Thursday, July 2, 2009

台灣情! Giving Birth to American Citizens

In 1972, right after Nixon went to China, many wealthy Taiwanese immigrated overseas. Back in those martial law-enforced days, it was difficult to get exit visa to leave Taiwan, but people still immigrated. In the 1980s and 1990s, immigration to the U.S. became more difficult, so Taiwanese people found other countries to immigrate to--Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

As more wealth is accumulated in Taiwan, immigration is no longer restricted to the top echelon of the society. More and more upper-middle class have begin to find ways to get foreign passports without having to live there for the duration of obtaining the citizenship. It was no longer desirable to spend 3-5 years living in another country just so the family can obtain a foreign passport, risking family separation and loss of income. People began to look for short cuts which will enable them to obtain foreign passports without actually immigrating to the foreign country. One of those ways was to give birth in a foreign country. Once a baby is born in the United States, he/she automatically becomes an U. S. citizen.

The number one destination for giving birth in a foreign country is Los Angeles. It's a booming business sector which combined travel, health care, insurance, post-partum doula care, and bureaucratic services (application of SSN and passports for the newborn). Most of these facilities (birthing hostels) are situated in eastern part of Los Angeles where a substantial Chinese population is concentrated.

There is a lot of things a pregnant Taiwanese woman need to overcome to give birth in the United States:

1. She needs to fly before she is 24-weeks into her pregnancy. If an airline detects her advanced pregnancy, they can refuse to let her board the plane. This means she would have to leave her family/husband behind in Taiwan to wait in a birthing hostel in the United States until she gives birth.

2. She pays full amount for OB/GYN pre-natal care. Usually the birthing hostels would have already contracted a list of Chinese/Taiwanese-speaking obstetricians in their area who would do pre-natal care and delivery for a set amount of fees. The pregnant woman would have contractual obligation to pay for every medical expenses she incurs while awaiting the birth of her baby.

3. She must pray and hope that her baby will be born healthy. But in some cases, if the baby arrives early or complication developed from the birth, it would be a financial disaster for the new parents.

Once the baby is born, the birthing hostel would arrange for the new mom to “do-the-month” (special 30-day post-partum care and diet) for a month while they apply for the baby’s Social Security Number and the new United States passport for their trip back to Taiwan. Needless to say, to give birth overseas does not come cheap. Luckily, there are many services and packages that women can choose from so they can give birth to an American baby. There are fervent discussions over many portals regarding the pros and cons of giving birth aboard and why people want to do that. The most popular reasoning behind it all is that these parents want to give their babies more choices in life.

很多到美國生小孩的台灣媽咪都強調是要給自己的小孩多一種選擇。天下父母心,我絕對瞭解也讚同。可是這是什麼樣的一種選擇呢?

1. 可以到美國讀書。沒有拿美國護照的小孩長大後有好成績還是可以到美國讀研究所、深造。
2. 可以到美國居住。這個對沒有拿美國護照的小孩就比較麻煩了。可是在美國還是有很多臺灣人用盡各種辦法在美國住下來。最主要的是要有份不錯的工作才能在美國居住。有拿美國護照的小孩也一樣。他長大後還是要有能力跟美國人競爭,才有辦法在美國定居。
3. 可以到美國工作。沒有拿美國護照的小孩長大後有機會還是可以到美國工作。只是過程要靠公司及老板的賞識。
4. 可以到美國旅遊。這個沒有拿美國護照的小孩也照常可以到全世界旅遊。
5. 可以不用永遠住在臺灣。這就是重點!!!!!
6. 拿美國護照的小孩機會比較多。家裡有錢的小孩本來的生活機能及未來的機會都會比低收入的小孩高很多。
7. 拿美國護照的小孩比較好命。不一定,不過他們的機會肯定比別人多。
8. 拿美國護照的小孩也要同時拿一本臺灣護照才能免於三個月就要出國一次的命運。
9. 拿美國護照的小孩永遠當不了臺灣總統也無法擔任台灣的公職。也就是說這些趕著到美國生產的媽媽斷了自己小孩走政治的路!

三十幾年前,我父母親帶我們移民加拿大。媽媽留下來照顧我們,爸爸繼續留在臺灣賺錢,有空才飛到加拿大跟我們團聚。那時候(甚至於現在)不知羨慕死多少臺灣 人。媽媽在五年後(三年的移民監就讓我們拿到加籍,除了我老爸),毅然的搬回台灣,留下十一年級的我和十年級的妹妹在加拿大自己生活。媽媽不那麼做不行, 畢竟老公真的是比小孩子重要。也就是這樣,才保住他們的婚姻。我和妹妹也順利上了加拿大的大學。這一切聽起來都很美好,可是妹妹和我在這整個過程中受了很多不必要的苦。如果我們當初沒有出國移民,我相信我倆也是有辦法就讀台灣頂尖的大學,畢業後繼續到國外深造。

學業完畢後,就業也沒問題。可是讓父母最擔心的還是我和妹妹的婚姻問題。受外國教育以及在外國長大的台灣女孩子基本上擇偶的範圍就很小,不是嫁外國人,就是嫁ABC(其實是跟嫁給外國人沒兩樣)。可是因為我不是ABC,又有點不中不西,根本就無法跟外國人談戀愛,總覺得文化背景不一樣,很難溝通。不知不覺的就只好回臺灣,希望能認識些台灣人。到最後也不行,緣份把我帶回美國,嫁給一個跟我有一模一樣背景的台裔美國人。那是我的好運氣。我差一點就因為我的成長背景而嫁不出去。我結婚時已經是三十三歲了! 我妹妹也拖到三十四歲才結婚。她嫁給一個跟她同行業的越南人(雖然兩人的收入高,可是畢竟文化及生長過程的不同,我妹這條婚姻路走得比我辛苦。)

妳說這是我們的選擇還是我父母親的選擇而造成我們後半輩子的命運?

話又說回來,在美國我有兩位好友,剛好都是從臺灣來的。一位是到美國讀研究所而認識了先生(先生是197O年代移民到美國的臺灣人)另一位是從台灣嫁來美國 的(先生也是197O年代移民到美國的臺灣人,可是他在十幾年前回台灣相親把她娶回美國的)。我想說的是我們三個台灣女人過得差不多一樣的生活,可是我是唯一當年父母親想盡辦法讓我們移民到國外的人。至少我的朋友可以說她們的生活很多是他們自己的選擇,可是我總覺得我會淪流在國外是我父母親三十幾年前所做的決定而造成我後半生的命運。不管是移民到國外或跑到美國生小孩都是時代造成的悲劇。自己的國家不被其它國家認同及尊重(而且處處遭到某鄰國的威脅及牽制,所以台灣國民才需要想盡辦法找退路)。萬一臺灣不在是我們想要住的地方了,我們的下一代才有另一個自由民主的國家可以落地生根。我只替我的父母親婉惜,因為他們為了下一代的著想,而導至他們的子孫永遠不再是臺灣人了。我可以教我在美國出生的子女愛臺灣,可是這段對臺灣的情不可能再延續到他們的下一代了!

兒孫自有兒孫福。人算不如天算。搞不好將來臺灣會有一天不用讓台灣人這麼大費周章的想辦法弄一本外國護照來保護下一代的自由生活。

3 comments:

  1. Dear Taiwan Moms are US:

    I am a Taiwanese American expectant mother of twins living in the Pacific Northwest. I am interested to get in contact with a Taiwanese postpartum care center in the U.S. to learn about the postpartum care services they provide. Might you have the contact information for centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and/or Vancouver, BC?
    Thank you for any information you might be able to provide me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lilster!

    I hadn't realized that you posted a comment here until today. You are on the right tracking trying to find someone to help you with postpartum care. I am not familiar with the postpartum care service because the last time I looked into the service, it was almost 10 years ago.

    But I will do a post on the subject and hopefully you will gain some insights into the matter.

    Congratulations on your impending 2 bundles of joy!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stay safe and stay aware and you’ll enjoy your trip a lot more.

    Hostels in Valle Fertil

    ReplyDelete