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Foreign spouses tuck into New Year fare at big party

Ever since Diana Chong (莊清珠) married her Taiwanese husband eight years ago, she has not had a chance to spend the Lunar New Year holiday in her native Indonesia.

But now the government is stepping in to try and help immigrants like Chu enjoy Taiwan's holiday festivities, while allowing Taipei residents to get an insight into the New Year's traditions of immigrants.

The Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs yesterday invited 73 foreign spouses and their families to an event to this end.

Traditional dishes from Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, such as pai tai, tom yam soup and pho, were prepared by the foreign spouses. The party was held at "New Immigrant Hall" in Taipei's Wanhua District (萬華), providing spouses with the opportunity to introduce traditional dishes from their homelands to locals.

In Indonesia, for example, people eat curry rice wrapped in banana leaves during Lunar New Year and always send snacks to neighbors before holding a family reunion dinner, Chong said.

So-called "new immigrants" make up a mere 1 percent of Taipei's population, but comprise 20 percent of all newly married couples. Meanwhile, one out of 12 children is born to a couple with a new immigrant spouse, according to the department.

Addressing the ceremony, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city government was trying to build a friendly environment for immigrants, by providing language classes and counseling, as well as holding various events to introduce immigrant's cultures to Taipei residents.

"New immigrants make great contributions to this city, as they enrich the city's cultural scene," Hau said.

Statistics from the department show that foreign spouses from China comprise more than 80 percent of a total 29,003 foreign spouses in Taipei, followed by immigrants from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Having been married to a Taiwanese for 11 years, Wu Shu-tsai (吳淑彩) from Thailand said she was thankful that the city government cooperated with local communities to provide Chinese and Taiwanese courses and other classes, but called on the city government to offer more assistance and build a friendlier environment for foreign spouses and their children.
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