US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3233

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003233 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS AIT/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, SCUL, SOCI, KCRM, TW 
SUBJECT: Taiwan Population Focus 2: Foreign Brides 
REF A: TAIPEI 3197 
REF B: TAIPEI 3182 
 
1.(U) Summary: Nearly a quarter of marriages in Taiwan last 
year involved a foreign bride.  Two thirds of the women are 
from Mainland China, and one third from Southeast Asian and 
other Asian countries.  The local press has stoked anxiety 
about the influx of foreign brides over the past decade and 
their ability to assimilate into Taiwan society.  Of 
particular concern are the education level, language skills, 
and "non-Chineseness" of the Southeast Asian brides, which 
are perceived to affect the "quality" of Taiwan's population 
and the abilities of their children.  End summary. 
 
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One Quarter of Marriages in 2004 To Foreign Brides 
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2.(U) In addition to low fertility (examined in ref A), the 
other major population trend in Taiwan is the significant 
number of marriages involving a foreign spouse.  This trend 
began in the late 1980s, accelerated in the 1990s, and last 
year included nearly a quarter of new marriages in Taiwan. 
About two thirds of foreign spouses (waiji pei'ou, popularly 
called foreign brides in English because 98% are women) are 
from Mainland China, and most of the remaining third are 
from Southeast Asia.  According to the Ministry of the 
Interior (MOI) Department of Household Registration, between 
1987 and June 2005, a total of approximately 351,000 foreign 
spouses entered Taiwan.  224,000 were from China, Hong Kong 
and Macau, and 127,000 were mostly from Southeast Asian 
countries.  More than 87,000 of the Southeast Asian brides 
were from Vietnam (most are not ethnic Chinese).  In 2003, 
31 percent of marriages in Taiwan involved a foreign spouse. 
This number fell to 23 percent in 2004, due to a crackdown 
on sham marriages for the purposes of trafficking women for 
prostitution.  In 2004, 13% of children born in Taiwan were 
born to families with a foreign-born parent.  While foreign 
brides do not have more children than average, the effect of 
an influx of young women marrying men who might not 
otherwise have children may raise the fertility rate to some 
extent. 
 
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SM ISO "Fertile, Hard-Working, Taiwanese-Speaking" Wife 
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3. (U) Generally speaking, men who marry foreign brides are 
of fairly low socioeconomic status.  They tend to be from 
rural areas in which many young women have left home to work 
in the cities, and they are unable to find local wives.  To 
cater to this group of men, matchmaking agencies arrange 
tours for Taiwan men to China or Vietnam to meet large 
groups of women.  Once a man meets a suitable woman, they 
marry quickly, either on the same trip or on a return trip 
several months later.  A Vietnamese bride agency advertises 
on billboards in suburban Taipei that for a fee of US$8500, 
a man can marry a "guaranteed fertile, hard-working, and 
Taiwanese-speaking" bride.  Customers are promised, "if she 
runs away we will replace her with a new bride of your 
choosing."  Advertisements for Vietnamese brides are also 
run on Taipei television. 
 
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Foreign Brides Seen as Social Problem to Be Solved 
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4. (U) The influx of foreign brides has sparked some anxiety 
about their effect on Taiwan society and culture.  In the 
press, foreign brides are often described in terms of the 
"social problems" they cause.  There is a degree of 
prejudice against foreign brides because they are perceived 
as uneducated and poor, marrying for money or to enter 
Taiwan for prostitution or illegal work.  In early 2005, 
MOFA reinstated a face-to-face visa interview requirement 
for Vietnamese brides, citing a growing number of marriages 
for purposes of trafficking women for prostitution.  There 
is also some anxiety about the roles that foreign brides 
play in the traditional Taiwan family.  In June, Taiwan 
Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators held a press conference 
in which elderly women accused their foreign bride daughters- 
in-law of violence and death threats against them.  TSU 
legislators even proposed inspections of all households with 
foreign brides.  This extreme response indicates the level 
of discomfort within the TSU, a green political party that 
promotes Taiwanese identity, with the growing presence of 
foreign and especially Mainland Chinese brides. 
 
5. (U) The main social problem associated with foreign 
brides in the press, and in discussions with government 
officials, is their education level and language ability. 
Southeast Asian brides in particular are viewed as 
uneducated because they often cannot speak Mandarin 
fluently.  Language skills are often mentioned as a concern 
due to their effect on foreign brides' children.  Staff at 
the Ministry of the Interior emphasized that when mothers do 
not speak Mandarin well, they cannot adequately prepare 
their children for school, or help with their schoolwork. 
Additionally, Southeast Asian mothers are characterized as 
reluctant to talk with teachers, or to assimilate to Taiwan 
society.  There is even anxiety that the children of foreign 
brides are developmentally slower than children with Taiwan- 
born mothers.  A 2004 survey by Chiayi Christian Hospital, 
which was widely reported in the local press, estimated that 
90% of children of foreign brides "suffer slowness in 
cognition and language development" "due to adults' 
ignorance or a language barrier."  A recent Taipei Times 
article on Taiwan's over-15 illiteracy rate, which at 3.9% 
is higher than some other developed countries, argued that 
uneducated foreign brides are to blame, and that their 
illiteracy will affect their children and make Taiwan's 
workforce less competitive in the future. 
 
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Threat to Taiwan Identity? 
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6. (U) Taiwan identity is a complex issue (examined in depth 
in ref B).  While there is some regional and linguistic 
diversity within Taiwan, with migrants from different areas 
of China and their descendents, the vast majority of the 
population is considered Hua ren, or culturally Chinese.  In 
this regard, brides from Mainland China are able to 
assimilate to some degree, but they are still considered 
distinct from people who immigrated from China in 1949 or 
earlier.  The introduction of a population of Southeast 
Asian brides presents a clearer challenge to Taiwan's 
culture: they are often neither ethnically nor culturally 
Chinese, and many do not speak Mandarin or Taiwanese 
fluently.  Because of these differences, there is a degree 
of popular anxiety about their effect on their children. 
The main concerns expressed are that foreign brides' 
children speak Mandarin or Taiwanese at a relatively low 
level, and that when they enter school they will be teased 
by classmates and have difficulty adjusting.  Because of 
their mixed heritage, there is also concern that they will 
not see themselves as Taiwan ren, or Taiwan people.  For 
Taiwan's government, the answer is to help foreign brides 
assimilate to Taiwan as quickly as possible, to become what 
they call "new Taiwanese."  Government agencies have 
established a range of programs to encourage brides to 
assimilate, including a Mandarin language and Taiwan history 
and culture curriculum launched by the Ministry of Education 
last year, a series of guidebooks published by MOI, and an 
MOI fund and multilingual emergency hotline. 
 
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Change to Nationality Law Targets Foreign Brides 
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7. (U) On June 17, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment 
to the Nationality Law, which takes effect in October, that 
changes citizenship requirements for foreign brides.  In 
addition to the previous requirement of five years' 
residence in Taiwan and proof of financial support, they 
will now be required to pass an exam in Mandarin language 
and Taiwan culture.  Hsieh Ai-ling of MOI described the exam 
as "very basic and simple," and said that candidates had an 
alternative option of completing a hundred-hour course in 
language and culture.  However, news coverage of the 
amendment did not mention the course option, and 
characterized some exam questions as difficult even for 
Taiwan-born residents to answer.  (Note: the exam is similar 
to the US citizenship exam, covering topics such as the 
Taiwan constitution and history.  End note.)  Advocates for 
foreign spouses have protested that the new requirements are 
too difficult, and discriminate against foreign brides who 
do not have enough free time to study Chinese.  MOI's Hsieh 
argues that the purpose of the new requirement is not to 
keep foreign brides from getting Taiwan citizenship, but to 
help them and their children better assimilate to Taiwan. 
 
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Comment 
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8. (U) The influx of foreign brides to Taiwan over the past 
twenty years is the latest chapter in a long history of 
immigration from China and Asia-Pacific countries.  The 
concerns raised in the press and in government about the 
education level of foreign brides and their ability to speak 
Mandarin or Taiwanese reflect the anxieties of a relatively 
homogeneous society confronting an increasingly diverse 
population.  There is also a somewhat distinct concern 
expressed by pro-Taiwan independence "Deep Green" 
politicians and voters about brides from Mainland China. 
They express a fear that Mainland brides will retain a 
loyalty to their home in China and inculcate that feeling in 
their children.  For both foreign and Mainland brides, the 
main concern seems to be not the brides themselves but their 
children, and what version of Taiwan identity they will 
embrace.  End comment.  (Cable prepared by AIT Econ intern 
Anne Bilby.)