The language barrier is the biggest problem faced by some 300,000 foreign brides, the Eden Social Welfare Foundation said yesterday.
The foundation said that because foreign brides often encounter language problems and strained relations with their mothers-in-law, it will offer free Chinese-language classes to foreign brides and provide counselling to help them adjust to life in this country.
Foundation officials said that the language barrier is at the root of many problems for foreign brides.
It has not only affected relations between husbands and wives, but has also caused conflict between the brides and their mothers-in-law and adversely impacted their childrens' eduction, they added.
The foundation staged skits yesterday to show the different customs in Taiwan and Vietnam for taking care of new mothers.
Medical professionals were on hand to demonstrate how to take care of new mothers during the first month after giving birth.
The foundation also announ-ced a strategic partnership with another social group, the Around Taiwan Health Care Alliance.
The latter will be donating NT$200,000 (US$5,900) to the foundation for a fund that will assist to foreign spouses of Taiwanese.
Alliance officials said they currently have 13 member hospitals, including such prestigious hospitals as Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi Christian Hospital, and Yuan's General Hospital in Kaohsiung.
In addition to meeting foreign brides' urgent need for medical care, the alliance will complement the activities of the foundation, making up for its deficiency in medical resources, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the government will appropriate NT$3 billion (US$88.2 million) over the next 10 years to finance assistance for foreign spouses of Taiwan residents, Premier Yu Shyi-kun announced yesterday.
Speaking on a visit to families of foreign brides in Fengshan, Kaohsiung County, Yu said that the number of foreign spouses of Taiwan residents has increased to 300,000, making them the fifth largest "ethnic group" in the country.
The government should pay more attention to the lives of these foreign spouses as well as the education of their children, who are a new generation of Taiwanese, Yu said.
The government is therefore prepared to set up a foundation which will spend NT$3 billion over the next 10 years to help foreign spouses of Taiwan residents and their children, he said.
Yu also suggested that foreign spouses form organizations inform authorities of any problems or difficulties they encounter.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS