A decade of Taiwanese migrant settlement in Australia: Comparisons with mainland Chinese and Hong Kong settlers

The arrival of Taiwanese migrants in Australia represents the second major wave of Chinese immigration to Australia. Many entered Australia as business migrants. Typically they were well-educated, affluent professionals, managers, entrepreneurs who were looking for new business opportunities as well as a lifestyle characterised by open-space, clean air, good education for their children, and personal and political safety. Yet the settlement experiences of many Taiwanese migrants, despite their affluence and (business) skills, have been characterised by stress and hardship, particularly in making adjustments in social, business and economic relationships. A review of statistical data compiled from census and government reports in Australia has revealed that after a decade in Australia, the Taiwanese settler group was still characterised by high unemployment, even when compared to other Chinese migrant groups from Hong Kong and the PRC. It is suggested that the Taiwanese migrants' persistent high non-participation in Australia's labour force is indicative and poignant of their highly distinctive, albeit not exclusive in broader Chinese migrant terms of their experience of migration settlement. There seems to be an increasing number o