New Immigrants

As introduced by the Taiwan Yearbook 2006:

Over the past two decades, Taiwan has experienced an immigration boom composed largely of spouses from China and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. These new immigrants, more than 90 percent of whom are female, presently number more than 360,000, making them the fifth-largest demographic group in Taiwan.

To help these immigrants assimilate, the government has earmarked billions of dollars for counseling services, education, and other assistance for foreign spouses. Various government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, such as the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, have also provided translation services and free language classes for foreign spouses to help them overcome linguistic and cultural difficulties.

Furthermore, under a program conducted by the Council of Labor Affairs under the Executive Yuan, foreign spouses of middle- and low-income families who have remained jobless for more than 12 weeks are eligible for subsidies of as much as NT$16,720 (US$500) per month for up to 6 months, and free vocational training programs are available to help them find employment.