Editorial abstract
Central News Agency
2010-08-24
By Y.F. Low
According to Gallup’s latest Potential Net Migration Index, Taiwan would see a net 21 percent decrease in its population if everyone who wanted to come in and wanted to leave could do so.
To explore this complicated problem, we should first get an idea of the background of those Taiwanese who emigrated out of Taiwan, most of whom went to the United States.
As shown from a report released last month by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI) , 76 percent of adult Taiwanese immigrants in the United States own their own homes, and 72 percent hold bachelor’s degree or higher. This demonstrates that the group of people who moved out of Taiwan were the elite of society.
The MPI report also found that the wave of immigration from Taiwan to the United States began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1980s, slowing down in the 1990s after Taiwan’s democratization. So it’s evident that changes in Taiwan’s domestic political situation have been an important factor in influencing people’s intentions to migrate.
While over 20 percent of Taiwanese would like to leave, most of those who stay will not benefit from the government’s main policy approach of liberalizing cross-Taiwan Strait trade. They will be resigned to becoming part of the sinking middle class and suffer from worsening unemployment.
If the government still does not review its erroneous policy, it will become obvious why Taiwan got a potential net migration index score of -21 percent. [FULL STORY]
