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Taiwanese youth seeks greener pastures abroad

SINGAPORE — When Taiwanese national Lai Long Kuo was 13 years old, his family enrolled him in a secondary school in Singapore, as they had “no faith” - as Mr Lai puts it - in Taiwan’s education system, and did not believe that he would be able to learn English there.

L-R,Michelle Chang, Coco Tsai, Joyce Chang. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

L-R,Michelle Chang, Coco Tsai, Joyce Chang. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

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SINGAPORE — When Taiwanese national Lai Long Kuo was 13 years old, his family enrolled him in a secondary school in Singapore, as they had “no faith” - as Mr Lai puts it - in Taiwan’s education system, and did not believe that he would be able to learn English there.

Now 26, the market researcher has no immediate plans to go back to Taiwan, except perhaps when he retires. His family has already packed their bags for Europe, unsure of Taiwan’s economic prospects.

Mr Lai is among the exodus of young and bright Taiwanese graduates from their homeland in search of greener pastures. Several of them who are based in Singapore spoke to TODAY about their concerns with the state of the Taiwan economy and job situation. Nevertheless, some of them harbour the hope of returning home one day – equipped with the knowledge and experience to improve Taiwan and help regain its past glory.

Ms Joyce Lolan Chang, whose family moved to Shanghai when she was 16, notes the low wages and a shortage of good paying jobs in Taiwan. The 25-year-old, who graduated from the University of Houston, has been working at a Singapore IT solutions company for less than year.

Returning graduates with a Bachelor of Arts degree from an American university may command a monthly salary of only TWD$28,000 (S$1,181) in Taiwan, she says.

Her colleague Michelle Chang, 26, says companies in Taiwan do not do enough to invest in human resources. Taiwan has been experiencing an oversupply of graduates, with double-digit youth unemployment rates. While jobs are still available, an underemployment trend is emerging. Ms Michelle Chang said: “It’s not like you can always get what you want... It’s not easy to get the job fit.” “Maybe our generation wants more,” she adds.

Ms Coco Tsai, 22, who studied international relations at the University of California, feels that Taiwanese youth needs to adopt a more global mindset, instead of being inward-looking. When she went back to Taiwan recently during Chinese New Year, she found her friends were more interested in talking about their daily lives when she wanted to discuss current affairs including the geo-political situation in the Middle East. “It’s very obvious – when you interact with the locals back home, you realise they have limited resources to know about what’s going on in the world outside,” she says.

While the Taiwan economy appears to have lost its way, Ms Michelle Chang says Taiwan is “still trying to find its right path” and develop its competitive advantage over other Asian economies such as China, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore.

Pointing out Taiwan’s strength in information technology and services, Ms Tsai says: “We just need to find our place in the international market.”

Mr Lai feels that domestically, Taiwan’s political instability could make it difficult for policymakers to implement forward-looking economic policies.

Taiwan has also not embraced foreign talent and this has an impact on its economy, he says. “Unless the government brings in more foreign blood, the Taiwanese would never understand how to be competitive. Taiwan would still remain the same.”

Ms Joyce Chang notes that the Taiwanese people need to improve their English to draw foreign investors. Schools should relook how the language is being taught, she says.

Despite the challenges facing Taiwan, Ms Joyce Chang says she would not turn her back on it. “Everyone wants to go back someday, and bring back something,” she adds.

Echoing the sentiment, Ms Tsai adds: “The situation in Taiwan is not where I want (it) to be at the moment but I do want to improve it... Many of my friends who’ve gone out (of Taiwan) to look for international exposure will return eventually... Most of us have the dream to help Taiwan to be a better version of itself.”

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