20100724 Taiwanese doing well in US: analysis

Taiwanese doing well in US: analysis

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
Saturday, Jul 24, 2010, Page 1

A new analysis of US immigration shows that there are at least 342,000 people who were born in Taiwan now living in the US.

That figure is almost certainly too low.

It comes from a two-year-old survey and immigration officials say that at least some Taiwanese-born people identified themselves as “Chinese” or “other Asian” (without specification) in the ethnicity category of census forms.

The analysis by the Migration Policy Institute in Washington provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of Taiwanese immigrants in the US.

“If buying a home is the American dream, then Taiwanese immigrants are living it,” the institute said.

About 76 percent of Taiwanese immigrants in the US own their own home compared with 56.5 percent of all immigrants and 72.6 percent of native-born US citizens.

Not only that, but Taiwanese immigrants in general seem to be better educated, have better jobs and be better off than the population at large. They are among the most successful of all immigrant groups.

California has the largest number of Taiwanese immigrants — 47 percent — followed by New York with 9 percent, Texas with 7 percent and New Jersey with 4 percent.

“Many Taiwanese left home as students in the 1960s and 1970s. A large number stayed because the US offered opportunities that Taiwan did not, as well as democracy and freedom at a time when their homeland was still under political repression,” the institute said.

“By the late 1970s, those who had settled in the US had brought their families over. The Taiwanese-American community has since developed a strong diaspora identity, keeping both political and business ties between the US and Taiwan,” the institute said.

Nearly three-quarters of Taiwanese immigrants are adults of working age, while 2.6 percent are under 18 and 27 percent are seniors.

Taiwanese immigrants are much more likely to be naturalized US citizens — 72 percent — than those foreign-born overall — 43 percent.

About 8.5 percent of Taiwanese immigrants reported speaking “English only,” while 40 percent said they spoke English “very well” and about 50 percent spoke English less than “very well.”

Seven out of every 10 Taiwan-born adults said that they have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

This 72 percent of highly educated Taiwanese compares with just 27 percent of the total of 32 million foreign-born adults and 28 percent of all 168 million native-born adults.

More than half of the employed Taiwanese-born men reported working in management, business and finance, information technology, the sciences and engineering.

More than a quarter of all employed Taiwanese-born women were in the same highly paid fields.

Also, Taiwanese immigrants are also less likely to live in poverty than both natives and those foreign-born overall. About 20 percent of Taiwanese immigrants live in poverty in the US compared with 38 percent of all immigrants and 29 percent of those native born.