The latest US census shows that in the past year more than 230,000 people across the US identified themselves as Taiwanese or of Taiwanese descent, an increase from 145,000 people in the 2000 census.
Earlier population censuses in the US had classified Taiwanese as “Chinese,” but following protests by the US-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs, the Formosa Foundation, the Taiwanese American Citizens League and other organizations and groups formed by US-based Taiwanese, the category “Taiwanese” has been made separate from that of “Chinese.”
The Taiwanese American Citizens League even launched a video campaign on YouTube urging Taiwanese to identify as “Taiwanese” in last year’s census.
“Asian ethnicities such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese are able to click on a button to declare their ethnicity in the census. For someone of Taiwanese descent to declare their ethnicity, they need to click on a bubble reading ‘other Asian’ and then write in ‘Taiwanese.’ Many Taiwanese Americans and Taiwanese are unaware of this when filling out Census questionnaires,” a statement on the Taiwanese Census 2010 Campaign’s Web site said.
“By educating and encouraging families, professionals and college students alike to properly fill out the census, we can achieve a larger and more accurate count,” the statement said.
“Thus, the voice of Taiwanese America will be more strongly considered by the political, financial and social consciousness of the United States of America,” the statement added.
According to last year’s census, close to 110,000 Taiwanese lived in California, making this the highest concentration of Taiwanese in any US state by far. New York came in second, with 18,860 Taiwanese, followed by Texas, with 16,555.
New Jersey counts more than 10,000 Taiwanese and even in the sparsely populated state of South Dakota, 40 people identified themselves as Taiwanese.
Taiwanese live in 50 states in the US — even Puerto Rico, a protectorate of the US, is not exempt, the latest US census shows.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS