top of page

In the scorching summer, step by step, we passed the familiar Taiwanese street corner. When we got nearer to the street, Nanyang curry, Yunnan cuisine, Dim Sum Houses, and Myanmarnese snacks were the first things we noticed. To take a closer look, the various unknown dishes on the street, which generously placed on the promenade, caught our eyes instantly. The signboards with unique characters tell you about the great historical background here. A more delicate observation shows that the owl above is a common feature of many different storefronts. It turns out that the Myanmarese believe that owls have the meaning of attracting wealth. Going deep into it, typical foods such as fish soup noodles, pea flour, and Burmese milk tea come to mind. The religious atmosphere like monks, Buddha statues, and Theravada Buddhism also cast a mysterious veil on this hidden neighborhood in Zhonghe, New Taipei. Knowing that there will be a water-splashing festival and a lantern festival here, it adds a lot of special styles. Watching the locals drinking milk tea in English teacups chatting, the bustling traffic next to the bustling traffic, and the slow milk tea time itinerary Strong contrast. As the saying goes, "The hut is in the realm of people, without the noise of carriages and horses. Ask you how you can do it, and you will be far away from yourself."

 

When it comes to Huaxin Street, it must be further associated with Myanmar Street. However, this is a less rigorous term. Myanmar Street is only a narrow term. Burma Street may be the nickname of this characteristic street because most overseas Chinese live in Myanmar. Nanyang Sightseeing Food Street is his most accurate term, and it's also its official name.

 

Despite its splendid appearance, each of the locals in Nanyang Tourist Food Street has experienced a painful story. In addition to the cultural differences between Taiwan and its home country, which have caused residents to feel uncomfortable in their lives, the most painful and difficult to overcome is missing family members in the home country. When we wanted to return to my hometown for the reunion, we were troubled by the language barrier, which made it hard to book air tickets. Various factors have made their Taiwan dream so unsatisfactory.

 

However, there is a person who helps this group of people in Huaxin Street. She is Sister အေးသုမွန်ဟန်, and her Chinese name is Huang Caifang. We interviewed Sister Caifang, who hopes to know more about the overseas Chinese from Myanmar who came to Taiwan and settled in China. New Street process. Huang, who is a kind-hearted person, not only manages her own tourism business but also acts as a local travel consultant. Whether buying air tickets, sending packages, or related consultations, she does everything by herself. Anything that needs to be contacted by the local people in Myanmar will be handled by the local people. "You know, you couldn't go wrong with him." Huang used to live in Yangon, a big city in Myanmar, and her father retreated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang army. Although her father strongly requested to come to Taiwan together across the sea, she grew up in Myanmar with her circle of friends and habits. Young Huang also did not understand her dad's arrangement, so she rejected him. Until the end, the issue of losing the validity of the residence permit, even if there are thousands of unwilling people, they have come to Taiwan with twists and turns, and have started a series of fates with Taiwan.

 

"At first, I was unfamiliar with the place where I lived, and because I lived in Lower Myanmar and my mother was of Burmese ethnicity." It was a big problem for Huang to learn Chinese since she was a child. After coming to Taiwan, she even had difficulty communicating. Whether at work or in life, I am hindered by my unfamiliarity with Chinese. Sister Caifang told us, "When I came to Taiwan, my favorite was McDonald's. One is that there is no McDonald's in Myanmar. After I came to Taiwan, there is one next to my house, which is very convenient. Just compare your desired meal with your fingers”.

 

In addition, because life needs financial support, she is looking for a job opportunity in Taiwan, but the language problem deeply troubles her. For example, when interviewing factory operators in the past, because they were in Myanmar in the past, they used the name of Huang from Myanmar (အေးသုမွန်ဟန်), and lived at his grandfather's house when he was a child, and spoke with a Hakka accent. As a result, he was unable to pronounce his name correctly, resulting in a denial of employment. "In the end, thanks to the help of my aunt, I got a job in the Tucheng Electronic Parts Factory, which made my life in Taiwan start." According to Huang, the working environment of the electronic parts factory is not good. There are two Taiwanese in it. Most of them are Vietnamese, and Myanmarnesse, because of their relationship with their hometown. During work, she often covers those who couldn't speak English and has become an indispensable lady along the way.

 

After living in Taiwan for a while, Huang learned to use Chinese to communicate with others. "Later, when I finally got my Taiwan ID card, I quit my job in the electronics factory without looking back and bought a plane ticket to go back to Myanmar. Because I saved about NT$200,000 in Taiwan, it was a huge fortune in Myanmar at that time. I rented a house with my boyfriend locally and had a pleasant time, but because Myanmar was in the midst of the revolution, I wasn't able to find a job, and money was all spent. "Since the economic pressure, Huang made up her mind to move to Taiwan. After coming to Taiwan, she used to work as a translator and tour guide for a travel agency. Because her father was old, it was too much for her to handle the freight transportation alone. Huang assisted her father in freight transportation while working in the travel agency. She also provided intermediary services to help Myanmarese Chinese in Taiwan encounter difficulties dealing with air tickets, visas, and other travel between the two places. Although there have been cases of being harassed or knocked on the door in the middle of the night, Huang believes that this is unavoidable, because education in Myanmar is not popular, and she has become dependent on Caifeng. Although the current situation is still not so pleasing, things will get well someday.

 

On top of that,  Huang proudly said "Myanmar people value human relationships the most", so the people who have been assisted by Huang always mention her intentions whenever they think of it. One hundred, ten, one hundred, and word of mouth, Huang have now become Huaxin Street, a little-known "Going abroad mother". Huang got a tour guide certificate and joined a travel company to become a tour guide. Because of this status, she saw Taiwan in depth. Huangg did not hesitate to share with us her favorite Hualien and Yuanyuan. "Residental culture," also said that after retirement," I want to live in the east!"

 

Today, Myanmar is in a period of revolution, and the military government strictly controls the minds of people. Huang believes that this is the reason why Myanmar cannot progress. Moreover, Myanmar has provided too little help to children, such as child labor, children's education, and other issues emerging one after another. Huang even drew people's attention to Myanmar through parades and called on Myanmar Chinese overseas to not forget Myanmar and contribute to the mother country.

HUANG CAI-FANG

"When I came to Taiwan, my favorite was McDonald's. One is that there is no McDonald's in Myanmar."

274849050_502332981372840_7734590913474244854_n.png
274989308_359483892722407_8157135830705682391_n.png

From:Thu KoKo' FB

bottom of page