The Ministry of the Interior said it would launch a program this year to help children of Southeast Asian immigrants in Taiwan learn the native language and culture of their parents.
Under the program that starts in July, a select number of children of immigrants are to travel to Southeast Asia for two weeks, which is to allow them to become immersed in the native language, culture and family life of their parents, the ministry said.
In addition to sponsoring the trips for the children, the ministry is also to arrange for some of them to be accompanied by their guardians, teachers and some school administrative personnel.
The aim of the program is to help the children become more competitive by taking advantage of their diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the ministry said.
The program is to be open to eligible children in the fifth grade and above. Those over the age of 18 are also invited to apply for internships at Taiwanese companies in their destination country, the ministry said, adding that the goal is to nurture international business talent.
Meanwhile, teachers and other school personnel who accompany the children would be able to gain a better understanding of the students, the ministry said.
More than 40 percent of Taiwan’s children from families with one Southeast Asian immigrant parent cannot speak the native language of that parent, the ministry said, citing one of its surveys.
The ministry plans to select the candidates and give them NT$30,000 to cover their airfare and living expenses during the trip.
Children with one Taiwanese parent and a Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino or Malaysian parent are eligible to apply.
There are currently about 500,000 first-generation immigrants in Taiwan, most of them from China and Southeast Asia, the ministry’s statistics showed.
There are 350,000 children of first-generation immigrations in the nation, the data showed.
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