Transnational Professionals In Global Taipei

Transnational Professionals in Global Taipei: Perspectives on Cultural Adjustment and Social Accommodation among Long-Term Alien Residents

Final Paper Social Development of Taiwan International Master’s Program in Taiwan Studies Submitted: June 17, 2009 Aaron Jensen Christy Chang Eri Obata Jane Chen Joe Landgrebe Patty Li Timothy Hogan

96924015 94924008 97924009 97924004 97924013 97924001 97924012

Professor Hsiao-hung Nancy Chen

Chapter 1: Introduction This study seeks to gain a better understanding of the experiences of Western professionals who live and work in Taiwan, particularly the means by which they professionals integrate and adjust themselves at work, with Taiwanese family members and with Taiwanese society in general. The goal of this study is to identify the positive and negative factors which affect Western professionals in Taiwan. As Taiwan and Taipei City seeks to develop global potential, attracting and retaining foreign professionals will be an important challenge. This goal can be better achieved by understanding the positive and negative factors which affect Western professionals in Taiwan. To gain a qualitative understanding of the challenges and issues which Western professionals experience, the authors of this paper selected twelve subjects for interview. Roughly half of the individuals surveyed were English teachers, and the other half worked in various forms for the government, while two individuals were small business owners. In order to gain greater depth, we purposely choose foreign professionals who had spent significant time in Taiwan, at least several years. Most of our participants had lived in Taiwan for over ten years and some had lived here for over twenty years. Their Chinese language ability ranged from beginner to highly fluent. Our interviews lasted from one to two hours and a broad range of topics were discussed. Interview questions were broken down into three main areas: work environment and opportunities, family and social relations and government laws and regulations. These three issues were deemed to have the greatest impact on the lives of Westerner professionals in Taiwan. Our examination of the workplace environment dealt with issues of promotion, salary and communication challenges. Family related questions looked at relationships with in-laws, communication, food choice and religious compatibility. Questions regarding Taiwan government policy examined issues such as taxation, health care, residence status and property ownership. Overall, our interviews were very fruitful and participants generally provided rich detail on their experiences and challenges in Taiwan.

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In terms of structure, this study begins with an examination of relevant literature, discussed in chapter 2. The next chapter highlights and examines the research findings in detail. It provides an overview of the interview subjects and their responses to life in Taiwan. The three main subject areas, work, family and government policy are discussed in detail. Chapter 4 discusses the major findings and implications of the research findings. The aim of this chapter is to provide qualitative discussion and insight into the research findings. The concluding chapter deals with the implications of this study and provides discussion on research limitations and suggestions for future study. Motivation This study seeks to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of Taipei’s quest to become a global city. The concept of a global city closely mirrors the Taiwan government’s desire to transform Taipei into a regional business and financial center. First developed by Thomas Friedmann, the concept of a global city describes a large metropolitan area which serves as a vital link in the world economy. As globalization breaks down borders, global cities take on increased significance for their economic, political and intellectual influence on world affairs. These cities are important for nation’s development due to their ability to create jobs, stimulate the economy and increase national prestige. As Taiwan seeks to secure its economic and political future, the goal of transforming the Taipei metro region into a second tier global city has taken on increased significance. Foreign residents, especially foreign professionals, are an important component of global cities. Foreign professionals provide essential linguistic, managerial and intellectual capital. As English is the current world language, Taipei desperately needs to attract English speaking professionals and develop the English ability of its residents. This study directly addresses this issue as our research focuses entirely on Western, native English speakers. The extent to which Taipei can, or cannot attract and maintain Western professionals has direct bearing on its developmental potential. This study will examine those factors which attract Western professionals as well as the areas where Taipei could improve.

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This study is important because it examines the lives of Western professional in Taiwan. Taiwanese scholars have researched the impact of Mainland Chinese and Southeast Asian immigration on Taiwan’s society. However, there are no studies which examine the lives of Western professionals in Taiwan. Although this group is significantly smaller, the impact which this sector exerts on Taiwanese society is important. Native speaking English teachers will continue to be a valuable commodity in an increasingly globalized world. Moreover, Taiwan’s desire to become more integrated in the global economy will depend in part on its ability to attract Western managers and business professionals. Many international companies purposely post a Western representative to their Taiwan branch offices. In most cases, this individual resides at the upper management or executive level. Western companies have recognized that they must have a strong foothold in the Asian market. Taiwan, especially the Taipei region, must be able to attract Western business professionals if it seeks to become a gateway to Asia. Research Design Our research consisted of in-depth interviews with twelve Western professionals who had lived and worked in Taiwan for at least several years. It was decided that a qualitative approach would enable us to delve deeper into salient issues and produce more fruitful analysis. A quantitative approach was not feasible for this study as time and resources were limited. Our research included two rounds of interviews with the same twelve subjects. The first round of research questions were organized into three subjects with six to eight questions per subject. Data from the first round was then analyzed by team members who looked at trends and gaps in information. Two team members were assigned to analyze information on each of the three categories of questions. As new questions and information gaps were identified, analysts composed new questions which would help clarify problems and address information shortfalls. Subjects were then re-interviewed and the new data was applied to the initial information gaps. Overall, interview sessions were very open; interviewees were aware of the purpose of the study and were encouraged to provide relevant opinions and additional

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detail on the issues. Discussion centered on the subject’s personal views and experiences. In some instances, long term residents were able to provide insight into the lives of other Western professionals who reside in Taiwan. These broader observations greatly enriched the quality of our findings and depth of our observations. Chapter 2: Literature Review At the outset of this paper, our group immediately recognized the very interesting dynamics of our class make-up. National Chengchi University, in Taiwan, has managed to develop a graduate school program which invites students from across the globe to attend classes, taught in English nonetheless. This phenomenon of globalization, taking place in our common lives, sparked a very interesting debate among our group members. How globalized is Taiwan? Can Taiwan be considered a global city? From this seed of interest, our group decided to set out on our research project. We would begin our research with a very general outlook towards global cities. One cannot mention the term “global city”, without acknowledging the works of Saskia Sassen. She is at the forefront of this new and exciting research. She put this topic on the map with her, book Global City. She approaches global cities as sites for the production of producer services and as financial market-places for the buying and selling of securities.1 Next, if Saskia Sassen is the godmother of the global city thesis, then John Friedmann would be the godfather with his article, The World City Hypothesis. This paper subsequently formed the backbone of the global city theory. He argues that cities and urban development in general are closely tied to the changing organization of the global economy. Specifically, the world urban system is a spatial manifestation of the “new international division of labor.”2 From our preliminary research, we decided the topic of global cities is much too large in scope to manage in this short term paper, but one common theme we grasped from the global city theory is the importance of immigrant communities in helping to develop global cities. We decided to take the idea of immigrant communities one step further; thus we isolated transnational professionals. Transnational professionals are a 1 2

Saskia Sassen, Global City,: New York, London, Tokyo, Princeton University Press, 2001. John Friedmann, The World City Hypothesis, Development and Change, 17 (1): 69-84.

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key to developing the linkages to the larger global community. We will focus on this aspect to determine Taipei’s standing as a regional global city. The migration and settlement of transnational professionals to Taiwan is a reflection of the wider dynamics of societal change that are a result of global mobility. Studies in transnationalism to date have tended to focus on the movement of people, in particular, lower or unskilled migrants, from developing countries to Europe or North America and wealthier parts of Asia. However, “transnationalism from above”, has been neglected by scholars. Alejandro Portes contends, “transnationalism from above” is overlooked, due to the more novel and distinct development of “transnationalism from below.”3 Although, the influence of highly skilled transnational professionals circulating the globe has generally been neglected, some acknowledgement of this recent phenomenon has been mentioned by various scholars. Russell King mentions, “rapid growth of skilled international migration-a new breed of executive nomads who, while quantitively much less important than the mass labor migrations of the past, nevertheless wield enormous influence over the functioning global economy.”4 The circulation of this labor regime between key global cities is facilitated by better communication and transport technologies. Governments, honoring trade agreements, streamline professional movement by instituting the recognition of qualifications and allowing easier access to employment. In Lucie Cheng and Marian Katz’s, “Migration and the Diaspora Communities”, these two scholars identify a trend in Americans participating in the professional migration flow. One group they identify in particular is the teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the Asia-Pacific region.5 Taiwan has an abundance English teachers living and working in Taiwan. We then decided to use this sub-group as our case sample.

But, who are these professionals, moreover, why have these professionals

decided to stay in Taiwan? 3

Alejandro Portes, Luis E. Guarnizo, & Patricia Landolt, “The Study of Transnationalism: Pitfalls and Promise of an Emergent Research Field, Ethnic and Racial Studies 22, 1999, p. 223. 4 Russell King, ‘Migrations, Globalizations and Place’, in D. Massey & P. Jess (eds), A Place in the World? Places, Cultures and Globalization, UK: Open University Press, 1995, p. 24. 5 Lucie Cheng and Marian Katz, “Migration and the Diaspora Communities”, in Richard Maidment and Colin Mackerras, Culture and Society in the Asia-Pacific, Routledge Press, London, 1998, p. 77.

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The migration of transnational professionals has not only affected the global economy but it has also affected interpersonal relationships. As this particular course is entitled, The Social Development of Taiwan, we will focus our research in the sociological perspectives of transnational professional migration.

As working

professionals set out on their careers to far off lands, their lives cannot simply be put on hold. They will inevitably pursue the same desires as any other of their peers. This includes the pursuit of a significant other in hopes of marriage. Today, in Taiwan we can observe far more intercultural marriages than any time in the past. Intercultural marriage is simply defined as the marriage between individuals from different cultural backgrounds.

Sometimes, authors will make reference to other terms such as:

“interracial”, “cross-cultural”, “interethnic”, etc. These terms should be applied in the context of the above definition of “intercultural” marriage. Some researchers see the analysis of intercultural marital decisions as an interaction based on the exchange of relative group status and demean the marriages by “impugning purely mercenary motives to the partners.”6 While others employ Foa and Foa’s Resource Exchange Theory among the many versions of social exchange theory to emphasize the exchange of intangible rewards to explain interpersonal relationships among ethnic groups.7 Increasingly, researchers studying intermarriages are starting to emphasize the shared cultural inheritances among the groups, the value in creating new forms of experience, and the bottom line of romantic love that forms the basis of all satisfying marriages.8 Gaines & Liu argue, that “if we acknowledge that romantic love forms a major part of the socioemotional foundation for marriage in general, then we would not expect the interpersonal ‘rules of the game’ to change when we shift from intraethnic to interethnic relationship contexts.”9 Theoretical Framework

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W.R. Johnson & D.M. Warren, Inside the Mixed Marriage: Account of Changing Attitudes, Patterns, and Perceptions of Cross-Cultural and Interracial Marriages. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994. 7 S.O. Gaines Jr. & J.H. Liu, Romanticism and Interpersonal Resource Exchange Among Interethnic Couples. In S.O. Gaines Jr., R. Buriel, J.H. Liu & D.I. Rios (Eds.), Culture, Ethnicity and Personal Relationship Processes. New York: Routledge, 1997, p. 91-118. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. p. 97.

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For our group’s research we strive to better understand how intercultural married couples adjust to each other’s different culture. Wen-shing Tseng distinguishes four types of adjustment in intercultural marriage: one-way adjustment, alternative adjustment, mixture of culture and creative adjustment.10 Dugan Romano also distinguishes four types; obedience, compromise, cancellation and harmony.11 Based on these models, Shuko Takeshita has created four types of adjustment: Type I (adjustment to partner), Type II (alternative adjustment), Type III (compromising adjustment), and Type IV (synthetic adjustment). Figure 1: Takeshita’s Model of Cultural Adjustment

III. Compromising Adjustment

Type I can be divided into two parts: I-1 (adjustment to husband’s culture) and I-2 (adjustment to wife’s culture). This adjustment means that husband or wife abandons his/her culture and adjusts husband’s/wife’s culture. In Type II, both husband and wife abandon their cultures and create their own new culture. Or it means that husband and wife live in the third country which they are not from and they accept the third country’s culture abandoning their original cultures. Type III indicates that both husband and wife abandon some aspects of their cultures to adopt their partner’s culture.

10

Wen-shing Tseng, Adjustment in Intercultural Marriage, The University Press of Hawaii, 1977, p.98101. 11 Dugan Romano, Intercultural Marriage, Intercultural Press Inc., 1988, p.72.

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In Type IV, while husband or wife retains his/her culture, he/she accepts partner’s culture. This adjustment is supported by agreement between them. This is said to be ideal model for adjustment in intercultural marriage since both husband and wife do not have to abandon anything.12 Noting the similarities of each author’s framework, our group decided to apply the theoretical framework set forth by Shuko Takeshita as a tool to analyze our data. Chapter 3: Research Findings This chapter of the paper is comprised of four parts. The first section summarizes the results of the questionnaire on the subjects’ socio-economic background. The purpose of this section is to provide insight into the characteristics of the subjects of this study and give the reader a deeper understanding of the background of foreign professionals who have lived in Taiwan for many years. The second section analyzes the subjects’ experiences living in Taiwan in regard to the cultural adaptation that they undergo as a result of their marriage to Taiwanese women. Their responses to questions about language, food, and religion are evaluated and the results of the analysis are used to determine the suitability of Takeshita’s model of cultural adjustment for explaining the acculturation process that these subjects have experienced. In the third section and fourth sections, we examine the subjects’ answers to questions regarding their employment in Taiwan and the influence of Taiwan’s legal system on their experience as foreign residents here. The purpose of these analyses is to identify key features that may have an impact on Taiwan’s ability to attract foreign professionals and increase its competitiveness as a global city. 3.1 Socio-Economic Background To investigate the cultural adaptation strategies of long-term foreign residents of Taiwan, specifically male, native English-speakers married to Taiwanese women, twelve subjects were chosen for in-depth interviews. The interviews took place over several weeks in April 2009. The subjects were interviewed singly, in pairs, or in groups of three. 12

Shuko Takeshita, Sociology of Intermarriage, Bungakusha, 2000, p.134-143.

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All interviews were recorded for later analysis. Each of the subjects was asked to complete a brief questionnaire prior to taking part in a group interview. Selected results from the subjects’ answers to the questionnaire are provided below. 3.1.1 Countries of origin Of the twelve subjects, seven (58%) came from the United States, two (17%) from the United Kingdom, two (17%) from Canada, and one (8%) from Australia. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior, in 2008, the total number of foreign residents from these four countries totaled 13,378.13 Of the total, 68% came from the US, 9% from the UK, 18% from Canada, and 5% from Australia. These shares are roughly equivalent to those of the participants in our study. Table 1: Breakdown of subjects’ nationality Countries US UK Canada Australia Total

In Taiwan Total Number Percentage 9,514 68% 1,168 9% 2,409 18% 647 5% N=13,378 100%

In this study Total number Percentage 7 58% 2 17% 2 17% 1 8% N=12 100%

3.1.2 Length of stay in Taiwan, current age, and age at arrival in Taiwan The average length of residence in Taiwan for the twelve subjects was 16 years, with a maximum of 27 years and a minimum of 5 years. The ages of the subjects range from a maximum of 50 to a minimum of 34, with the average age being 42. All of the subjects arrived when they were between the ages of 21 and 30 years old, with average age at arrival being 25. 3.1.3 Reasons for coming to Taiwan, visa/citizenship status As to why the subjects originally came to Taiwan, seven (58%) reported that they came for adventure or travel, two (17%) to study language or culture, two (17%) to work, and one (8%) to join family. The one subject who came to join family married his Taiwanese wife while she was studying in the US, and they came to Taiwan together. Of 13

National Immigration Agency, Ministry of Interior, Taiwan, Republic of China. (June 2008)

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the twelve subjects, eleven (92%) currently possess Joining Family Residence Visas (JFRV), which grants residency rights to foreigners on the basis of marriage, and one (8%) has a Alien Permanent Residency Certificate (APRC), granted on the basis of having met residency and employment qualifications. None of the subjects has applied to become a citizen of the Republic of China, and all maintain their original nationality. 3.1.4 Occupations One feature of the subjects’ occupations is the predominance of work related to English, whether editing, translating, or teaching. Seven subjects (58%) are teachers, two (17%) are editors, one (8%) owns a trading company, one (8%) is a translator, and one (8%) is an engineer. All of the subjects originally worked as teachers when they first arrived in Taiwan, but five of them eventually moved into other lines of work. Of the seven teachers, six teach English, and one teaches music. Of the six English teachers, all occasionally work as English editors, whether for instructional materials, academic papers, or technical publications. In contrast to their foreign husbands, the Taiwanese wives do a wide variety of jobs, including office work, journalism, teaching, translating, editing, trading, sales, travel agent, real estate agent, personal assistant, and accounting. In fact, of the twelve women, no two of them share the same occupation. Several of the wives, do, however, work in the same field as their husband, notably in teaching, editing, and in a trading company.

Chart 1: Subjects' Occupations

Trade

Teaching

Editing

Engineer

Translating

Chart 2: Wives' Occupations

Volunteer Office worker Translating Trade Real estate agent Teaching

Accountant Journalism Editor Travel agent Personal assistant

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3.1.5 Education levels In terms of education, the foreign husbands are slightly more educated on average than their wives. The average length of schooling for the subjects is 16.6 years, versus 15. 2 years for their wives. The most educated man in this study and his wife, the most educated woman, met in the US and moved to Taiwan after completing their educations. The two men who are engaged in MA/MS programs are pursuing these in English in Taiwan, one at a local university, and one through a distance learning program from a UK university. Chart 3: Comparision of Education Levels PhD

Wife Husband

MA/MS MA/MS pending BA/BS Two-year college High school 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Number

3.1.6 Family size As for family size, five (42%) of the couples have two children, two (17%) have one child, and five (42%) have no children. The total fertility rate for this group is 1.0, slightly lower than the average of 1.12 for Taiwan.14 Of the twelve children, two (17%) are over 20 years of age, two (17%) are between 15 and 20, two (17%) are between 10 and 14, three (25%) are between 5 and 9, and three (25%) are below 5 years of age. 3.1.7 Home ownership Of the twelve families, eight (67%) rent their home, while four (33%) own their own home. Of those who rent, none said they were planning to buy a home. Compared to

14

Department of Statistics, Ministry of Interior, Taiwan, Republic of China. (2008)

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the home ownership rate in Taiwan, which averages 88%,15 the proportion of the subjects who own the home they live in is considerably low. 3.1.8 Transportation Of the twelve subjects, three (25%) own a car only, three (25%) own a motorcycle only, and six (50%) own both a car and a motorcycle. The high rate of motorcycle ownership is a feature of life in Taiwan. Two of those who currently own a motorcycle only have owned cars in Taiwan in the past but sold them prior to the survey. According to the Survey of Family Income and Expenditure,16 the rate of car ownership per household is approximately 59%, somewhat lower than the 75% reported by the subjects in this study. 3.1.9 Foreign trips As for trips overseas, four (33%) travel abroad less often than once a year. Five (42%) travel overseas between one and two times per year, and three (25%) take foreign trips more than two times per year. According to the DGBAS survey mentioned above, the number of overseas trips by Taiwanese was approximately seven million, or somewhat less than one-third the number of Taiwanese citizens, thus yielding an approximate average frequency of overseas trip equal to less than one per year. This suggests that the subjects in this study tended to travel overseas relatively more often than Taiwanese citizens. 3.1.10 Income Of the twelve subjects, seven (58%) chose not to reveal their annual income. Of the five who did indicate their income, one (8%) claimed to earn less than NTD1.5 million per year. Three (25%) reported annual net earnings of between NTD1.5 million (USD 49,197) and NTD2 million (USD65,596), and one claimed to make more than NTD2 million per year. Of those seven who did not reveal their income, three probably earn more than NTD2 million, and four less than NTD2 million (based on their 15

Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. (2007) 16 Ibid.

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occupations and work history). Overall, these results indicate that the subjects earn at least double Taiwan’s per capita income of USD17,226, with some earning more than four times that amount. 3.1.11 Chinese language ability All of the subjects claim to have some ability to use Chinese. On average, the subjects have intermediate level speaking and listening ability but only an elementary level of reading and writing. None of the subjects claim any fluency in Taiwanese (Southern Min dialect), although some know a few phrases.

Chart 4: Chinese Language Ability by Skill 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 None Listening

Elementary Intermediate Speaking

Reading

Advanced Writing

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3.2 Family In this section, we analyze which of Takeshita’s four adjustment models, I-Adjustment to Partner, II--Alternative Adjustment, III--Compromising Adjustment, and VI-- Synthetic Adjustment, best describes the twelve couples. The basis by which we classify the cultural adjustments is the proportion of adjustment that both the husband and the wife make in terms of three factors, the language(s) the couple speak together, the type(s) of food they eat together, and their religious beliefs and practices. Figure 2: Variables Indicating Cultural Adjustment

3.2.1 Four Models of Cultural Adjustment The following table demonstrates the four models of adjustment and provides key features for each. The third model, Compromising Adjustment, has four variants in order to account for the possible combinations of features. For our analysis, “adopt” means that the husband and wife act in accordance with the features of one culture in particular, while “accept” indicates that a husband and wife retain their original culture and incorporate features of both cultures into their life together. “Retain” is used to indicate that both husband and wife continue to practice their original culture, particularly in regard to religious belief.

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Table 2: Adjustment Models and Characteristics Adjustment Model

Language

Food

Religion

Type I – 1 (Adjustment to husband’s culture) Couple adopt at least two aspects of husband’s culture and no aspects of wife’s culture Type I – 2 (Adjustment to wife’s culture) Couple adopt three aspects of wife’s culture and no aspects of husband’s culture Type II (Alternative adjustment) Couple adopts aspects of third culture and few aspects of either husband or wife’s culture

100% English

100% Western

Both retain original belief

100% Chinese

100% Chinese

Both adopt Chinese beliefs

Third language (neither Chinese nor English)

Both retain original beliefs.

Type III (Compromising adjustment A) Couple adopts one aspect of both husband and wife’s culture, rejects one aspect of both husband and wife’s culture, and adopts one aspect of husband’s culture. Type III (Compromising adjustment B) Couple adopts one aspect of husband’s culture and one aspect of wife’s culture. For the third aspect, both partners adopt a third culture. Type III (Compromising adjustment C) Couple adopts one aspect of husband’s culture, one aspect of wife’s culture, and both retain one aspect of their original culture. Type III (Compromising adjustment D) Couple accepts one aspect of each other’s culture, adopts a third culture in another aspect, and adopts the wife’s culture for the third aspect. Type IV (Synthetic adjustment) Couple accepts two or three aspects of each other’s culture.

50% English and 50% Chinese

100% English

Third style of food (neither predominantly Western or Chinese) Third style of food (neither predominantly Western or Chinese) 100% Chinese

100% English

100% Chinese

Both retain original beliefs.

50% English and 50% Chinese

Third style of food

Both adopt Chinese beliefs.

50% English and 50% Chinese

50% Western and 50% Chinese

Both retain original beliefs

Both adopt western beliefs.

Both adopt a third belief.

3.2.2 Questions about language, food, and religious belief To understand how the couples had adjusted, we asked the twelve subjects to discuss three aspects of their lives: language, food, and religion. First, in terms of language, we asked each subject what proportion of conversations with his wife is in Chinese, and what portion is in English. Second, in terms of food, we asked each subject what proportion of the meals that they eat together as a couple is Chinese and what portion is Western. Third, in terms of religion, we asked them to express the amount to which they believe in or practice Chinese religion. For the first two categories, language 16

and food, the subjects were able to answer in a straightforward manner by assigning a numerical ratio. For the third category, we provided suggestions as to how they might answer on a scale of 1 to 5, with “1” indicating “complete disbelief” and “5” meaning “complete belief.” They were told that an answer of “1” might indicate that they refuse to take part in any Taiwanese/Chinese religious activity, such as going to a temple, worshiping the ancestors, or any similar practice; a “2” would be appropriate if they usually did not take part in religious practice but might have done this one or a few occasions; if they do not believe, but are willing to pretend to pray, to hold the incense sticks, to bow to the gods, etc., in order to make their wives and/or families feel that they are filial, they could select “3” as their answer; if they believe there might be some supernatural benefit to praying along with their wives/families and they therefore actually pray with the situation calls for it, but they do not necessarily pray on their own, they could select “4” as the appropriate response; and if they pray, light incense, and bow to the gods without their wives or family members necessarily being aware of this activity, they could choose “5” as their answer. The following table presents the subjects’ answers to the questions about the language they use when conversing with their wife, the percentage of Chinese meals they eat with their wife, and the extent to which they adopt Chinese beliefs. The column on the far right indicates the adjustment category that best describes each subject. Table 3: Adjustments by Language, Food, and Religion Subject

Percentage of Chinese conversations

Percentage of Chinese meals

Index of religious belief

Adjustment category

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

100 25 40 50 10 10 30 0 50 10 50 70

80 80 70 50 25 80 80 75 30 60 70 70

1 1 3 2 2 3 2 1 3 2 1 1

I-2 III III IV I-1 III III III III IV IV I-2

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3.2.3 Results and Data Analysis Chart 5: Adjustment Type Distribution Type I-1 1 8%

Type IV 3 25%

Type I-2 2 17%

Type III 6 50%

From the above data, we can see that one subject, comprising 8% of the total, is classified as correlating with I-1. Two subjects, making up 17% of the total, are categorized as I-2. No subjects were classified as II. Six subjects, comprising 50% of the total are grouped with III. While three subjects, 25% of the total, are associated with IV. Chapter 3.2.4 Western Spouses’ Adjustment According to the results of survey, 75% of the total was classified as Type III (Compromising) and Type IV (Synthetic Adjustment). To see how the Western spouses actually adjust themselves into Taiwanese family more deeply, we conducted questionnaire again about their relationships with Taiwanese in-laws. The following chart shows their answer to the question about their relationships with in-laws. Chart 6: Relations with In-laws

Bad 1 8% Both good and bad 2 17%

Other 2 17%

Good 3 25%

No conflicts 4 33%

Overall, approximately 60% of the subjects answered they had relatively good relationships with their in-laws or at least no conflicts with them. One explained the reason as his mother-in-law married a man from Hong Kong so his parents-in-law have

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an understanding of intercultural marriage. Also, one said he used to have bad relationships with in-laws but as he tried communicating with them more, in-laws attitudes changed and now he has good relationships with them. On the other hand, 20% of them answered that they always or sometimes had bad relationships. The biggest reason for this bad relationship seems that in-laws are traditional families. Taiwanese traditional families sometimes do not allow their daughters to marry ‘foreigners.’ Regardless of personality, the problem is that daughter’s husband is a foreigner. Through the interview, we found some important factors which influenced relationships with in-laws. The first factor is religion. We asked the twelve Western spouses whether they have had conflicts with their Taiwanese spouses about religion before or not. Two answers are not available and the other ten subjects answered that they have had no conflicts about religion. Also, nine of those ten say that they are not very religious though some of them have their own beliefs (Christianity) so they do not mind worshiping their Taiwanese spouses’ ancestors. Remarkably, eight people answered that they can worship for their spouses ancestors if that will make Taiwanese wives or their Taiwanese families happy. That means Western spouses regard worshiping their ancestors as an important factor for good relationships with their Taiwanese spouses and families. The second factor is language. Some say that though their relationships with inlaws are good, they have limited communication and cannot have any deep or close communications because of language problem. This kind of problem is often seen in the survey when their in-laws speak only Taiwanese. Also, one who has answered that he has bad relationships with in-laws says that his parents-in-law are conservative and traditional and especially his father-in-law never allows intercultural marriage even now. Also, his in-laws speak only Taiwanese and Japanese so he cannot communicate with them. We suppose in this case, language problem makes their relationships more complicated because they cannot communicate well to narrow their gaps.

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3.3 Employment According to the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, there are 27,064 foreign professional people legally working in Taiwan in April, 2009.17 The foreign professionals have professional skills, are missionaries and artists, language teachers in schools or cram schools, are employed in foreign investment, and work as supervisors, coaches, and athletes. In order to understand in more detail their attitudes to their employment, we interviewed our subjects about this topic, and below are presented the outcome and our analysis. 3.3.1 Satisfaction with working conditions According to Table 4 and Table 5, more than half of the interviewees indicate there is no room to move up and have no equal chance to Taiwanese coworkers. Of the twelve interviewees, six (50%) think that there is no room to move up and three of the six says they are already in the ceiling for promotion. Three of the six people show that the promotion system for foreigners and local Taiwanese is completely separately so they have no equal change to Taiwanese coworkers. There is only one agree that all coworkers have equal chance because all teachers are foreigners. Obviously, according to the outcome of analysis, it reveals more than 50% interviewees don’t have room to move up and equal chance to Taiwanese coworkers. Chart 7: Opportunity for Advancem ent

Chart 8: Equal Opportunity w ith Local Colleagues

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Not at all

Yes

Yes, with difficulty

Not applicable

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 No

Yes

Not Applicable

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Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, http://www.evta.gov.tw. The information is from 15th January, 2004 to March 2009. The allowed working forces also include the number in the science park and export processing zone.

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3.3.2 Satisfaction with income Table 6 indicates that it is a 50/50 basis for happy and unhappy with their income. Of the twelve interviewees, the occupation of teaching shares 58%. Their pay may depend on their teaching hours. However, according to the interviewees, there are two kinds of standards to pay money to teacher, one is that school is based on month to pay money to Taiwanese English teacher, and the other is that school is based on working hours to pay money to Foreign English teacher. School arranges “the fixed working hours” to “Foreign English teacher”, and school never arranges over the fixed working hours to them. Foreign English teacher could not get extra bonus as Taiwanese English teacher, for example, they could not get year-end-bonus because Foreign English teacher are temporary worker. Some who are happy with their pay is because they think their pay is higher than those of Taiwanese coworkers. According to the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, in order to protect local Taiwanese’s job opportunities and avoid the employers invite the blue collar work forces into the market under the name of white collar work force (professional people), the authority concerned rule these companies who employ the white collar force should obey the minimum salary NTD 47,971 per month. In our cases, 60% of the subjects have an annual income of between NTD 1.5 and 2 million. Table 6: Satisfaction with Income Satisfaction with income Yes Yes, but more would be better No Not applicable Total

5 1 5 1 N=12

42% 8.33 41.67 8.33 100%

3.3.3 Communication Table 7 shows that over 50% of the twelve interviewees have communications problems at work. Even though all of the coworkers can speak English, communication problems exist because of cultural different and different way of expression. We can say they don’t have language problems but have communication problems such as Taiwanese further intonation or implication. Due to the tower of Babel in bible, the God indeed

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confounded our languages and scattered the people on the earth. One of the interviewees says that “effective communication can sometimes be a challenge and Taiwanese sometimes misinterpret what he says.” Four of the interviewees indicate the problems most resulting from cross-cultural communication. For those who answer “No” is because all of their coworkers are foreigners or think intonation and implication are not problems for them. Chart 9: Communication Problems No 5 42%

Yes 7 58%

3.4 Government Policy One feature of globalization is that it facilitates the migration of people among various nations. It is vital to form an immigrant community in order to evolve global city as described in the literature review. In Taiwan’s case, the number of foreigners coming to Taiwan has been increasing in recent years. In 2004, Taiwan welcomed 2,428,297 visitors, an increase of 616,263, or 34.01%, compared with 2003. Most of the foreigners in Taiwan are long-term residents. By the end of 2004, the number of foreigners living in Taiwan totaled 526,049, of whom 445,472, or 84.68%, were resident aliens, and 78,663, or 14.95%, visiting travelers. The remaining 1,914 accounted for 0.36%. Accumulated till April in 2009, the number of foreigners classified as residential aliens reached 400,681.18 Thus, cultural exchanges become so common that we face the situation of how the government policy maker to deal with the new migrants and how the government to make better policy to attract more foreigner to immigrate in Taiwan. To understand the issues related to the rising rate of intermarriage in Taiwan and how best to respond in terms of government policy perspective, we analyzed the responses of the twelve subjects in regard to the policy of the Taiwan government, in 18

National Immigration Agency http://iff.immigration.gov.tw

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particular focusing on four aspects, the influence of the legal system on the subjects’ life experience in Taiwan, the income tax system, property laws, and the health care system. 3.4.1 Perception of impact of government policies When asked whether governmental policies influence their life, nine (75%) subjects acknowledged that they do, while three (25%) said that they do not have a major influence. According to those subjects who they did impact their lives in Taiwan, there are three important factors: immigration laws, work permits, and laws relating to property ownership. Chart 10: Influence of Government Policies Land ownership 3 25%

Work permit 3 25%

No influence 3 25%

Immigration 3 25%

In terms of immigration laws, three subjects (25%) reported that the immigration laws have been gotten better over time and they were provided a residence certificate because of their marriage. In addition, the marriage visa law was one of the most positive reforms for foreigners in Taiwan. Furthermore, three subjects (25%) said that they had difficulties in regard to changes to the immigration laws. These difficulties were mainly due to the fact that there were not familiar with changes that had taken place, and there were therefore unsure how these changes impacted their own lives. For example, one subject found that he was denied the opportunity to perform music professionally in 2006 after the work permit laws were either changed or enforcement measures were strengthened. At that time, the subject had an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) through his place of employment and not a Joining Family Residence Visa (JFRV), which he could have qualified for. After facing this difficulty, he applied for and was granted a JFRV. Therefore, we assume that

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most challenges with work and immigration status derive from the fact that Taiwan’s government views English teaching professionals as migrant workers. Three (25%) subjects also discussed the fact that they could not buy property in Taiwan. They felt that this indicated a double standard in regard to how the government treats foreigners and local people. They further expressed their disappointment that while Taiwan denied foreign residents equal rights under the law, Taiwanese living in Englishspeaking countries would be treated in the same way that citizens of those nations would be treated. On the contrary, three (25%) foreign spouses observed that the laws are not stringently followed in Taiwan, with one subject volunteering that the selective enforcement of laws was primarily a means of “protecting the rights of the elite class.” 3.4.2 Tax system Table 8: Attitude toward Income Tax System Attitude toward Income Tax System Unsatisfied 1

8%

Satisfied

11

92%

Total

N=12

100%

Foreigners who work in Taiwan are required by law to file income tax.19 As the above table indicates, the subjects were largely satisfied with Taiwan’s income tax system, with one (68%) expressing dissatisfaction with the tax system and eleven (92%) saying they were satisfied. Of those expressing satisfaction, reasons such as Taiwan’s comparatively low income tax rate and the ease of filing taxes were cited as the key determinants of their positive opinions. The one subject who expressed dissatisfaction with Taiwan’s tax system suggested that the previous tax system was preferable. Currently, all foreign residents are supposed to be taxed at the non-resident rate of 20% for the first six months of each year, regardless of the length of time they have lived in Taiwan and paid taxes. Some of those subjects who were satisfied with the tax system said that their employers had not changed the withholding rate on their monthly pay. In the past, and in some cases now, foreigners were taxed at the same rate as local residents who earned a comparable income throughout the entire year. This subject works at a language school and says that 19

National Tax Administration http://www.etax.nat.gov.tw/ 24

the new tax law is influencing foreign English teachers to leave Taiwan after working a relatively short time in the country. 3.4.3 Property laws and home ownership Chart 11: Property Laws

Unclear 8 67%

Fair 1 8% Unfair 3 25%

As to home ownership, one (8%) regarded Taiwan’s property laws as fair but three (25%) said that these laws were unfair for foreigners. Fully eight (67%) of the subjects professed to know very little about Taiwanese land law for foreign residents, answering that the laws were so complex that they left those details to their wives. Those who feel the property laws are unfair expressed the opinion that the right to own land was limited, and some felt that they could not even register land in their own name but had to do this in their wives’ name. They were worried about their rights according to the law if their wife might pass away. Some even doubted whether they could arrange the funeral and manage the property. In comparison, America does allow Taiwanese people to buy land or a house in America. In other words, it would be easier for foreigner who married Taiwanese wife do many things under his wife’s name. According to Land Law and Regulations in R.O.C, foreigners may acquire or set the rights in R.O.C. that is limited by their countries' pacts or laws citizen of R.O.C. may have the equal rights. All agricultural land, forest, fishery, pasture, saltern, diggings, region of water resource, military zone, and region of the border can not be transferred, mortgaged, or leased to the foreigners. Foreigners no matter buy or lease the land are limited to the list such as housing, school for children of foreigners and the investments which are benefit on economy and farming are ratified by the central related management

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department. Except the list above, there is a registration of changes in category of land for the business. The purpose of the land which is leased or owned by foreigners for the business that is chartered by R.O.C. can not be changed. Rights and Duties of those foreigners who have the land rights Foreigners who want to lease or own the land must first get the approval, and later apply for the registration. After the registration, foreigners will have the rights and duties over the land under the laws and regulations of the R.O.C.20 According to the Country and City government Registration of Land statistics, foreigner Taiwan registered 9,163 plots of land from 2001 till 2008.21 3.4.4 Health care All foreigners who carry alien resident certificate are required to participate in the health insurance program. In addition, foreigners employed in business units with more than five workers are insured under employer.22 In regard to the health care system, eight (66%) subjects reported face in obstacles to receiving health care and satisfaction with the level of the care provided available in Taiwan. However, four (33%) subjects reported that they had difficulty communicating with doctors due to their inability to speak Chinese well enough. For example, one subject reported that doctors did not want to communicate with patients. He described going to a hospital, introducing his symptoms to the doctor, and then immediately receiving a prescription for medicine. He expressed a desire to have the doctor speak with him at more length and explain more clearly the health problem he was experiencing. Another subject said that the health care system in Taiwan compares unfavorably to Canada, his home country, but that the quality of care provided was comparable. Furthermore, he said that while he had heard horror stories about other foreigners experience with the healthcare system, particularly misdiagnoses, he had never encountered these problems himself. Chapter 4: Discussion

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Department of Land “Law and Regulation” http://www.land.chcg.gov.tw Country and City Government, “Registration of Land and Building Rights Obtained by Foreigner from 2001 till 2008” Statistical Yearbook of Interior 22 The Department of Health, Executive Yuan http://www.cdc.gov.tw/. 21

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This chapter will discuss the findings of our research into our subjects’ experiences as transnational professionals in Taipei, offering comment on their own socio-economic background, their adjustment to the local culture, both with their spouses and in-laws, in terms of Takeshita’s model, and their perception of Taipei’s attractiveness to foreign migrants on the basis of working conditions and government policy. 4.1 Socio-economic background Given the very small size of the sample for this study, the results of the questionnaire survey can in no way be said to be representative of the population of transnational migrants in Taipei. Selection biases are evident in much of the data that was collected, particularly in regard to the subjects’ gender, age, occupation, and other factors, but it also provides for a similarity of background and experience among the subjects that identified common issues of concern and provided the opportunity for greater depth of analysis. Despite these limitations, the survey does yield data about education levels, not only of the subjects, but also their wives as well, family size, home ownership, income, and Chinese language ability. Significantly, the research yielded data to show that the subjects of this study had a slightly higher level of education that their wives, 16.6 years for the men versus 15.2 years for the women. According to Taiwan’s immigration laws, foreign professionals must have at least graduated from a four-year university to qualify for residency and employment. This law is now more rigidly enforced than in the past, with closer scrutiny of diplomas, but individuals are occasionally discovered to have presented fraudulent documents for inspection. It was also discovered that family size among our subjects was comparable to Taiwan’s average, with a total fertility rate of 1, but this rate will probably increase as some of the subjects, particularly the younger ones, will have children in the coming years. One contrast with the average in Taiwan is in regard to home ownership. The rate of home ownership among the subjects is much lower than the average. While there is no specific data to explain this difference, it could be attributed to the fact that all of the subjects live in Taipei City or County, areas with the highest real estate prices compared to other parts of Taiwan. It could also suggest that the subjects are unwilling to commit to

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staying permanently in Taiwan. Supporting this explanation is the fact that none of the subjects have applied for citizenship, although some of the subjects said they would be willing to hold an ROC passport if they were not required by the ROC government to renounce their original citizenship. The survey also revealed that the subjects earned relatively high incomes compared to Taiwan’s per capita GDP, but it did not have access to data that would link these income levels to those of Taiwanese professionals and allow for comparison. Based on anecdotal evidence, compared to other countries in Asia, incomes for transnational professionals in Taiwan are higher than in China or Thailand, approximately equivalent to those in Korea, and lower than in Japan. Compared to the subjects’ home countries, the net income they earn in Taiwan is approximately equivalent or lower than what they could earn abroad. One advantage that Taiwan has over western countries is the relatively lower cost of living, allowing transnational professionals to save at a higher rate than they would be able to at home. As for the subjects’ Chinese language ability, the survey revealed that transnational migrants in Taipei tend to have a higher ability to speak and comprehend spoken Mandarin than to read or write traditional Chinese. In part, this can be explained by the relative difficulty of written Chinese, but also by the fact that most of the subjects in this study work in positions in which their English ability is the key factor in their employment. The subjects speak Chinese to their wives, in-laws, and to a lesser degree, their children, and in some social interactions with Taiwanese people, but predominantly use English in their workplaces. The subjects’ inability or low ability to speak or understand Taiwanese (Southern Min) or Hakkanese contributes to the difficulties they face in communicating with their in-laws and is therefore significant in terms of their cultural adjustment. 4.2 Family / Cultural adjustment According to the result, the percentage of Type I-2 (Adjustment to Wife’s culture) is bigger than that of Type I-1 (Adjustment of Husband’s culture). This is because we conducted this questionnaire for Western husbands and Taiwanese wives living in Taiwan and Western spouses have a tendency to adjust themselves to Taiwanese society,

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Taiwanese culture or Taiwanese customs. Takeshita Shuko also conducted questionnaire for foreign husbands who have Japanese wives and live in Japan and she also got the same result with ours. Type II (Alternative Adjustment) is a model for intercultural marriage couple living in third country so this model may not work in our case. Therefore, we got 0% in this category. Half of the twelve couples belong to Type III (Compromising Adjustment). Takeshita says as the period which a couple has been together is longer, then the couple approaches Type VI (Synthetic Adjustment), which Takeshita says the ideal adjustment model for intercultural marriage. Also, she says as the period is shorter, the couple may have a tendency to belong Type I (Adjustment to Partner’s Culture). Interestingly, Western Husband 3 and 7 answered that they used to speak only English with their wives but as their Mandarin improves, the ratio also has been changing. Also, Western Husband 4 said when he and his wife started dating, his wife’s English was not very good and they spoke almost only Mandarin. However, over the years, her English improved a lot and now they use 50% English and 50% Mandarin in daily life. That means, as time passes, there will be more possibilities to approach Type VI (Synthetic Adjustment). The Western spouses, in our case study, try learning and adopting Taiwanese language, culture and customs more as time passes. Though some says they have bad relationships with their in-laws now, there might be possibilities to improve their relationships like the process of wife-husband relationships approaching Type VI (Synthetic Adjustment) as time passes. Also, we suppose that Takeshita’s adjustment model might be extended from husband-wife relationship level into in-laws relationships level. 4.3 Employment Being in a global city, the foreign workers should have equal chances to the local ones. If the foreign work forces have equal promotional system in work field, it is without saying that Taiwan would attract more foreigners working here and Taiwan would be more competitive than other countries. When they have equal promotional system here, local Taiwanese face the international competition instead of limited region

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only. The foreigners pour cultural and intellectual differences into the society and inspire the vivid improvement. Local Taiwanese and foreigners would emulate the merits from each other and eliminate the narrow-minded way of thinking. All are equal in working system providing the freedom market mechanism which is survival of the fittest that upgrades social economic energy naturally.

Besides, equal promotional system for

foreigners implies equality in many ways. The foreigners who are treated equally would be trend to recognize the place they work. Recognizing here helps increase productivity and benefits. Without saying, Taiwan will be more global, international and competitive by intercultural actions. Generally speaking, the pay for foreigners working in Taiwan should be higher in order to attack better forces. Higher pay is one of the attractions that foreigners are willing to work. In our interviewing, dissatisfaction with pay is due to two reasons. Foreigners don’t have equal chance to local ones. They benefit no 7 days special vocation offered by firms, and no extra bonus in three big Chinese festivals. Therefore, in light of being globalization, they should have equal chance with local Taiwanese and even much more pay to attract them to stay. Judging from the above results, communication is a crucial problem. The government should provide some regular training courses such as how to communicate with your coworkers or boss, communication techniques to Taiwanese and so forth before their entering into the job market. The government could reduce the communication problems by providing some incentives to firms. The firms will mind the communication gaps between the Taiwanese and foreigners and provide the proper training or the course of cultural exchange that they could have success cooperation and consensus. 4.4 Government Policies The results of our investigation into transnational professionals indicate a high level of satisfaction with the income tax system and the national heath insurance system. Overall, living and dealing with the government became easier for foreign spouses and it was easier to take care of taxes and residency issues. Things might be more restrictive if you are single. Some aspects of laws and circumstances may not be perfect but foreigners

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could try to accept the fact that some things will be challenging. Our preferred future is to have a multicultural society, which accepts different kinds of cultures in one society without any prejudice against any other culture. To establish this preferred future society, we need to work out hard in different aspects, including more relax migration and work policy, multicultural education for the next generation, more social support for the migrants and more positive reports from the mass media. The only path to the preferred future society can only be shaped by our present actions.

Chapter 5: Conclusion This study sought to provide insight into the lives of Western professionals who live and work in Taiwan. Although limited in scope, this study does raise some important findings. For Westerners who live in Taiwan, and for Taiwan’s ability to attract Western talent, the results are encouraging. As Taiwan seeks to globalize its service sector, its ability to attract Western professionals is critical. Despite substantial cultural differences between the West and Taiwan, this study found that long term Western residents display a high degree of adaptability to Taiwan’s workplace environment, family life and cultural values. As Westerners spent more time in Taiwan, their adaptability and acceptance of Taiwanese culture generally increased. Many long term Western residents married local Taiwanese women and their relations with extended Taiwanese family members were generally positive. The language barrier and prejudicial values on the part of older, extended Taiwanese family members proved to be a barrier in a few cases but the overall outlook for family integration between Westerners and Taiwanese looks encouraging. Overall, Taiwan’s government policies have become more responsive to the needs of foreign residents over time. Some minor problems still remain for work visas but long term Western residents noted more freedom in pursuing work opportunities, especially when they were married to a Taiwanese. In terms of career satisfaction, salary concerns and communication challenges were the two areas that affected Western residents the most. Although compensation was generally high, Westerners professionals are paid under a different system which deprives them of certain benefits and other “extras.” This system has led many Westerners to feel that they are not fully integrated into the 31

Taiwanese work environment. Workplace communication was also a challenge due to cultural differences in communication style. With time however, differences in communication style could be overcome. The findings of this study have shed new light on a relatively untouched segment of Taiwan’s foreign population. Much attention has been given to immigrants from Mainland China and Vietnam. Western professionals have received little focus from Taiwan’s media and academic community; additional study could confirm and further examine the issues raised here. This study was limited by its small sample size. A broader survey would provide quantitative data to support the qualitative nature of this study. The case of Westerners in Taiwan could be compared with Western professionals residing in other East Asian countries such as Korea or Japan. Future research could compare and contrast the immigration and employment policies of Taiwan with countries like Japan, Singapore or Honk Kong. The later countries are all highly globalized societies with significant numbers of foreign professionals. This type of research could offer new policy approaches as Taiwan’s government continues to develop its policies towards foreign workers and foreign professionals. Overall, Taiwan’s relationship with its foreign professional workplace is a positive one. Taiwanese society is generally hospitable and welcoming to foreign professionals. This characteristic will be a significant factor in Taiwan’s future competitiveness and in its ability to attract foreign professional talent. Taiwan can add to this advantage by enacting policies which ease the rules and restrictions which influence foreign professionals living on the island.

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Bibliography Books and Articles Cheng, Lucie and Marian Katz. 1998. “Migration and the Diaspora Communities”, in Richard Maidment and Colin Mackerras, Culture and Society in the Asia-Pacific, Routledge Press, London. Friedmann, John. 1986. The World City Hypothesis, Development and Change, 17 (1). Gaines Jr., S.O. & J.H. Liu. 1997. Romanticism and Interpersonal Resource Exchange Among Interethnic Couples. In S.O. Gaines Jr., R. Buriel, J.H. Liu & D.I. Rios (Eds.), Culture, Ethnicity and Personal Relationship Processes. New York: Routledge. Johnson, W.R. & D.M. Warren. 1994. Inside the Mixed Marriage: Account of Changing Attitudes, Patterns, and Perceptions of Cross-Cultural and Interracial Marriages. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. King, Russell. 1995. ‘Migrations, Globalizations and Place’, in D. Massey & P. Jess (eds), A Place in the World? Places, Cultures and Globalization, UK: Open University Press. Portes, Alejandro, Luis E. Guarnizo, & Patricia Landolt. 1999. “The Study of Transnationalism: Pitfalls and Promise of an Emergent Research Field, Ethnic and Racial Studies 22. Romano, Dugan. 1988. Intercultural Marriage, Intercultural Press Inc. Sassen, Saskia. 2001. Global City,: New York, London, Tokyo, Princeton University Press. Takeshita, Shuko. 2000. Sociology of Intermarriage, Bungakusha . Tseng, Wen-shing. 1977. Adjustment in Intercultural Marriage, The University Press of Hawaii. Official Government Websites Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, http://www.evta.gov.tw. County and City Government, “Registration of Land and Building Rights Obtained by Foreigner from 2001 till 2008” Statistical Yearbook of Interior. Department of Land “Law and Regulation” http://www.land.chcg.gov.tw.

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Department of Statistics, Ministry of Interior, Taiwan, Republic of China. (2008). National Immigration Agency, Ministry of Interior, Taiwan, Republic of China. (June 2008). National Tax Administration http://www.etax.nat.gov.tw/. Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China. (2007). The Department of Health, Executive Yuan http://www.cdc.gov.tw/.

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