Vietnamese migrant brides in Taiwan
Encyclopedia
Vietnamese migrant brides in Taiwan have been increasing in number as marriage
s between Taiwan
ese men and foreign-born brides become more popular. As of 2006, out of Taiwan’s large immigrant population of approximately 428,240 people (up from 30,288 in 1991), 18% were females who had relocated to the country through marriage. Out of this population of foreign-born brides, about 85% originated from the Southeast Asia
n countries of Vietnam
, Indonesia
, Thailand
, and the Philippines
, with the majority hailing from Vietnam. It is estimated that between the years of 1995 and 2003 the number of Vietnamese women married to Taiwanese men skyrocketed from 1,476 to more than 60,000 individuals, making the Vietnamese the largest non-Chinese immigrant group habituating the island.
s. The man selects a bride from the women that he meets and if it can be arranged, they marry and the bride moves to Taiwan. Most of the matchmaking
[ takes place through intermediaries. Usually there is a local sub-agent who the Taiwanese man approaches in Taiwan. The sub-agent usually works through a larger organization that has some sort of counterpart operating in Vietnam. At the Vietnam end a similar process operates with local sub-agents and matchmakers. Travel agents, brokers, travel providers, officials, and interpreters are usually also involved in the process as well. The TECO
in Ho Chi Minh City
reported in 1999 that they deal with around 250 matchmaking agencies. The popularity of Vietnamese brides has reached such a height that there is now a prime time
television show that broadcasts photograph
s and information about prospective Vietnamese wives.
region. As is also common in labor
migration
, the primary motivation in most migrant marriages, from the female perspective, is economy and security. The majority of Vietnamese women come from families that suffer from unpaid debt
s, bad seasons of crop, or jobless family members. Marriage brokers who promise a life of prosperity
overseas lure women to Taiwan. While a Taiwanese man may pay up to $10,000 USD to arrange for a migrant marriage, the woman’s family may only see as little as $100 USD of that money. The broker absorbs the rest. Nevertheless, most women, in agreeing to marriage, are under the impression that they will be able to find work in Taiwan and send money back to their families in Vietnam. In one survey of origin household
s in Vietnam, researchers asked the parents of marriage migrants why their daughters chose to migrate to Taiwan. The top three answers reported were “To help the family” (61.6%), “For a better life” (10.8%), and “To make parents happy” (6.3%).
d population. While Taiwanese husbands tend to have more education than their Vietnamese brides, they still fall below the average levels of education
in Taiwan. Many times a man can be more than a decade, or possibly two to three decades, older than his migrant bride. Seventy percent of Vietnamese brides are under 23 years of age, while over eighty percent of their Taiwanese grooms are aged over 30. All of these factors (lack of education, disadvantage, and advanced age) typically contribute to trouble in finding a bride locally and thus increase the desire to enter a migrant marriage. For many Taiwanese men, migrant marriages can seem like an easy solution to their household troubles, as a wife can act as a reproductive unit
, a housekeeper
, and a nurse to his parents. In one study, the percentage of women who reported “housework” as their primary occupation rose from 16.7% while located in Vietnam to 52.4% after being relocated to Taiwan. As can be seen in a woman’s primary motivation for marriage (“To help the family”), the Vietnamese have strong familial ties and practice high subservience to a patriarchal
structure. This trait is highly prized by some Taiwanese men who feel that Taiwanese women are beginning to wrest away from the constraints of a patriarchal society.
, migrant brides often find it difficult to deal with cultural and other issues, some of which include large age gaps with their husbands, demanding in-laws, and difficulties with the language barrier
. Although Mandarin language classes are available in Taiwan, many men are not willing to pay the fees for such education, and others seem to prefer their wives continue to be isolated through language.
tized for their poor class, gender position, and the commodified
nature of their marriage (Wang 2008). In the nation's mainstream media
, they are often portrayed as either "passive victims" or "materialistic gold diggers," and their husbands are often seen as being morally and intellectually inferior. Migrant brides are also seen as unfit to bear legitimate Taiwanese citizens. In 2006, out of every 100 births, 12 were the product of an migrant marriage. Though in recent years public officials in Taiwan have increasingly promoted fertility
, in 2004 the Vice Minister of Education Chou Tsan-Te expressed his concern about the "low quality" of immigrants and remarked that "foreign brides should not have so many children."
It can also be very difficult for Vietnamese and other migrant brides to acclimate to their own household. Taiwanese men tend to look at their brides as a financial investment
, and expect to be repaid for their monetary loss through reproductive and domestic work. Migrant brides are often expected to work long hours in the household, constantly serve their husband's parents, and prove their worth by bearing healthy children. As in most patriarchal societies, boys are always preferred. If a migrant bride cannot become pregnant or fails to produce a male heir, they run the risk of their husband divorcing
them and often face unbearably abusive behavior from both their husband and his parents.
/AIDS
presence in Taiwan. Taiwanese society often treats migrant brides as a threat to public health
and a large burden to the nation, despite the fact that the highest point of infection
among foreign brides peaked in 1998 with 1.31% of incoming brides testing positive for the HIV/AIDs virus. Any foreigner who tests positive for the HIV/AIDs virus in Taiwan must leave the country immediately.
skills. Also difficult to cope with in the event of a divorce is the almost certain loss of custody
of any children the couple may have had together, as under Taiwanese law, they belong to the father.
or human trafficking
. Although many claim incidents of extreme abuse are exacerbated by the media
, the matter is by no means unheard of. Many women report being held in isolation
by their husbands, who control the monetary funds of the household and often take control of their IDs to stop them from traveling long distances. Taiwanese men often bar their foreign wives from making friends or phone calls, and migrant brides are often unaware of the local laws they can use to assert their rights. For those who do not speak Mandarin, getting help is almost impossible, and furthermore, those who do know the language claim that local authorities and shelters
treat them as second-class citizen
s and often refuse to listen to their stories.
in Ho Chi Minh City broke up a matchmaking ring and arrested two suspected marriage brokers. A subsequent raid on a home turned up more than 100 women seeking husbands.
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s between Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese men and foreign-born brides become more popular. As of 2006, out of Taiwan’s large immigrant population of approximately 428,240 people (up from 30,288 in 1991), 18% were females who had relocated to the country through marriage. Out of this population of foreign-born brides, about 85% originated from the Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n countries of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, with the majority hailing from Vietnam. It is estimated that between the years of 1995 and 2003 the number of Vietnamese women married to Taiwanese men skyrocketed from 1,476 to more than 60,000 individuals, making the Vietnamese the largest non-Chinese immigrant group habituating the island.
The Migrant Marriage Process
Marriage migration between Vietnam and Taiwan has been made into a procedural and efficient process. Taiwanese men seeking a Vietnamese wives pay a fee of between US$7,000 and $10,000 to a broker. This is followed by a visit to Vietnam where they view and are introduced to a number of potential brideBride
A bride is a woman about to be married or newlywed.The word may come from the Proto-Germanic verb root *brū-, meaning 'to cook, brew, or make a broth' which was the role of the daughter-in-law in primitive families...
s. The man selects a bride from the women that he meets and if it can be arranged, they marry and the bride moves to Taiwan. Most of the matchmaking
Matchmaking
Matchmaking is any process of matching two people for the purpose of marriage or a sporting contest.-Practice:In some cultures, the role of the matchmaker was and is quite professionalized...
[ takes place through intermediaries. Usually there is a local sub-agent who the Taiwanese man approaches in Taiwan. The sub-agent usually works through a larger organization that has some sort of counterpart operating in Vietnam. At the Vietnam end a similar process operates with local sub-agents and matchmakers. Travel agents, brokers, travel providers, officials, and interpreters are usually also involved in the process as well. The TECO
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
A Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office , sometimes known as a Taipei Economic and Cultural Office or a Taipei Representative Office , is a representative office, established by the Republic of China in countries that have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China...
in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
reported in 1999 that they deal with around 250 matchmaking agencies. The popularity of Vietnamese brides has reached such a height that there is now a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
television show that broadcasts photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s and information about prospective Vietnamese wives.
Reasons for Becoming a Migrant Bride
The circumstances of the Vietnamese that go to Taiwan as brides are depressingly common. Most brides originate from the remote countryside of Vietnam. It has been observed that more than half of the Vietnamese women recruited into migrant marriages come from the rural Mekong DeltaMekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
region. As is also common in labor
Labour economics
Labor economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labor. Labor markets function through the interaction of workers and employers...
migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
, the primary motivation in most migrant marriages, from the female perspective, is economy and security. The majority of Vietnamese women come from families that suffer from unpaid debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
s, bad seasons of crop, or jobless family members. Marriage brokers who promise a life of prosperity
Prosperity
Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and/or successful social status. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health....
overseas lure women to Taiwan. While a Taiwanese man may pay up to $10,000 USD to arrange for a migrant marriage, the woman’s family may only see as little as $100 USD of that money. The broker absorbs the rest. Nevertheless, most women, in agreeing to marriage, are under the impression that they will be able to find work in Taiwan and send money back to their families in Vietnam. In one survey of origin household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s in Vietnam, researchers asked the parents of marriage migrants why their daughters chose to migrate to Taiwan. The top three answers reported were “To help the family” (61.6%), “For a better life” (10.8%), and “To make parents happy” (6.3%).
Reasons for Choosing a Migrant Bride
Taiwanese men who marry women from Southeast Asia are typically drawn from a less educated and disadvantageDisadvantage
In policy debate, a disadvantage is an argument that a team brings up against a policy action that is being considered.-Structure:...
d population. While Taiwanese husbands tend to have more education than their Vietnamese brides, they still fall below the average levels of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in Taiwan. Many times a man can be more than a decade, or possibly two to three decades, older than his migrant bride. Seventy percent of Vietnamese brides are under 23 years of age, while over eighty percent of their Taiwanese grooms are aged over 30. All of these factors (lack of education, disadvantage, and advanced age) typically contribute to trouble in finding a bride locally and thus increase the desire to enter a migrant marriage. For many Taiwanese men, migrant marriages can seem like an easy solution to their household troubles, as a wife can act as a reproductive unit
Human reproduction
Human reproduction is any form of sexual reproduction resulting in the conception of a child, typically involving sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. During intercourse, the interaction between the male and female reproductive systems results in fertilization of the woman's ovum by the...
, a housekeeper
Housekeeper
Housekeeper may refer to:* Housekeeper , a woman heading up domestic maintenance* Maid, a female with various domestic duties* Janitor, a person responsible for institutional maintenance* A person engaged in housekeeping...
, and a nurse to his parents. In one study, the percentage of women who reported “housework” as their primary occupation rose from 16.7% while located in Vietnam to 52.4% after being relocated to Taiwan. As can be seen in a woman’s primary motivation for marriage (“To help the family”), the Vietnamese have strong familial ties and practice high subservience to a patriarchal
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
structure. This trait is highly prized by some Taiwanese men who feel that Taiwanese women are beginning to wrest away from the constraints of a patriarchal society.
Acclimating to Taiwanese Society and Culture
Because of their remote, rural origins, Vietnamese migrant brides often lack basic knowledge of what their life will be like in Taiwan. Despite increased resources and amenitiesAmenity
In real property and lodging, amenities are any tangible or untangible benefits of a property, especially those that increase its attractiveness or value or that contribute to its comfort or convenience...
, migrant brides often find it difficult to deal with cultural and other issues, some of which include large age gaps with their husbands, demanding in-laws, and difficulties with the language barrier
Language barrier
Language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other...
. Although Mandarin language classes are available in Taiwan, many men are not willing to pay the fees for such education, and others seem to prefer their wives continue to be isolated through language.
In the Public and Private Spheres
In Taiwanese society, all migrant brides are often stigmaSocial stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
tized for their poor class, gender position, and the commodified
Commodification
Commodification is the transformation of goods, ideas, or other entities that may not normally be regarded as goods into a commodity....
nature of their marriage (Wang 2008). In the nation's mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
, they are often portrayed as either "passive victims" or "materialistic gold diggers," and their husbands are often seen as being morally and intellectually inferior. Migrant brides are also seen as unfit to bear legitimate Taiwanese citizens. In 2006, out of every 100 births, 12 were the product of an migrant marriage. Though in recent years public officials in Taiwan have increasingly promoted fertility
Fertility
Fertility is the natural capability of producing offsprings. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. Fertility differs from fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction...
, in 2004 the Vice Minister of Education Chou Tsan-Te expressed his concern about the "low quality" of immigrants and remarked that "foreign brides should not have so many children."
It can also be very difficult for Vietnamese and other migrant brides to acclimate to their own household. Taiwanese men tend to look at their brides as a financial investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
, and expect to be repaid for their monetary loss through reproductive and domestic work. Migrant brides are often expected to work long hours in the household, constantly serve their husband's parents, and prove their worth by bearing healthy children. As in most patriarchal societies, boys are always preferred. If a migrant bride cannot become pregnant or fails to produce a male heir, they run the risk of their husband divorcing
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
them and often face unbearably abusive behavior from both their husband and his parents.
HIV/AIDs Stigmatization
Foreign brides are also often stigmatized for being seen as a contributing source to the growing HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
presence in Taiwan. Taiwanese society often treats migrant brides as a threat to public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and a large burden to the nation, despite the fact that the highest point of infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
among foreign brides peaked in 1998 with 1.31% of incoming brides testing positive for the HIV/AIDs virus. Any foreigner who tests positive for the HIV/AIDs virus in Taiwan must leave the country immediately.
"Taiwan Disillusionment"
Many brides experience what is known as the "Taiwan Disillusionment," where due to their inferior position in their own family and in Taiwanese society in general, they attempt to obtain divorces. In the years of 1999 to 2000, there were 170 cases of divorce concerning a migrant individual. While some brides who obtain divorces return home to Vietnam, others, realizing some of the amenities they have grown accustomed to would be loss to them, often stay and try to find work in Taiwan. This can often be very difficult due to their poor education and languageLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
skills. Also difficult to cope with in the event of a divorce is the almost certain loss of custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
of any children the couple may have had together, as under Taiwanese law, they belong to the father.
Human Trafficking/Abuse Concerns
Because a migrant bride is often extremely dependent on her husband upon arriving in Taiwan, it is easy for her to fall victim to abuseAbuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
or human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
. Although many claim incidents of extreme abuse are exacerbated by the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
, the matter is by no means unheard of. Many women report being held in isolation
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
by their husbands, who control the monetary funds of the household and often take control of their IDs to stop them from traveling long distances. Taiwanese men often bar their foreign wives from making friends or phone calls, and migrant brides are often unaware of the local laws they can use to assert their rights. For those who do not speak Mandarin, getting help is almost impossible, and furthermore, those who do know the language claim that local authorities and shelters
Women's shelter
A women's shelter is a place of temporary refuge and support for women escaping violent or abusive situations, such as rape, and domestic violence....
treat them as second-class citizen
Second-class citizen
Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there...
s and often refuse to listen to their stories.
Legal Action Against the Migrant Marriage Practice
In Taiwan, a new law that forbids women from marrying Taiwan men more than 10 years their senior has hurt business for brokers. In early April of 2007, policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
in Ho Chi Minh City broke up a matchmaking ring and arrested two suspected marriage brokers. A subsequent raid on a home turned up more than 100 women seeking husbands.