From Kinmen to Penang: Taiwanese in Malaysia - Frontline Residents Ep6

Published 08/23/2024 18:00

Provider TaiwanPlus

In Penang, Malaysia, there is a community that descends from Taiwanese migrants. These families all hail from the same village on Taiwan’s Kinmen Island. Find out what brought them to Penang and how their relationships to their ancestral homeland shape the identity of Kinmen today. The city of Tanjung Tokong on Penang Island was the first landing point for Taiwanese settlers in Malaysia. Today, nearby George Town is home to a “Kinmen village,” where descendants of migrants from Kinmen live together. Many of them have surnames that are variations on the names Tung, Tang, or Tong. These names are all transliterations of the same surname, 董, a name that belongs to over 95% of residents in the modern-day village of Gugang in Kinmen. The connection between Penang’s immigrant population and Gugang, Kinmen is verified by the plaques prominently displayed on family homes in George Town, as well as the official Tung family tree. This episode follows elders from the Penang community who long to return to Kinmen, as well as descendants of migrants who go to Kinmen to reconnect with their families’ pasts.

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Frontline Residents

There are three main islands, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, situated between China and Taiwan, all under the governance of Taiwan. This mini-docuseries explores each island’s unique cultural identity: a mixture of Chinese, Taiwanese, and oceanic influence!