultation and settlement. In terms of consultation, a multilingual consultation service hotline has been furnished to provide consultation on legal issues related to maternity and work, and other consultation on medicine, maternity, child-rearing, etc. In addition, prevention advocacy activities containing various advocacy lectures covering eugenic health care, pregnancy care, child-rearing consultation, etc. are held on a regular basis; in terms of settlement, pregnant migrant workers are provided shot-term settlement places along with assistance in relation to living, work rights and medicine for children, rearing, return to place of origin. At present, friendly spaces are set aside in the settlement center to accommodate 25 mothers and their babies.
When it comes to parenting, Chen Yu-Qin believes that she should have her two daughters grasp Bahasa Indonesia so that they can converse with their grandmother as then visit. As a teacher of Bahasa Indonesia in various elementary schools, Chen believes that children learn quickly, furthermore, many of them as second generation to Indonesian parent(s) may review it as homework when they get home.
Promoting Southeast Asian Culture and Building a Friendly Utopia Taoyuan
Lin Gui-Jin, an advocate of new immigrants' rights and Chairman of the "Taoyuan City New Immigrants Association", also serves as a native language teacher for new immigrants. As a Vietnamese language teacher in Taoyuan High School, Shoushan High School and many elementary schools, she also believes that students' have great learning capability. Amongst all her courses, more than 90% of the students taking high school courses are not children of new immigrants, but they also show great enthusiasm for Vietnamese. "We start Vietnamese courses in communities, which are attended by some 50 to 60 students at ages ranging from 5 to 6 years old to 62 years old, which indicates Taiwanese' interest in Vietnam. I expect people to understand Vietnamese culture, and I especially want to share Vietnamese culture with the next generation." said Lin Gui-Jin.
To promote Southeast Asian culture, the Department of Social Welfare of the City Government and "Taoyuan City New Immigrants Association" frequently hold new immigrants related activities and courses, such as new immigrants law class, computer science class, etc. Lin Gui-Jin especially takes pride in one previous activity, during which she led more than 100 new immigrants sisters to Taipei to visit the Presidential Office Building and took photos and shook hands with President Tsai Ing-Wen. "Many of the sisters set their photos with the President as their profile picture, and we feel very honored. We think that Taiwan attaches great importance to us new immigrants."
The population of new immigrants in Taoyuan reaches 64,000, ranking fourth in the country and behind that of Taipei City, Kaohsiung City, and New Taipei City.
Since promotion of Taoyuan, the City Government has successively established the New Immigrants Joint Service Center, the New Immigrants Culture Hall, and the New Immigrants Learning Center in the North District, New Immigrants Affairs Section, Department of Social Welfare, New Immigrants Empowerment Center, etc., actively assist new immigrants in show their own characteristics and appearance in the society, thereby achieving the goals of friendliness and respect, empowerment and development and furthermore building Taoyuan into the City friendly to new immigrants.
Talking about Taoyuan's new immigrants policy, Lin Gui-Jin said, "Taoyuan's new immigrants organizations are very active, and our counterparts in many other counties and cities would envy us. For new immigrants, the City Government has also established a New Immigrants Culture Hall where I usually go for classes and business. That building is really worthwhile. Also, Zhang Yu-Ting, Deputy President of the New Immigrants Joint Service Center, and Zheng Gui-Hua, Director of Department of Social Welfare, also encouraged us to found various groups and hold events, which is quite decent."
Summarizing Taiwan's life experience, "if my fellow countryman asks me, I will definitely recommend them to work and settle in Taiwan," said Chen Yu-Qin and Lin Gui-Jin unanimously.
New immigrants makes Taiwan and Taoyuan visible in the international stage, and broadens the view of Taiwan to the World.