To mark the United Nations' (UN) International Day of Families and Mother's Day, President Ma Ying-jeou visited the Taipei Water Park on the morning of May 6 to take part in an event for households in which one of the parents is a new immigrant to Taiwan. Also attending the event were Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), Deputy Education Minister Chen I-hsing (陳益興), and National Immigration Agency Director-General Hsieh Li-Kung (謝立功). During the event, the officials jointly inaugurated the National New Immigrant Program to display the government's proactive concern for new immigrants.
In remarks, the president pointed out that the UN has designated May 15 as the International Day of Families to highlight the value of families, and it is this same line of thinking that has prompted the Ministry of the Interior's National Immigration Agency to organize this "stroll in the park" activity. The president stated that this type of event is extremely meaningful.
President Ma remarked that the Taipei City New Immigrants' Hall was founded in the Wanhua District of the city when he was Taipei City mayor. A survey conducted at the time of the facility's opening revealed that the number of people who had lived in Taipei for over 50 years comprised only a minority of survey participants. This showed that Taipei is a city of immigrants, the president said, adding that Taiwan as a whole is a society of immigrants. Therefore, the need to help new immigrants to adapt to life here and embrace Taiwan as their home is an important topic to both the government and the people of Taiwan, he said.
The president mentioned that on March 19 he met with a group of distinguished women who are new immigrants to Taiwan. One of these women suggested that the parents of new immigrants be allowed to stay here longer when they come to Taiwan to visit. President Ma said that within a week of this suggestion, the government decided to extend the length of family visits to three months. The president also videotaped a feature for a program on CTS Television in which Ms. Chen Huang-feng (陳凰鳳) teaches Vietnamese. The president said he did this to encourage new immigrants to use their mother tongues at home with their children, who would be primarily educated in Chinese when at school.
In an effort to provide new immigrants with even more comprehensive social rights, the president commented that the government has already abolished regulations that previously required foreign spouses or spouses from mainland China to provide certificates proving sufficient financial resources when they apply for residency here. Meanwhile, he pointed out that regulations have also been amended to allow spouses from mainland China to obtain local ID cards after six years of local residence rather than the previous eight. At the same time, they no longer need to apply for work permits and can seek employment immediately upon their arrival here. President Ma stated that the Ministry of the Interior is presently promoting the National New Immigrant Program to help new immigrants blend into Taiwan society and make full use of their talents in their new home.
The president also said that even though many new immigrants have become quite successful in Taiwan and that the children of these immigrants may not face any barriers in their studies here, the government still needs to continue to help them adapt to life in Taiwan. He called on everyone to work together to help make Taiwan an even better place.
After doing some warm-ups exercises, the president walked around the area with some of the other officials and important guests. He visited a stall and learned to make artificial carnations, and then presented some of the flowers to new immigrant mothers, wishing them a very happy Mother's Day.