A mother and daughter who made headlines after being discovered living in squalid conditions at a mausoleum were deported to Vietnam on Wednesday, but the 48-year-old mother hopes to come back someday.
The woman, surnamed Nguyen, and her eight-year-old daughter, called Ling-ling (玲玲) in media reports, cried as they embraced immigration and social welfare officials at the airport before their departure.
At the airport, the Taiwanese man surnamed Chung (鍾) who for the past year had lived with Nguyen and her daughter in the Taoyuan County cemetery promised to visit them in Vietnam, and said he would “look into getting married” to bring the two back to Taiwan, according to the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper.
Photo: Yu Jui-jen, Taipei Times
Nguyen, who came to Taiwan in 2003 for work and left her employer after less than a year, thanked the public for its support over the past few months.
“I can’t believe that people have shown so much care for me, even though I was a runaway worker,” Nguyen said. “I will never forget this my whole life.”
Officials who had been assisting the family gave Ling-ling a stuffed panda and a school bag before sending the two off.
Nguyen, also known as A-shui (阿水), left her job after 10 months and later met Chung. They ran into financial and health problems that forced them to live at the mausoleum of one of Chung’s ancestors.
A DNA test determined that Chung is not Ling-ling’s father.
At the graveyard, the family drank well water and slept on a “bed” made of tree branches because Chung, who is in his 70s, could not find a steady job due to poor health.
Nguyen turned herself in to immigration authorities in February.
After their ordeal was made public in March, many people called to offer help, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said.
The Taoyuan County government helped the trio find a place to stay, provided medical assistance and ensured that Ling-ling went to school.
More than NT$200,000 was raised and given to Ling-ling and her mother.
NIA official Liu Yen-hui (劉燄輝) said the pair had to be sent back to Vietnam because Nguyen had overstayed her visa and Ling-ling is not a Republic of China citizen.
The agency said they could return to Taiwan if Chung marries Nguyen and adopts Ling-ling.
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