WOMEN AT RISK : VIETNAMESE MARRIAGE MIGRATION TO TAIWAN

1. WOMEN AT RISK : VIETNAMESE MARRIAGE MIGRATION TO TAIWAN by Graeme Hugo and Hong Xoan Nguyen Thi Geographical and Environmental Studies, School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide Presentation to IGU Conference, Brisbane 6 July 2006

2. Outline of Presentation • Introduction • Marriage Migration in Asia • Vietnamese Migration to Taiwan • A Study of Vietnamese Brides • Vulnerability Among Vietnam’s Brides in Taiwan • Policy Issues • Conclusion

3. Feminisation of Migration within Asia • Increasing involvement in labour migration - skilled - unskilled • Strong occupational specialisation • More exposed to exploitation than men • Marriage migration – links with labour migration

4. Increased Marriage Migration • Increased international travel • Increasing role of marriage brokers • Increasing sex ratio differences - China – 1,000 male births to every 850 female, 2002 - India – 1,000 males 0-6 to every 927 females, 2001

6. Migration to TaiwanTaiwan: Number of Foreign Workers by Origin, 1998-2005Source: Lee 2006, p. 15

7. Taiwan: Number and Categories of Foreign Workers, 2000-2004Source: Lee 2006, p. 15

8. Taiwan: Marriages to Foreign Spouses1 1994-2003Source: Wang and Chang, 2002, 96; Tsay, 2004; Do, et al., 2003, 38

9. Taiwan Proportion of Births to Foreign Partner

10. South Korea • 2002 11,107 males married foreign brides • 2004 25,594 males married foreign brides • 2005 44,416 males married foreign brides • 2006 60,217 males married foreign brides • 1 in 4 marriages in rural South Korea to a foreign bride - China - Mongolia - Vietnam - Thailand - Philippines - Uzbekistan • 6,444 Korean women married foreigners

11. Japan 2004 257,292 foreign spouses

12. Drivers of Marriage Migration “… is the strong feeling among Taiwanese of the similarity between Vietnam and Taiwan in terms of the people, culture, religion and way of life. It is often mentioned that the appearance and complexion of Vietnamese are close to Taiwanese. They also have similar religious beliefs and ways of ancestor worship. Most critically, Taiwanese have the deep impression that Vietnamese women were bought up in patriarchal families and were socialised well in forming their attitudes toward the family, children, parents and husband.” Tsay (2004, 185)

13. Approximate Numbers – 110,000 Vietnamese (Dang) Brides in TaiwanData from Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

14. Vietnam Province of Origin of Vietnamese Marriage Migrants to Taiwan, 1994-2002Source: Based on data in Do, et al., 2002, 39

15. The activities of recruiters are concentrated in particular poor communities where it is believed poverty would make women more ready to engage in marriage migration. • There are also strong network effects whereby when some women from a community are recruited they act as leaders to others.

16. Province of Origin of Taiwanese Husbands of Vietnamese Marriage Migrants, 1994-2002 Source: Do, et al., 2002, 39

17. Other Destinations of Vietnamese Brides • Southern China • Singapore • South Korea

18. Age-Sex Structure, Vietnam 2000Source: International Data Base, International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census

19. Age-Sex Structure, Taiwan Population 2000 Source: International Data Base, International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census

20. Poverty Rate in the Five Provinces Source: Tran 2004

21. Multicultural Influences in the Mekong Delta • Khmer • Chinese • Indian • French • American History of inter-ethnic marriage

22. Cultural Factors • Confucianism • Male/Female roles • Filial Piety

23. Taiwan Investment in Vietnam, 1993-1998 Source: Phan, 2005

24. Social Change in Taiwan “… rural poorly educated males in lack lustre jobs, possibly with unsociable hours and conservative views on what marriage should be … are looking to Mainland China and Southeast Asia for their prospective spouses.” Eyton (2003)

25. National University of Ho Chi Minh Study 2004 • Mekong Delta • 635 rural householders with one or more daughters married to Taiwanese men • 460 interviews with local youth • 40 brides in waiting • 34 returnees visiting • 8 divorcee returnees • 28 consultations with leaders • 23 focus groups

26. The Process : Commodification of Marriage • Substantial involvement of intermediaries • Fee US$7-10,000 • Visit to Taiwan – introduced to several “candidates” • Role of parents • Legality

27. Reasons for Marrying Taiwanese Men (n=630) Source: 2004 Survey

28. Marriage Decision Maker (n=630) Source: 2004 Survey

29. Age When Married (n=630)Source: 2004 Survey

30. Education of Parents and BrideSource: 2004 Survey

31. Occupation of Women after Marriage Source: 2004 Survey

32. “My husband turned out to be a farmer. I was doing the same work I did in Vietnam. We started at five in the morning and stopped at two. I didn’t speak the language. I missed home and was very lonely.”

33. Occupations of Grooms Source: 2004 Survey

34. Impact of Migration on Families • 88.3 percent received remittances Living Standards of Households Before and After their Daughters’ Marriages Source: 2004 Survey

35. “we see that the families, having daughters getting married to Taiwan males, all have built two, three story houses. They are very happy and enjoy life, they do not have to do hard work because their daughters send money to them very often. Even some of them help poor neighbours and poorer people in the communities” (a discussion in An Giang province).

36. “before my daughter’s marriage, all members of our family were forced to work very hard, we did a day labour with very low pay so we used to be short of money. But now our lives have changed because my daughter often sends back money. With this assistance we have enough money to send our younger children to vocational school so that they will be able to find a good job later. We are much happier now” (a father in An Giang province).

37. “ ..very sad , all of the girls move out, so we may stay single our whole life, we are poor and have no money to marry”

38. “Surveys show that most of them are quite willing to learn Mandarin, the problem is their husbands are often unwilling to pay for them to go to school to do so, and often the language their husbands prefer to use is the far more difficult to learn Minnan, spoken only in Taiwan and China’s Fujian province.” Eyton (2003)

39. Problems • Language barriers • Isolation and loneliness • Work exploitation • Care giving • Prejudice, homogeneity issues • “Taiwan Disillusionment”

40. Returning Home to Divorce Can Tho Province 1990 – 2000 170 divorces with foreigners 2001-02 253 cases

41. “I want to work outside to earn money because my relatives in Vietnam need my financial assistance. My child is 6 years old, but my husband does not send him to school because he doesn’t want to spend money for his school. Therefore he wants me to stay at home and take care of the child, while he doesn’t make any effort to help my family.” (A girl from Vinh Long Province)

42. “When I met him in Vietnam, he said that he had three children and his wife had died, so he was looking for a wife to share housework with him and to look after his children. He did not tell me that two of his children are very sick. When I went to Taiwan, in the evening he brought me to his house and introduced me to his children I was shocked because they were severely disabled. They stay in bed and need a lot of care. It was very hard work, I stayed there 2 years and then decided to go home.” (a women from Can Tho province).

43. “ Most of the brides cannot get a good job in Taiwan. Not all of the families they go to are rich so they have to work, but because they have no skill, no education and even no language how can they get work? If they get work their employers complain. There are also problems in their work in the home. Some husbands give their wives money to send home to their families.”

44. “It is my understanding, that the main reason for conflict between Vietnamese brides and their families-in-law is that the ways of life in Vietnam and Taiwan are completely different. The women thought that they would have a better life straight away after they came to Taiwan but Taiwanese families expect a great deal from their daughters-in-law such as earning money to support the family, doing housework and taking care of children and aged family members. When these women are unable to do all of these tasks then conflicts emerge.”

45. Of 51 Returnee Visitors 89 percent happy with life in Taiwan 14 percent “completely happy”

46. “When he wants to do something important for the family, he always discusses it with me and he respects my opinion. Related to money, we have only one bank account and he put his income in the account and we spend it together.” (A bride from Thoai Son, An Giang).

47. “ My father in-law was very happy when my boy was born and he loves him a lot. My husband told me to take care of our son and do housework which is very easy. If I do something wrong my father in law never complains, he only gently shows me how to do it properly. I am very happy with my married life so far.” (A bride from Thoai Son, An Giang).

48. Conclusion • Increasing trend • Increasing commodification of marriage • Role of industry • Need for more intervention

49. Intervention Needs • Regulate the activities of the intermediaries to combat exploitation. • Provide accurate information to potential brides and their families to help them make more informed decisions about migrating. • Provide appropriate support systems to the women in Taiwan. • Facilitate communication and travel between the women and their families of origin. • Assist their adjustment to Taiwanese society. • Provide protection for them in Taiwan