Over the past 10 years, Taiwan has seen an increasing number of foreign women marrying into local families. Just as with all marriages, some of these cross-cultural unions suffer while others succeed.
Because of their backgrounds, foreign brides may encounter more difficulties than their Taiwanese counterparts. To help them better cope with the difficulties of inter-cultural marriage, both governmental agencies and private organizations have various levels of assistance available to them, as long as they reach out for help.
Statistics released by the Cabinet's Ministry of the Interior show that as of July this year there were about 100,000 foreign brides in Taiwan, about half of whom were from China while the other half were from Southeast Asia.
Vietnamese brides top the list of Southeast Asian brides with over 28,000, followed by 9,000 Indonesians, 3,190 Filipinas and 3,153 Thais.
Taipei City currently has about 7,000 foreign brides, some 7 percent of the total number. About 5,000 of the women are from China.
Taipei County comprises about 14 percent of the nation's total, followed by Taoyuan County's 13 percent, Pintung County's 11 percent, and Changhua County's 7 percent.
Growing numbers
Taiwan started to see an increasing number of local men marrying foreign women in 1992, after the nation officially threw open its doors to foreign workers from Southeast Asia.
Some people contend that another reason for the increase in foreign brides is related to the increasing financial independence of Taiwanese women. They contend that as local women become less reliant on men, men have turned elsewhere for potential brides.
"Nowadays more and more Taiwanese women don't need to rely on men to support themselves. Some of them even lead a better life than their male counterparts," said Mao Chun-chieh (
Those women who hold well-paid jobs or have impressive educational backgrounds frequently have high standards when it comes to choosing their spouses, Mao said.
"Taiwanese men, especially those in the lower class, usually feel threatened by women who are better-off than they are. Getting married to someone who's not as threatening gives them a sense of achievement," Mao said.
Common struggles
Speaking on his experiences in dealing with foreigners over the years, Mao said that most foreign brides encounter problems on both a psychological and material level.
"One of the most common problems they encounter is the language barrier," Mao said. "Except for the Indonesian brides, who can communicate in the Hakka dialect, most of them encounter communication problems."
Because of the language barrier, Mao said the brides frequently feel secluded and suffer psychologically.
Cultural or religious differences are other common difficulties, Mao said.
"Cultural or religious differences may not be a big problem if the two can communicate well with each other and are deeply in love," he said. "However, what I often see is that they don't communicate well and they hardly know each other," he said.
Working illegally is another problem faced by some foreign brides, Mao said. "Some are forced to find a job to help support the family. And many may break the law without knowing that they need to obtain approval to work from the authorities first, despite their legal residence status," he said.
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