Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍), who was born in Vietnam and has spent more than 20 years in Taiwan, continues to approach life with an upbeat and optimistic attitude despite going through an unhappy marriage and numerous challenges. She does this in order to assist new immigrants across Taiwan. She began by forming Vietnamese Migrant Hometown Association (越南同鄉協會) before founding the Taiwan Immigrants Association (台灣新移民協會) at the nationwide level. Through her spirit of not fearing difficulties and her extensive life experience, Mai Yu-zhen intends to continue to push policies and help for new immigrants.
The Vietnamese new immigrant (麥玉珍) overcame obstacles and dedicated to raising up new immigrants to serve as bridges between nations.Photo reproduced from Taiwan Immigrants Association 社團法人台灣新移民協會 Facebook
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Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍) mentioned that she arrived in Changhua County when pregnant when speaking about her time spent in Taiwan in the past. After being married in Taiwan, she had not anticipated that her husband would abuse her aggressively. She became quite despondent since she knew she would never be able to win the child's forgiveness, even if she got a divorce. Mai Yu-zhen realized that there were many misconceptions regarding foreign spouses at the time via her job at a Vietnamese translator at the police station and social bureau. Consequently, Mai Yu-zhen founded the Changhua County Vietnamese Migrant Hometown Association (越南同鄉協會) with the aid of the Social Affairs Bureau in order to assist other fellow new immigrants.
According to Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍), the Internet was not widely used when the Vietnamese Migrant Hometown Association was originally founded. Despite the fact that many new immigrants are concerned about not understanding it, with the association's assistance, they are able to serve as interpreters so that their children, family, and friends may dispel prejudices about new immigrants.
The Vietnamese new immigrant (麥玉珍) overcame obstacles and dedicated to raising up new immigrants to serve as bridges between nations.Photo reproduced from Taiwan Immigrants Association 社團法人台灣新移民協會 Facebook
The executive secretary of the association stole Mai Yu-zhen's credit card while the association was growing, and she was even suspected of fabricating paperwork, which became another challenge in her life. However, Mai Yuzhen did not give up because of this and tried her best to figure out ways to solve difficulties.
Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍) and her sister ran a snack store in Taichung when her sister got married and immigrated to Taiwan. Mai Yu-zhen learned that there were regional limits on household registration when assisting new immigrants in Taichung City. As a result, she was unable assist new immigrant in Taichung with the sources of Vietnamese Migrant Hometown Association in Changhua County, which inspired Mai Yu-zhen to establish a nationwide Taiwan New Immigrants organization to aid new immigrants in need.
The Vietnamese new immigrant (麥玉珍) overcame obstacles and dedicated to raising up new immigrants to serve as bridges between nations.Photo reproduced from Taiwan Immigrants Association 社團法人台灣新移民協會 Facebook
Numerous local organizations and government organizations have partnered with the Taiwan Immigrants Association (台灣新移民協會) to support its work, providing training programs to help new immigrants advance in a variety of fields while also providing them with the necessities of daily life, etc.
The Vietnamese new immigrant (麥玉珍) overcame obstacles and dedicated to raising up new immigrants to serve as bridges between nations.Photo reproduced from 麥玉珍 Facebook
Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍) founded the Happy People Party (台灣新住民黨) to help new immigrants even more. She hoped to create a nationwide committee for new immigrants and plan a thorough immigration policy. Mai Yu-zhen also hoped to encourage Taiwan's new immigrants to become international bridges so that the advantages of various ethnic groups could flourish and thus boost cross-cultural interaction and integration.
The Vietnamese new immigrant (麥玉珍) overcame obstacles and dedicated to raising up new immigrants to serve as bridges between nations.Photo reproduced from Taiwan Immigrants Association 社團法人台灣新移民協會 Facebook
Last but not least, Mai Yu-zhen (麥玉珍) wishes to convey to every new immigrant who encounter challenges that there will always be ups and downs in life which are the opportunities for them to improve. No matter where we come from, we are all members of the same family, so as long as we take the initiative to seek for assistance, someone will guide you in finding ways to support one another and get through life's challenges.
