Taiwanese American History
Source: Wikipedia - Taiwanese Americans
Extracted: 2026-05-12
Period: Late 19th century – 2020s
Early Immigration (Late 19th Century – 1940s)
- First Taiwanese immigrants arrived in the late 19th century
- Significant immigration only began in mid-20th century
- Early immigrants sought educational opportunities on West and East Coasts, particularly in scientific fields
Post-WWII Era (1949–1979)
- 1949: Communist victory in Chinese Civil War — Kuomintang retreat to Taiwan
- 1950–1953: Korean War — American aid to Taiwan supported KMT government
- 1954: Mutual Defense Treaty between US and Republic of China — small influx of Taiwanese immigrants
- 1949–1979: US recognized KMT-led ROC as sole legitimate government of China
- Immigration from Taiwan counted under same quota as mainland China and Taiwan
- PRC banned emigration to US until 1977, so quota was almost exclusively filled by Taiwanese immigrants
- Before late 1960s: Immigrants tended to be “waishengren” (mainland Chinese who immigrated to Taiwan with KMT after 1949)
- Late 1960s onward: Increasingly “benshengren” (Han Taiwanese whose ancestors lived in Taiwan before 1949)
Modern Era (1979–2020s)
- 1979: US broke diplomatic relations with ROC, Taiwan Relations Act gave Taiwan separate immigration quota from PRC
- Early 1980s: Taiwanese immigration subsided due to improving economic and political conditions in Taiwan
- 2020s: Wave of Taiwanese investment, especially around TSMC Arizona megaproject
- Brought surge of Taiwanese moving to US for temporary/permanent work
- 2024: Record 137,000 Taiwanese went overseas to work in the United States