The Executive Yuan is organizing a Cabinet-level board to coordinate affairs concerning Taiwan's growing immigrant population, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said today at the closing ceremony of a dream-building project for new immigrants and their children.
"Aside from tackling problems faced by first-generation immigrants, the board will pay attention to the needs of their children. We will protect the rights of the second generation, build up their confidence, and turn their cultural and language abilities into advantages for Taiwan," said the premier.
Over the past 30 years, Taiwan's immigration policies have evolved to meet the needs of the time, the premier continued. In earlier stages, the focus was on helping immigrant spouses adapt to life in Taiwan. Now, the main concerns include managing the growing number of immigrants as well as helping the second generation to find their own identities and learn their mother tongues. Hence, it is necessary for the Executive Yuan to re-examine the policies in order to safeguard the rights of immigrants and preserve their values.
The new board will address different issues including education, employment, health care, social welfare and culture. The premier was particularly concerned about language education as most children of immigrants are not proficient in their native tongues. He hoped all immigrant parents would pass on their linguistic heritage to their children.
Native-language proficiency will be one of the top priorities on the board's agenda, the premier said. One initiative planned by the Ministry of the Interior encourages second-generation children to visit their grandparents overseas during school vacation and improve their language proficiency. The government is setting aside a budget for this initiative and welcomes nongovernmental organizations, private corporations and overseas Taiwanese business associations everywhere to join the effort to cultivate a multi-lingual future workforce.