Foreign spouses take part in Kinmen trip

The trip was sponsored by the Kinmen County Department of Social Welfare and took place on Dec. 30. Group members ranged from infants to 90-year-old grandmothers. Participants said they were happy to take part in the trip, despite a cold front that affected the island county last week.

The outing began at the Department of Social Welfare building, where participants were greeted by Hsu Nai-chun, the department chief, and staff of the county’s Foreign Spouse Service Center. The group then toured Mashan Observatory, Wuhu Mountain, and Kinmen Cultural Village, all located on the Eastern Peninsula of the county.

At Mashan Observatory, the group was greeted by a special guest — Kinmen County Magistrate Lee Chu-feng.

“The county is very much concerned about the education and well-being of the younger generation,” Lee said. “And we place a strong focus on the caring of the county’s new immigrants.”

He added: “It is our hope the husbands and mothers-in-law of foreign spouses can spend more time with our new immigrants to help them better assimilate into local culture and make them feel they are part of the community.”

Foreign spouses, along with migrant workers, have emerged as the fifth largest population group in Taiwan, after the Hokiens (Taiwanese of mainland Chinese descent), the mainlanders (those emigrated to Taiwan in 1949 and their offspring), the Hakka, and the aborigines. Most foreign spouses are from Southeast Asia and mainland China and marry into the families of Taiwanese men.

In Kinmen alone, there are 1,500 foreign spouses, said the social welfare department’s Hsu. Based on the island’s 29,000 residences, there is one family with a foreign spouse in every 19 families, he said.

“Past activities targeted foreign spouses alone. This time, we’re targeting foreign spouses and their families so they can spend time together,” Hsu said.

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