New Zealand is a country in the southwestern hemisphere. The country has a total land area of 270,534 square kilometers; this is 7.5 times that of the total land area of Taiwan. The population of New Zealand is approximately 4 million; this is around one sixth of the Taiwanese population.
The entire country of New Zealand consists of the North Island and the South Island. The population in the South Island is sparse; its economy is mainly agriculture and tourism. The North Island has a denser population and serves as the political and economic center of the country. New Zealand is a part of the Commonwealth, and has a parliamentary system as its major British political structure.
New Zealand is a country that places great emphasis on Maori culture, and, in fact, the Maori people and the indigenous people of Taiwan are both Austronesians. In recent years, evidence found through various research in archaeology, linguistics and anthropology show that Taiwan's geographical location is of great historical importance regarding the origins of Austronesians as well as the migration of those from South Eastern Asia to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Furthermore, DNA evidence suggests that the Maori people are closely related to the indigenous people of Taiwan.
While the 1987 Immigration Act attracted greater immigration of Chinese ethnic communities to New Zealand, it was only in 1992 did immigration from Taiwan start to increase significantly. In 1995, the number of immigrants from Taiwan reached 12,325 people. Due to the high Asian immigration rates in 1994 and 1995, the New Zealand government amended the immigration legislation thus raising the threshold for those wanting to immigrate. This required prospective immigrants to pass level 5 on the IELTS English test. As a result of this, the numbers of immigrants from Taiwan began to decrease.
According to reports by Statistics New Zealand in 2013, 11.8% of New Zealand's total population is Asian, making Asians the third largest racial group in New Zealand. Of the 471,711 Asians living in New Zealand, 89,121 belong to Chinese ethnic communities. In 2018, it was reported that this number increased to 231,387 Chinese people.
Overtime, many Taiwanese immigrants have formed societies, clubs, and Mandarin teaching classes. The appeal of Mandarin education has encouraged many Taiwanese immigrants to form relationships, collaborate with one another, and form a community.
Update Date:
2023/12/08 Back