Friendly City with Friendly Hands / 友善城市伸出友善的手
Marriage with a foreign spouse has become a trend in recent years. According to the latest census, there are 4 foreign brides in every 10 newly married couples in Kaohsiung city. The rate jumps greatly from one-forth in the past to two-fifths nowadays. Foreign spouses mother one of every 5 newborn. It is estimated that the phenomenon of "Taiwanese children with foreign mothers" will be even more common in the future. The mixed blood, say some scholars and experts, may become the largest group in Kaohsiung in the future, which contributes to the formation of a United Kaohsiung.
With a great deal of foreign spouses immigrating into Kaohsiung, the differences in language, culture, customs, and values lead to many social problems. It has an impact on the population structure, education system, and family values.
When probing into these problems, we have to clarify two concepts. First is the difference between the term "foreign brides" and "foreign spouses". Brides certainly indicate female, but don't forget grooms are spouses, too, though they are never called foreign grooms. Therefore, for the sake of equal rights, it would be better to call both the brides and the grooms 'foreign spouses'. Second, foreign brides include not only women from Southeast Asia, but also many women from developed countries such as in Europe, America and Japan. All of them should be called foreign brides; after all, there shouldn't be discrimination due to skin colors in marriage.
Another important concept is that whether brides are from Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand or from China, they face the same problems and difficulties as Taiwanese brides. They draw the public's attention easily because they are still a minority in society. The same problems happen to Taiwanese brides as well. Take having a child with developmental delay for example, some Taiwanese brides also give birth to these children. The severity of domestic violence inflicted on Taiwanese brides is no less than on foreign brides.
Foreign spouses face many difficulties in Kaohsiung, including the basic identification and respect, language and culture, economic demand, employment and social participation, personal safety and domestic violence, health demands and social welfare, etc. The new Taiwanese children of them also face difficulties in education, health, and social welfare. While they are facing these difficulties, the private groups (NGO) as well as public departments provide many suitable and convenient services.
Among all the private groups which are devoted to foreign spouses, Kaohsiung Christian Family Consultation Center, Kaohsiung service center of Eden social welfare foundation, and Kaohsiung Young Women's Christian Association are the most active and effective. Their services include life adaptation guidance, medical eugenic health, protecting employment rights, assisting child care and education, securing personal safety, and advertising important concepts. In addition to the common services such as education, special assistances for children with a developmental delay or disability to shorten learning margin, driving lessons and skill lessons to promote living ability are also available. There are associated groups and a supporting network, too.
Kaohsiung Christian Family Consultation Center, for example, holds the training courses for core teachers and interpreters of foreign spouses life adaptation. Kaohsiung Young Women's Christian holds reading and self-growth classes for foreign spouses. Association Kaohsiung service center of Eden social welfare foundation holds the "foreign and Chinese spouse children's schoolwork guidance class" particularly for foreign spouse's children. Moreover, Kaohsiung Broadcasting Station (FM94.3) establishes the first exclusive radio show in the country for foreign spouses.
外籍配偶已成為近年的婚姻趨勢，根據最新一份人口調查資料顯示，近一年來，高市每十對結婚新人中就有四人迎娶外籍新娘，比例已從過去的四分之一大大提升到五分之二，每五個新出生的台灣之子中即有一人是外籍配偶所生，估計未來「台灣之子外籍媽」情況將越來越普遍，有專家、學者就打趣說，未來高雄市最大的族群將會是「混血兒」，「高雄聯合國」儼然成形。
隨著外籍配偶的大量移入高雄，其語言、文化、風俗習慣、價值觀等不同，相對也衍生出諸多社會問題，自然對港都社會人口結構、教育體系、家庭價值觀等都產生不小衝擊，也帶來深遠的影響。
但在探討這些問題時，民眾必須先釐清兩個觀念，一是：「外籍新娘」與「外籍配偶」的差別，新娘當然單指女性，不要忘了新郎同樣也是配偶，卻沒有稱他們為「外籍新郎」，因此站在兩性平權觀念上，最好通稱他們為「外籍配偶」。二是：外籍新娘不單指出生在東南亞等落後國家嫁入台灣的女性，歐美、日本等已開發國家也有不少女子嫁給台灣郎，這些均應統稱為「外籍新娘」，畢竟，婚姻不應有膚色的差別待遇。
另一個重要觀念是：不論是越南、泰國等東南亞國家或是大陸新娘等外籍配偶，他們在台灣所面臨的各類問題與困境，其實部份台灣新娘也同樣會遇到，只是因為外籍新娘們仍在這個社會中屬於少數特殊的一群，因此特別容易引發各界關注，千萬不要誤會只有外籍新娘才容易產生這些問題，如生下發展遲緩寶寶來說，台灣新娘所生的有不在少數；另就家暴問題來論，其實台灣新娘家暴問題嚴重性，並不下於外籍新娘。
外籍配偶在高雄常面臨的困境有許多，包括了最基本的認同與尊重、言語與文化等生活適應，還有經濟需求、就業與社會參與、人身安全與家暴問題、醫療需求與社會福利等，她們所生下的新台灣之子，也同樣有著教育、醫療與社會福利等等困境。當她們在面臨這些困境時，求助管道除了公家單位外，民間團體同樣扮演著堅持的支持網絡與後盾，更提供了諸多貼心且便利的服務。
目前高雄市致力於外籍配偶服務的民間團體，以基督教家庭協談中心、伊甸基金會高雄服務中心與女青年會最為積極且具成效，它們服務範圍，舉凡：生活適應輔導、醫療優生保健、保障就業權益、協助子女就養與教育、人身安全保護、觀念宣導等都有。常見的除了廣設國教班、針對發展遲緩、障礙子女給予特別輔導，縮短學習落差外，也提供了駕訓班、技藝班等來提高生活能力，並有聯誼會與支持網絡設立等。
像高雄家協在今年就開辦「外籍配偶生活適應班種子師資及翻譯人員培訓課程」，女青年會則有「外籍配偶識字教育及自我成長課程」，而伊甸社會福利基金會高雄市服務中心特別針對外籍配偶的子女，開辦「外籍及大陸配偶子女課業輔導班」等，高雄廣播電台（FM94.3）更成立了全國第一個外籍配偶專屬廣播節目「南國姊妹情」。