On Friday last week, the Chinese-lanaguge Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported that several children of new immigrants have been admitted to the prestigious National Taiwan University (NTU), including Changhua Senior High School student Lin Tsung-yu (林宗洧), whose Taiwanese father and Vietnamese mother work at a factory in Changhua County.
YOUTH PROGRAM
However, instead of starting college right after he graduates from senior high school next year, Lin plans to submit an application to defer his enrolment at the university’s Department of Sociology while he participates in the Ministry of Education’s “youth savings account” program.
After accumulating more work experience and government subsidies through the three-year program, he plans to start his studies at NTU.
Most people might be very concerned about this report, but it carries a different meaning for us at the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which has devoted itself to care for new immigrants and their children for 50 years.
Among the children of all ages for whom the foundation is currently caring, two have entered NTU and a few others are studying at other top schools, such as National Chiao Tung University and National Cheng Kung University. Their mothers are from Southeast Asian nations and their finances are tight.
We at the foundation work hard to raise funds and one of our latest initiatives is to raise money so that new immigrant households can have a Lunar New Year’s Eve banquet together.
After receiving donations, we regularly allocate the money to such households to cover their living expenses, and award special subsidies to gifted and talented children. Despite the small sums, they all cherish it very much.
When I accompany social workers on home visits, I occasionally get to see those children working hard to advance and I am grateful to new immigrants, who used to be called “foreign spouses” (外配), for cultivating their children so well.
For various reasons, the fathers are not present in many of the households or they neglect their parental responsibilities.
It is comforting that the government has noticed new immigrants’ difficulties and in 2005 established the Foreign Spouse Care and Guidance Fund (外籍配偶照顧輔導基金). The fund, which was later renamed the New Immigrants Development Fund (新住民發展基金), provides care and guidance to new immigrants.
As the government actively pushes the New Southbound Policy, it is imaginable that these children could become the driving force behind the policy in the future.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Earlier this year, the government amended the Company Act (公司法) by adding a second paragraph to Article 1, which was enacted on Aug. 1.
It states: “When conducting its business, every company shall comply with the laws and regulations as well as business ethics and may take actions which will promote public interests in order to fulfill its social responsibilities.”
With this amendment, the government encourages businesses to take action to benefit the public interest and make suitable donations to meet their social responsibilities in addition to seeking a profit.
Hopefully, more companies will reach out to the foundation and the children of new immigrants.
Yu Ying-fu is chairman of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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