Mongolians in Taiwan (Chinese: 在臺蒙古人; pinyin: Zài tái ménggǔ rén) form a small portion of the island's population. Labour migration from Mongolia to Taiwan began in 2004.
Taiwan's Council of Labor Affairs finally gave their approval for the recruitment of Mongolian workers in January 2004. The initial response in Mongolia was strong, with Mongolia's Central Employment Office reporting that over 20,000 people had expressed interest in a professional skills and Chinese-language training course for workers headed to Taiwan. 7,000 people were eventually admitted to the programme; 90% of applicants were between 20 and 35 years of age, and 45% were female. One Mongolian official said that Taiwan offered better employment conditions for migrant workers than traditional destinations such as Japan, South Korea, or Eastern European countries, including higher wages (five times those offered in Mongolia) and the provision of health insurance.[7] The first workers recruited under the programme, a group of eleven female nurses between the ages of 25 and 40, arrived in mid-May 2004; the second batch was scheduled to arrive the following month.[8][9] By September of that same year, a total of 77 Mongolians had come to Taiwan for work.[10] However, the Mongolian workers had trouble adjusting to life in Taiwan; by January 2005, out of the 100 who had arrived so far, over 30 had chosen the option of early return to Mongolia. Difficulties cited included long working hours and objections from employers that female employees wore clothing considered too revealing when the weather was hot.[11]
Students
Aside from migrant workers, as of 2007[update] there were also a total of 100 Mongolian students studying at universities in Taiwan; a total of 1,700 Mongolians had gone to Taiwan for professional training, especially in the legal field.[12]
^楊嘉銘 [Yang Chia-ming] (December 2011), 臺灣蒙古族傳唱之成吉思汗紀念歌 [Mongolians in Taiwan pass down a song in memory of Genghis Khan] (PDF), 蒙藏季刊 (in Chinese (Taiwan)), vol. 20, retrieved 2013-05-31
^迦陵 [Jia Ling] (March 1998), 藏傳佛教在台灣的發展, 妙心雜誌 (in Chinese (Taiwan)), vol. 28, retrieved 2011-01-25