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Reaching Out to Southeast Asia
2017-10-26

The Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants encourages immigrants to Taiwan to tell their stories. In this photo, we see the winner of the top award for 2015, Dwiita Vita. (photo by Cai Yating, courtesy of Brilliant Time)

The Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants encourages immigrants to Taiwan to tell their stories. In this photo, we see the winner of the top award for 2015, Dwiita Vita. (photo by Cai Yating, courtesy of Brilliant Time)

 

Few events in the global economy of 2015 can rival the imminent establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community. This will combine the ASEAN nations, with a total population of over 600 million and a wealth of resources, into the world’s second-largest single market, behind only the European Union. It is spurring a flurry of efforts by other nations to build good relations with the grouping.

 

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.

Taiwan has close ties with Southeast Asia, as the region’s natural resources and lower labor costs have attracted many Taiwanese investors. Companies like Tah Hsin Industrial Corporation, San­yang Motors, PT Ever Shine Tex, ­Cheng Shin Tire, and Acer have long histories in the region, even using it as a springboard to global markets. In addition, nearly a million Southeast Asians now live in Taiwan, whether for work or through marriage. They have brought diversity and new blood to Taiwanese society, and have helped build a strong partnership between Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.

In 2015, Taiwan Panorama shared stories of these immigrants. In March, we covered 4-Way Voice editor ­Chang ­Cheng and his long-standing concern with the rights of Southeast-Asian laborers in Taiwan. In May, we wrote about the cultural diversity that Southeast-Asian women are bringing to Taiwan in their role as mothers. In October we looked at Vietnamese immigrant Annie Nguyen and her life as a Taiwanese Opera performer, and at the Southeast-Asia-themed bookstore Brilliant Time. And just last month we talked to the winners of the 2015 Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants, as well as the band Relix, formed by Indonesian laborers. What’s more, in December Taiwan Panorama is being published in Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese for the first time. We’re sure this will further promote the growing brotherhood between Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.

Taiwan is home to nearly a million immigrants from Southeast Asia, and the cultures they have brought with them have contributed new color and richness to Taiwanese culture.