Bridging the Gap: How Walking, Healing, and Gardening Connect Universities with Migrants

Written by Tzu-Chi Ou. Traditional migration studies in Taiwan often treat migrants as mere statistics, leaving students feeling socially disconnected. To bridge this gap, a professor moved beyond the classroom through three hands-on experiments: student-led walking tours, art therapy to process emotional guilt, and a communal “immigrating garden.” These initiatives transform “the other” into a neighbour, fostering genuine empathy and mutual worth.

Matsu Migrants in Bade, Taoyuan City

Written by Cheng-Chung Wang. In Taiwan, we rarely see Matsu in the textbooks, maps, or other materials we’ve been exposed to since childhood, let alone how much we know about Matsu people. Some of us may be unaware that there are many descendants of Matsu migrants living around us. Their moving and settling experiences are very attractive stories that deserve to be told.