A new analysis of US immigration shows that there are at least 342,000 people who were born in Taiwan now living in the US.
That figure is almost certainly too low.
It comes from a two-year-old survey and immigration officials say that at least some Taiwanese-born people identified themselves as “Chinese” or “other Asian” (without specification) in the ethnicity category of census forms.
The analysis by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of Taiwanese immigrants in the US.
“If buying a home is the American dream, then Taiwanese immigrants are living it,” the institute said.
About 76 percent of Taiwanese immigrants in the US own their own home compared with 56.5 percent of all immigrants and 72.6 percent of native-born US citizens.
Not only that, but Taiwanese immigrants in general seem to be better educated, have better jobs and be better off than the population at large. They are among the most successful of all immigrant groups.
California has the largest number of Taiwanese immigrants — 47 percent — followed by New York with 9 percent, Texas with 7 percent and New Jersey with 4 percent.
“Many Taiwanese left home as students in the 1960s and 1970s. A large number stayed because the US offered opportunities that Taiwan did not, as well as democracy and freedom at a time when their homeland was still under political repression,” the institute said.
“By the late 1970s, those who had settled in the US had brought their families over. The Taiwanese-American community has since developed a strong diaspora identity, keeping both political and business ties between the US and Taiwan,” the institute said.
Nearly three-quarters of Taiwanese immigrants are adults of working age, while 2.6 percent are under 18 and 27 percent are seniors.
Taiwanese immigrants are much more likely to be naturalized US citizens — 72 percent — than those foreign-born overall — 43 percent.
About 8.5 percent of Taiwanese immigrants reported speaking “English only,” while 40 percent said they spoke English “very well” and about 50 percent spoke English less than “very well.”
Seven out of every 10 Taiwan-born adults said that they have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This 72 percent of highly educated Taiwanese compares with just 27 percent of the total of 32 million foreign-born adults and 28 percent of all 168 million native-born adults.
More than half of the employed Taiwanese-born men reported working in management, business and finance, information technology, the sciences and engineering.
More than a quarter of all employed Taiwanese-born women were in the same highly paid fields.
Also, Taiwanese immigrants are also less likely to live in poverty than both natives and those foreign-born overall. About 20 percent of Taiwanese immigrants live in poverty in the US compared with 38 percent of all immigrants and 29 percent of those native born.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)