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.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail