The Ministry of the Interior has released the results of its latest survey on foreign spouses’ quality of life in Taiwan.
The survey found there are nearly 500,000 foreign and Mainland Chinese nationals married to Taiwanese citizens and residing in Taiwan. Of these, 68% come from Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, while a further 28% are from Southeast Asia. The vast majority- over 400,000- are women married to Taiwanese men.
68% of respondents felt there have been no difficulties with their life in Taiwan. 87% said they get on well with their Taiwanese partners’ family members. And despite the difficulties of adapting to a new environment, 93% said they are happy with their life in Taiwan.
The survey found many foreign spouses would like to see the government establish services to help meet their day-to-day needs. A number of respondents also asked that the government set up free vocational training courses with a stipend to cover basic expenses.
Speaking on Wednesday, Deputy Interior Minister Chen Chwen-jing said the National Immigration Agency has already set up classes designed to help new immigrants adapt to life in Taiwan at six locations around the country.
Chen also said the latest survey has found that 40% of immigrant children are only able to speak Chinese. He said the National Immigration Agency has responded by creating mother tongue classes in an effort to encourage bilingualism.