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TAIPEI, Taiwan — When Taiwanese Americans Jocelyn Chung, Rosa Tsay Jacobs and Michelle Kuo each made the decision to move from the U.S. to Taiwan, they all felt some apprehension about telling their parents.
“I was so afraid to tell them for a while,” says 42-year-old Michelle Kuo. “My parents didn’t want me to give up what they had built [in America]. They were like, ‘You’ve been so successful in America, we give you every advantage.’”
“My mom, my aunts and uncles, they’re all like, ‘Why?’” 26-year-old Jocelyn Chung adds. “I have half of my family in the U.S., half of them still here [in Taiwan]. All the ones who immigrated … the knee-jerk reaction for them was, ‘Why?’”
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“When I was deciding to come back, you know, my mom was like, ‘You have this dream of what [Taiwan] would be like, but it’s not actually that,” chimes in 40-year-old Rosa Tsay Jacobs.
All three of these women had grown up aware that their parents had left Taiwan for better opportunities for themselves and their families. Yet, all three of them decided to move to their ancestral homeland, to start a new future in the place of their parents’ past.
And they aren’t alone. While the 1970s-90s saw a wave of Taiwanese immigrants to the United States, the pandemic has seen a wave of Taiwanese Americans moving in the opposite direction — and navigating the complex feelings that go with it.
All Things ConsideredThis interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.Ailsa:Michelle:Jocelyn:Rosa:Ailsa:Rosa:Ailsa:Michelle: Ailsa:Michelle:Jocelyn:
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