Dictionary

new immigrant en · NOUN

Etymology

Calque of Mandarin 新住民 (xīnzhùmín).

Meanings

1. A person that immigrated to Taiwan after 1987, during and after the end of the martial law era; mainly used for Mainland Chinese and Southeast Asian women who migrate to Taiwan for marriage.
   • Candidates like Ms Lu – who is standing for re-election as the head of Pingtung county’s Yanpu rural township – are trying to court new immigrants. Often referred to locally as “new residents”, they became Taiwanese typically through marriage. This means that they are eligible to vote. 2022 November 23, Yip Wai Yee, “Taiwan’s election candidates go all out to woo the new immigrant vote”, in Straits Times, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2023:
   • Personally, I prefer to call myself a “new immigrant” in Mandarin (新住民), but it is a bit strange for Taiwanese when I call myself that because the term is mostly associated with foreign brides from Southeast Asia. […] I love my adopted home and am proud of counting myself among its new immigrant population. 2020 November 3, P. Kerim Friedman, “What Kind of Country Does Taiwan Want To Be? Who’s Taiwanese?”, in The News Lens, archived from the original on 29 Jul 2025:
   • Many new immigrants that have come to take up a new life in Taiwan have not been able to return home for the past two years because of the pandemic. 2021 November 18, “Taiwan Bravo: The new immigrant experience in Taiwan”, in Taipei Times, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2023:

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