The Overseas Compatriot Youth Taiwan Study Tour to Taiwan, informally known as the Love Boat, is currently a three-week summer program for about 70 to 100 College-aged Overseas Chinese and Overseas Taiwanese. In Chinese it is also colloquially referred to as Měi-Jiā-yíng (美加營) – “America and Canada Camp” – a reference to the origin of most participants. The program is held at the Chientan Youth Activity CenterChientan Youth Activity Center Official Website (Chinese) (劍潭) in Taipei, which is not to be confused with Jiantan subway station.
Origins of the Study Tour
The Study Tour program was started in 1967 by the China Youth Corps.Taiwan National Journal article (17 December 1999) on the study tour (English) According to the Chinese Canadian Archive,Chinese Canadian Archive article the original name of the program was the "Overseas Chinese Youth Language Training and Study Tour" and was initially promoted across North America through various local Chinese newspapers by Chinese North Americans with relations to the Kuomintang party. The primary goal of the program was to acquaint, or re-acquaint, young people of Chinese descent living in other parts of the world with Chinese culture and language. Thus, participants take brief courses in language and arts, attend lectures, and take scenic tours of Taiwan.
This however, is the popular perception of the program. The alternate and original purpose for the Taiwan Government's subsidizing of the program was to shore up Overseas Chinese support for its cross-strait political policies, particularly those of the Kuomintang (KMT) party in regards to its tense relations with China. Accordingly, participants were to attend lectures on cross-strait relations which others might perceive as propaganda. The program was conceived by the Taiwan Government in part because the Kuomintang for many decades had recognized the historical importance of the Overseas Chinese community not only for its financing but also for its political support.Taiwan and Overseas Chinese during the Cold War Era In fact Dr. Sun Yat-Sen,Dr. Sun Yat-Sen the founder of the Kuomintang as well as the Republic of China (1912–1949), recognized early the importance of Overseas Chinese supportSun Yat-Sen and Overseas Chinese history and went as far as to say that "Overseas Chinese are the Mother of the Revolution.Sun Yat-Sen acknowledgement of Overseas Chinese" However, beyond the political origins of the Study Tour, the program is most famous for its historically positive influence on Chinese American identity in addition to its "Loveboat" reputation of spawning many relationships as well as hosting a frenetic nightlife scene which many participants indulged in.
Changes from 1967 to 1999 The Study Tour has gone through many changes over the years which correspond with Taiwan's changing politics and economy. After an experimental trial run in 1966 of only 5 students from North America,Chinese American Transnationalism aboard the Loveboat the China Youth Corps conducted the first official Study Tour in 1967Taiwan's ‘Love Boat’ summer camps for Chinese Americans and Canadians – a lesson in partying and soft power which hosted 70-100 participants from America and Canada, with an age range of between 14 and 25. According to journalist Jan Wong, a 1969 Study Tour participant, the first few years of the Study Tour program were held at Fu Jen Catholic University. As the popularity of the program grew, the number of participants increased and the headquarters moved to the Chientan Youth Activity CenterChientan Youth Activity Center Official Website in the 1970s located in the Shilin District near modern day Jiantan station. It was during this time, the China Youth Corps had changed the name of the Study Tour to "Overseas Chinese Youth Language Training and Study Tour to the Republic of China," to be more in line with their political ideology. By the 1970s and 1980s, the average size of the program slowly grew to 300–500 students up until 1988 and then in 1989 peaked exponentially at 1,200 participants. Due to the overwhelming increase in demand participants had to be placed in three separate campuses in the 1980s - one at the Chientan Campus and the other new one held at Taipei's Tam Kang Campus and a third at Tung-Hai University in TaiChung. During this time, and due to the increase in student numbers, the China Youth Corps came to share sponsoring responsibilities with the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, which has since been renamed the Overseas Community Affairs Council.
This increase in enrollment coincided with both Taiwan's 1987 lifting of martial law and also its astronomical economic rise in the technology boom which greatly increased the island's reputation and prosperity. Further, because many originally skeptical participants were returning home with a greater appreciation of Taiwanese culture and improved Chinese language skills, and were raving about the quality of the Tour to their family, this consequently led to good word of mouth about the program being spread within the international Chinese community.Boat Taiwan: Soft Power and Taiwanese American Identity
This was especially pertinent in the 1970s and 1980s when Chinese communities were smaller than present day and a clear sense of "Asian American identity" for many North American born Chinese was nebulous at best. Many American-born Chinese who initially did not have any Chinese language skills and who refused to date a fellow Asian, returned from the Tour not only expressing a greater appreciation of Chinese language and culture but also a greater willingness to date within the Asian community.'A More Complete Description of The Love Boat" (English) There were many reasons for this, but especially for those participants who came from communities without many Chinese, the Study Tour provided a unique forum to share their common "Chinese North American Experience" of growing up and needing to reconcile both North American and Asian Cultures in a predominantly Caucasian society.
This bonding not only produced several relationships but it also created many lifelong friendships. In addition, it did not hurt that during the trip, students were treated as "little diplomats." Chinese American Transnationalism Aboard the Loveboat - The Overseas Youth Language Training and Studytour to the Republic of China This was witnessed during their police escorted bus trips to local Taipei landmarks where local traffic was essentially stopped for the convenience of their journey and to the relative chagrin of local Taiwanese commuters. This same sense of diplomacy was bestowed upon them at various military installations and cultural performances that students attended and were attempts by the program to ingratiate students with the people and culture of Taiwan. These various aspects of the Study Tour combined with the fact that 6 weeks of room and board (excluding airfare) only cost the participant less than $500 US dollars, due to Taiwan government subsidization, also led to increased popularity for the trip, as most agreed it was an excellent deal.
However, a by-product of the Study Tour's increased popularity was increased competition by parents to register their children especially at large urban centers in New York and California. In fact, there were often waiting lists to get on the program and for some parents getting their child on the program became a symbol of status and often pertinent or high-ranking connections facilitated the application process for their child. Some parents, desiring their children to find a "suitable Chinese spouse",The Loveboat Wall Street Journal Article Taiwan Panorama article on the Loveboat from 1991 sent their unsuspecting children on the trip while telling them it was chiefly a Language Study Tour. Conversely, some students who were interested in attending would often neglect to inform their parents about the Study Tour's Love Boat reputation for fear of not being allowed to go. These concerns by some parents came from rumors that a few participants engaged in sexually promiscuous activity. On the other side of the spectrum, several Study Tour attendees did happen to fall in love and end up marrying each other. All these instances led to the Study Tour gaining its Love Boat nickname and reputation. Documentary description of finding romance on Loveboat Several unplanned pregnancies were however documented on the 1996 Study Tour Asian American Writers Workshop Article on the Loveboat resulted in more stringent rules for subsequent tours; including rules against the opposite sex being present in the same dorm room and more strictly administered curfews.
The job of implementing these many rules has traditionally been overseen by many local college-aged Taiwan counselors whose responsibilities, from early morning to late at night, consisted of organizing all the various logistics of the students' itinerary. This included organizing language/cultural classes, outings, speech contests, meals, medical care, guest speakers, and enforcing discipline which included trying to prevent (in vain) the students from sneaking out of the campus in the evening to enjoy the Taipei nightlife. Due to the sheer volume of minor misdeeds many counselors had to turn a blind eye and instead focused their energies on ensuring the safety and well being of the students. Becoming a Study Tour counselor for local Taiwanese was considered by many a badge of honour, as throughout the 1960s to the 1990s, the China Youth Corps only accepted local Taiwan applicants from the best Taiwan universities and degree programs in a rigorous selection process. For many counselors, the Study Tour was their very first contact with Chinese from abroad and many found the cultural exchange as life-changing as did the students who attended.
Another prerequisite of the Study Tour by the 1980s had become mandatory university enrollment, with a preference for students in Ivy League universities and students in their final year of university and thus near the age limit. Students with high academic achievements such as Presidential Scholars, Rhodes Scholars, or Truman Scholars were also given higher priority and were able to attend the Study Tour without charge. Further rules stipulated that a family could only send one of its children at a time during any particular tour year so as to avoiding hoarding of spots by families. Exceptions were made however to twins and siblings from Europe. Participation had gradually increased from Europe, especially countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK. Countries such as Australia and those from South America and Africa also began sending small numbers of Study Tour participants. This contributed greatly to the sense of international community among Overseas Chinese worldwide. Taiwan Journal Archive describing international Loveboat community