The Nations at Our Doorstep
Taiwan is currently at a critical moment of social transition. At present, the number of international students in Taiwan has exceeded 120,000. When combined with more than 800,000 migrant workers, the island is rapidly moving toward what may be described as an “immigrant society.” Hsu Chia-ching, Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), has also pointed out that Taiwan is entering a new era marked by the interweaving and integration of diverse ethnic communities.
Amid these profound social changes, the nations living in diaspora communities in Taiwan are precisely the harvest field that God Himself has brought to the doorstep of the Taiwanese church.
Policy Context: Three Interlocking Survival Challenges
To understand Taiwan’s current situation, we must begin with three structural factors that are closely intertwined.
1. A Cliff-like Demographic Collapse Caused by Declining Birth Rates
Taiwan’s higher education system is facing an unprecedented survival challenge. Over the past several decades, educational policies promoted the upgrading of large numbers of vocational and technical schools into colleges and universities. However, as the low birth rate crisis has continued to intensify, the total number of university admission slots has now exceeded the number of students in the corresponding age cohort.
In order to sustain institutional operations, many universities have turned to large-scale recruitment of international students. In addition to regular degree-seeking students, institutions have also introduced students through various industry–academia cooperative programs.
According to statistics from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, the total number of students enrolled in colleges and universities has continued to decline from its peak in 2012—nearly 1.35 million students—and is projected to fall below one million by 2028. This trend has already pushed many private institutions to the brink of closure, with more than seven universities announcing shutdowns in recent years.
The impact of declining birth rates extends far beyond the education system. It has profoundly affected Taiwan’s overall industrial structure: severe shortages of entry-level labor, insufficient mid-level technical personnel, and a lack of high-level management talent are gradually undermining Taiwan’s long-term economic competitiveness.
2. The New Southbound Wave
To address labor shortages in entry-level industries—such as electronics assembly, precision machinery, food service, and hospitality—the Taiwanese government promoted the New Southbound initiative, encouraging closer connections between education policy and labor demand and urging schools to recruit young people from Southeast Asia.
Because of the significant economic gap between their home countries and Taiwan, most Southeast Asian students are unable to cover tuition and living expenses independently. As a result, legal mechanisms were introduced to allow part-time employment of up to 20 hours per week, enabling students to support themselves while completing their studies.
Over time, these measures have contributed to broader patterns of educational mobility, labor circulation, and cross-border movement. Together, these dynamics form what may be described as the New Southbound wave—a social and demographic current that extends beyond policy itself.
3. Industry-Academia Cooperative Programs
Under the framework of industry–academia cooperative programs, students are able to pursue degrees through work-study arrangements, earning both academic credentials and wages. In these programs, students may work up to 40 hours per week, while schools and enterprises simultaneously gain stable sources of enrollment and labor.
Such cooperative models are not limited to higher education but have also been extended to the senior high and vocational school system. The Overseas Community Affairs Council’s Industry–Academia Cooperative Program for Overseas Chinese Students provides a fully articulated educational pathway of three years of technical senior high school followed by four years of technological university education. This structure enables overseas Chinese students from Southeast Asia to acquire professional skills, obtain formal university degrees, and gain opportunities for significant life transformation.
In order to balance Ministry of Education curriculum requirements with internship hour regulations, operational models vary among institutions. Many senior high and vocational schools adopt a pattern of three months of on-campus study followed by three months of workplace internships, while some universities operate on a weekly schedule of three days of intensive coursework combined with three days of internships.
The Lived Survival Realities of International Students: A Deep-Water Zone of Multiple Risks
After arriving in Taiwan, international students often encounter language barriers as their first major challenge. Overall, English proficiency in Taiwanese society remains limited, and the use of other foreign languages is even more restricted. Even among those with higher education backgrounds, relatively few people are able to communicate comfortably in foreign languages.
In academic settings, aside from a small number of specialized programs taught entirely in English, most courses are conducted in Chinese. Even when admission requirements include passing a Chinese proficiency test at the B2 level, the learning pressure remains extremely high for many international students.
The challenges they face, however, extend far beyond coursework. They are living at the intersection of multiple, overlapping risks.
Traffic risks under high pressure.
To meet commuting and part-time work demands, many students rely on motorcycles for transportation. Differences in traffic rules, driving directions, Taiwan’s complex road conditions, and non-Chinese traffic signage contribute to higher accident rates among international students. When accidents occur, students may find themselves without access to help due to limited legal knowledge or institutional gaps during periods of status transition.
Scams targeting the vulnerable.
Unfamiliarity with Taiwan’s legal, banking, and financial systems makes international students prime targets for fraud. From fake employment contracts and online shopping scams to being used as dummy accounts or drawn into illegal currency exchanges, victims may lose all their savings and, in some cases, unknowingly violate the law, facing deportation or criminal charges.
Emotional isolation and relationship crises.
Living far from home and lacking family support systems intensify the emotional needs of young students. Under conditions of deep loneliness and work-related pressure, romantic conflicts may escalate due to limited life experience, sometimes developing into campus safety issues or broader social incidents.
Structural and institutional barriers.
When language frustration, cultural misunderstanding, and work pressure accumulate without adequate support channels, some students may choose to leave school altogether and become undocumented workers, further contributing to social and public security challenges.
The Reception Reality of Taiwanese Churches
In Taiwan, a significant proportion of international students from countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines are Christians. Yet many of them find it difficult to integrate into local churches.
Invisible elitist barriers.
Many Taiwanese churches operate within a middle-class framework that emphasizes stability and consistent commitment. Because international students often work rotating shifts and live with high levels of uncertainty, they are frequently perceived as difficult to shepherd within church systems that prioritize regular attendance.
Gaps in cross-cultural pastoral capacity.
When students urgently need legal consultation, emotional support, or crisis intervention, many churches remain at the level of hosting seasonal or festive activities, lacking the capacity for sustained, case-by-case accompaniment and cross-resource coordination.
Case Study: A Traffic Accident That Opened the Door to Campus
In Tainan, one church filled the gaps that institutional systems could not immediately address through tangible acts of love. An Indonesian international student was in an extremely vulnerable transitional period—having just graduated from high school but not yet completed university registration, with both legal status and insurance in a state of limbo. During this critical window, he was involved in a serious traffic accident in Taiwan.
For a young international student, this was not merely a physical injury. It was a moment when language, institutional protection, and emotional support all failed simultaneously.
When the news reached the church, the host family mother responsible for caring for the student rushed to the hospital immediately. She held no missionary title and no professional designation, yet over two days and nights she became the only “family” the student could rely on in a foreign land. She assisted with medical communication, handled complex administrative procedures, and remained by the hospital bed in prayer. In the depths of fear, the student tangibly experienced the grace of being received and held.
This quiet and unpublicized act became a turning point in the church’s engagement with the campus. Several months later, when church coworkers and partners from the WINS International Student Care Ministry proactively visited the school to express their willingness to support international students, the dean of student affairs immediately recognized the host mother who had stayed day and night at the hospital. Trust had already been established through that earlier presence, and the door to the campus was opened to the church.
In October 2024, the Language Explorers student club, supported by church co-workers, was officially established. By August 2025, the church further mobilized coworkers and local students to serve more than 300 international students through language learning, cultural experiences, and sports activities. This was not merely an event outcome, but a clear and practicable missional pathway—beginning with faithful accompaniment of one person and extending into service for an entire campus.
Conclusion: Walking with the Taiwanese Church to Fulfill the Missional Calling at Our Doorstep
For overseas missionaries and churches, Taiwan is not a place where mission has already been completed, but a critical node that God is repositioning. As the nations come to Taiwan through education, labor, and migration, we are witnessing the convergence of the missional trajectory described in Acts 1:8. The ends of the earth are not only waiting to be reached; they are arriving at the doorstep of Jerusalem itself.
May we first offer prayers to God for this reality, asking the Lord to grant spiritual vision so that both the Taiwanese church and the global church may recognize that this is not a coincidental social phenomenon, but a missional moment sovereignly guided by the Holy Spirit.
In this context, the exhortation of the Apostle John once again speaks to the church: “You are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers… Therefore, we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (3 John 5–8). Let us therefore intercede for the international students and migrant workers who have already come to Taiwan, asking God to become their protector amid language barriers, traffic risks, fraud threats, and emotional isolation. May God also send his servants and spiritual family members into their lives at critical moments, so that hospitality does not stop at goodwill but leads toward truth and hope.
At the same time, let us pray especially for the Taiwanese church and for overseas missionaries who are preparing to respond to God’s calling. May the Lord supply what Taiwanese churches lack in cross-cultural pastoral capacity, institutional understanding, and human resources. May God also move overseas churches and missionaries not to act independently, but to walk humbly alongside local churches as bridge-building co-laborers. May God raise up equipped and sent young disciples through such partnerships, so that today’s sojourners welcomed in Taiwan may tomorrow return to the nations as witnesses for the truth.
When the global church unites in prayer, accompaniment, and service, we participate in a divine picture—in which the nations are welcomed into God’s household on this land, and God’s household is once again sent out among the nations.
Three Prayer Focuses
- Praying for Spiritual Vision
Pray that God would grant the church spiritual eyes to see the arrival of the nations in Taiwan as a missional work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). - Praying for International Students and Migrant Workers
Pray that international students and migrant workers may receive protection, care, and truth while living in high-risk contexts (3 John 5–8). - Praying for Cross-cultural Co-laboring Relationships
Pray that overseas churches and Taiwanese churches may mutually build one another up and work together as fellow workers for the truth.
