Participants sang: “The north wind is screaming, who is hiding, a bag of gifts that Santa Claus is carrying” — the Taiwanese lyrics of a Christmas song — in a presentation held by the Ministry of the Interior’s National Immigration Agency at Taipei Main Station yesterday.
Many new residents from countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar and China led other participants in singing along at the event, which was subsidized by the government’s New Residents Development Fund.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) was there to join the new residents in enjoying the event.
“Taiwan is a multicultural society and every single new resident who comes to Taiwan is part of our new national strength. I watched as these new friends sang so well the Taiwanese version of this Christmas song. They created so much joy for us, and I also appreciate their efforts at learning a new language and adapting to local life,” Hsu said.
“These new friends, who led us in the singing today, regularly attend a New Residents Learning Taiwanese and Ballads class, organized by the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, where they work hard to learn a new language,” the agency said. “This time, we especially invited them to sing at the opening of this Christmas event so that they could share the Taiwanese version of this Christmas song and be proud of all their hard work. Without a doubt, as soon as their beautiful voices sang out, the crowd showed great enthusiasm.”
New residents are getting help in adapting to life in Taiwan, the ministry said, citing agency information about government assistance and counseling measures, such as an interview to match newcomers with government benefits, family education courses, a multilingual hotline for foreigners (0800-024-111), a Web site with global news selected for them and an information network designed especially to help new residents.
The measures show how important new residents are to the government and how crucial it is that they have no worries living in Taiwan, the ministry added.
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