MOI video clips celebrate Taiwan cultural diversity

2016/01/15

Two video clips spotlighting the lives of new immigrants in Taiwan were recently launched by the Ministry of the Interior, highlighting government efforts in promoting cultural diversity nationwide.

Produced by MOI National Immigration Agency, one of the clips showcases the signature dishes of the immigrants’ home countries as a way of promoting cultural exchanges, while the other focuses on the participation of the recent arrivals in Taiwan public affairs.

“Taiwan’s over half a million new immigrants and their 350,000-plus children are a sizeable part of the population,” an MOI official said Jan. 13. “This makes them a significant contributor to our multicultural society.”

According to the MOI, one of the stars of the clips is South Korean Park Shin-young, who first came to Taiwan to study Chinese 20 years ago before immigrating with her Taiwanese-South Korean husband.

“Everything was different for me when I relocated to Taiwan. But thanks to the various support measures by the government, I settled in easily and quickly,” she said. The 50-year-old mother of two now runs a Korean restaurant in New Taipei City.

In the other production, new immigrants from Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and mainland China share their love for Taiwan by volunteering services at community centers, government agencies and museums.

As part of the government’s commitment to creating an immigrant-friendly environment in Taiwan, a Cabinet-level board was set up last June for integrating resources and facilitating better care of such individuals.

Other initiatives include the New Immigrant Torch Project implemented by the MOI since 2012. In addition to promoting the group’s general welfare, the project offers scholarships and subsidies for the offspring of new arrivals to take cultural exchange and language trips to their parents’ native countries during school breaks.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=241233&ctNode=2194&mp=9)