I would like to write a blog post on 老人茶 about immigration issues affecting permanent foreigners, considering my situation (wanting citizenship and not being able to get it).
I'm interested in stories about that, or having children who could not stay (or not being able to stay yourself), or being concerned this might someday affect your kids for those of you with younger children. Stories on trouble finding non-teaching work locally, being unable to get an APRC would also work, as well as issues buying property and obtaining credit - the focus will be on the ways that Taiwan discourages foreigners from building a life here so it all ties together.
So many articles focus on just one issue - Taiwan-born "foreign" children, citizenship, work rights - but they are actually all related and reveal they hypocrisy of talk in Taiwan about wanting to be more international and move away from ethnic nationalism.
There is a lot already out there I can link to, but if anyone has something specific they'd like to add, please let me know.
You can leave a comment with your contact information - I won't publish it but will get in touch. Or email me at a lovely burner account I created just for this: stinkytofupants@yahoo.com. I would put my real e-mail here but I have been harassed before, so...no. Such is being a person with a vagina and some opinions on the Internet.
I can't do much, but at least I can blog.
Sounds really interesting. You should do interviews in video format if you've got the resources. I'd be really interested in seeing the contrast between white collar and blue collar workers, as well as the different treatment of white collar and blue collar workers of different nationalities.
ReplyDeleteI'm spouse to my Taiwanese wife. We have 2 kids who are born in Taiwan and are Taiwanese. I can't get citizenship since this requires abandoning my current citizenship, French. So I reapply the ARC every 3 years. That's it. So, I don't have any real problem to report. Taiwan is nice to foreigners according to my experience.
ReplyDeleteYou don't think not being able to get citizenship is a problem?
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat - I can't give up my American citizenship, but it's actually kind of a problem. I'd like to buy my own place - I can't, because I'm not married to a local, and they won't give a mortgage to 2 foreigners. Even getting a phone contract was a hassle for awhile, and getting a credit card is too...all because I am not a citizen. I am not eligible for pension programs or other government services and I have no political representation.
To me that is a major issue. I won't stay in Taiwan forever unless I can be a citizen.
My parents lived here when I was a little kid until we returned to Germany so I could go the to Highschool. However I am 21 now currently studying at a Taiwanese university. My boyfriend is taiwanese but we are not allowed to marry as homosexual marriage is not yet allowed. Thus I know that I will have to leave the country after my graduation even though I live here half of my life. This is really bad ....
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