Advantec electronics company is located in the suburbs of Penang, far from the city's industrial districts. At lunchtime the sidewalks are full of pedestrians. It's hard to imagine that before the factory was here, this used to be a "bad area," where few people dared set foot.

Expertise and Cash: Inside the factory, machines and operators are busily at work. IC boards, put together by automatic equipment, are moved along a conveyor belt and assembled piece by piece into finished radio tape players.

Managing Director Chen Chun Yin, small and energetic, came to Malaysia with the first wave of Taiwan investors back in 1987 and charged off on his own to set up a factory in Penang. Company Executive Chairman Thomas Kor is a Chinese Malaysian who studied in Taiwan. He has a beaming face and a winning smile that makes him look like the Chinese God of Wealth, his friends say. "I studied mechanical engineering at National Taiwan Ocean University, so I guess you could say I'm half Taiwanese," he says with a smile.

Kor put up the capital and controls half the company's shares, while Chen offered his expertise and runs operations and planning. The managers in the engineering and manufacturing departments are mostly Malaysians who studied in Taiwan, not without electrical engineers from such prestigious institutions as the Taipei Junior College of Technology and National Taiwan University.

Advantec got started doing OEM work (original equipment manufacturing) for other companies, making radio tape players for Matsushita and Philips, for instance. More recently, it has pushed research and development and brought out models under its own brand name. Business is booming. The work force has expanded from 30 some at the start to 1,200 today, and some of the profits have been invested back in a new factory in Taipei. Among various joint ventures between Taiwan businessmen and Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan, theirs can be termed quite a successful model.

Neglected No Longer: To people in Taiwan, Chinese Malaysians studying at a college or university in Taiwan are known as "overseas Chinese students from Malaysia." The practice has a history of more than 30 years, and over 30,000 Malaysians from around the country have studied here at one time or another. Since the diplomas and degrees they have earned aren't recognized by the Malaysian government, they have had to toil away obscurely for many years. Recently, thanks to a large influx of Taiwanese firms, they have had unprecedented chances to put their skills to work, and their social status has taken a big turn for the better.

In 1989, for instance, the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry got together for the first time with the Malaysian Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges to hold an investment seminar, which attracted a number of interested firms. The role that graduates of Taiwan schools have played in attracting investment and contributing to the nation's prosperity has earned the attention of the government, and news of the association's activities frequently appears in the papers.

A pamphlet put out by the Malaysian Industry Development Authority called "Investment in Malaysia" says the following: "Taiwanese companies have a great advantage in setting up factories in Malaysia because there are tens of thousands of people here who have studied in Taiwan and are ready to step out and work with them in production and marketing."

Part of the Family: Hung Rong Min, president of the Taiwan investors Association in Malaysia, came to Malaysia ahead of the crowd, 22 years ago, and set up a steel mill. "The main managers in the mill at first were all Malaysians who had studied in Taiwan, since it was easier to communicate." Even now, he says, "Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan are a big help to companies that have just got here since they can speak the language and they're familiar with the customs and habits of both places." Some of them have helped college classmates from Taiwan set up businesses in Malaysia, telling them about government investment incentives, tax breaks and capital requirements, giving them a hand with applications and taking care of problems that crop up.

The tight cooperation between Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan and Taiwanese business people is more than a matter of just good business sense. "We received a lot of care and attention from our classmates when we were in Taiwan, and it's only natural that we try to do our best to return the favor," Angeline Chew, owner of an electronics company, says with emotion.

Feelings like that--of belonging to the same family--aren't shared by everyone, of course. In business dealings, self-interest comes first, and instances of swindling and mutual suspicion are not unheard of.

Be that as it may, the influx of Taiwan businesses has brought along many practical advantages. Some Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan serve as key managers in new factories; some of them participate in stock ownership or joint ventures; and others have developed new markets and businesses thanks to their involvement with firms from Taiwan. Especially in Penang, which has been dubbed Little Taiwan, the words "Taiwanese investment" set people's hearts aflutter.

In addition to spurring economic development, investment by Taiwanese companies "helps Chinese Malaysians learn a lot about technical cooperation, market development and personnel training," says Cheam Han Teng, managing director of a feed mill, a chicken processing plant and a fast food restaurant.

How Times Change: How times change, older Chinese-Malaysian alumni sigh. "Why, back in the old days we thought a salary of M$300 or 400 a month was darn good--not like college kids today. Some of them get hired while they're still in school, do an internship or get trained and start out as junior executives right off the bat," says David P.L. Yong, director of public relations for the Penang Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges.

Back in the old days, since their degrees weren't recognized, freshly returned graduates from Taiwan had a hard time working in the government or in semigovernmental agencies and they couldn't participate in the program to develop national type secondary schools and Chinese-language elementary schools. Most of them joined the private sector, where practical ability is at a premium, setting up their own businesses, working at Chinese-language newspapers or teaching at private Chinese-language high schools. Ninety percent of the faculty at Foom-Yew Middle School, for instance, the largest independent high school in Malaysia, are graduates of colleges and universities in Taiwan.

Even though their pay and job opportunities can't compare with those of graduates from universities in Europe or North America, many of them have achieved great success nonetheless. "Like adopted child brides, we know what it means to overcome adversity," says Lai Kuan-fu, who was the first president of the Malaysian Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges. Through persistence, hard work and self-reliance, some of them have made their mark in business or the professions or have obtained degrees in Europe and North America and returned to work in the government or serve in public office, becoming elected representatives or department heads.

"Looking at the big picture, Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan don't exert enough clout. They're a little out of touch with the main centers of power," says Tang An Chai, director of research at the Resource and Research Center in the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, who graduated from National Taiwan University in 1985 with a degree in history. Chinese-Malaysian graduates of Taiwan universities rarely keep in touch with interest groups in the Chinese community, he observes, and hardly ever show up in legal, medical or other professional associations, perhaps because of the problem with their degrees.

At the same time, some of the graduates simply settle in Taiwan, where work is easy to find, using the method of frequent entry and exit to prolong their stay.

The Fight for Recognition: Chinese-Malaysian graduates of Taiwan colleges and universities did indeed put up a fight over the non-recognition of their degrees once.

That was in 1970, recalls Loh Chin Lim, a veteran reporter with the Nanyang Siang Pau, when the University Senate of the Ministry of Education was going to assess the issue of recognizing degrees from Taiwan and from Nanyang University in Singapore. "There wasn't a single alumni organization for students who had studied in Taiwan back then. A group of us from National Taiwan Normal University set up a club for NTNU alumni in Penang and ran all over the country calling on others to do the same. A lot of associations were set up at the time, and we prepared a memorandum to submit to the proper authorities. But the Ministry of Education was willing to recognize only the academic value of studying in Taiwan."

Even though their main goal hadn't been achieved, the next year they established the Malaysian Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges, which has more than 20 chapters, including branches in Penang and Johor Bahru, and alumni sections for National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University and so forth.

"Taiwanification": In Taiwan we say they are "overseas Chinese students from Malaysia returning to the homeland for study," but they call it "studying abroad in Taiwan" and their passports clearly state that they are citizens of Malaysia. The standpoints aren't completely the same.&

Even though they generally still think of themselves as Malaysians, it's undeniable that with their long immersion in life in Taiwan and their shared memories of examinations, Chinese holidays and warm hospitality, they make up a special group in the Chinese-Malaysian community. They have experienced the ethnic feeling that blood is thicker than water, and quite a few have come back with Chinese husbands or wives.

Thanks to this bond with Taiwan, many of them are deeply influenced by Chinese culture and acquire a sense of mission, feeling duty bound to serve as hosts or guides when business people, visitors or tourists come from Taiwan. In Penang, for instance, "an average of one or two delegations come each month," says Teh Eng Sim, president of the Penang Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges. After just a few telephone calls, they come up with a group of alumni who put down whatever they were doing and work like a relay team, driving their own cars and carrying walkie-talkies, to escort the visitors around.

In addition, their "Taiwanification" has enabled them to bring in quite a bit of the "Taiwan experience," setting off a flurry of business start-ups. Lin Ching-yao, who studied civil engineering, opened a place for people to chat and drink tea along she lines of the artsy teahouses popular in Taiwan in recent years. It's doing well and has become a kind of second home for ex-Taiwan students like him. Cheam Han Teng, who majored in animal husbandry at National Taiwan University, has made improvements to his family's poultry farm, expanding the livestock to several million head. A little over a year ago, he opened the first shou-p'a (fast-food) chicken restaurant in Penang, and it has been so popular with Chinese Malaysians, Indian Malaysians and native Malaysians alike that he opened another branch last year. Graduates in dress and cosmetic design have introduced the concept of full service wedding photography studios, which have proved highly popular and expanded into numerous chain outlets.

A Time for Greater Contributions: The influx of Taiwan investment has created opportunities in other areas, as well.

Huang Ting-lung, deputy editor in chief of the newspaper Tong Bao, says that Chinese Malaysians had long pressed the government for greater use of Chinese writing, to no avail, but as soon as NT dollars started pouring in, Chinese showed up on a brochure produced by the Malaysian Industry Development Authority and on other promotional literature. It's clear that Chinese will become more and more valuable, and "those of us who have studied in Taiwan should grasp this opportunity and make good use of it."

Viewed overall, Chinese-Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan have experienced a big upswing in their image and their marketability in recent years, but some feel there has been too much emphasis on dollars and cents -- if you make too much of economic power, it seems like all you're interested in is money. In comparison, there hasn't been enough effort in community involvement and promoting culture and academics. The activities of the alumni association, for instance, are too sporadic and they always seem to just peter out.

Tang Ah Chai urges his fellow graduates of Taiwan universities not to lose their sense of mission in the fight to get ahead but rather to engage in social reform and cultural development. "If you just keep looking at what's in it for you, there's no point in being an intellectual with a higher education and you might as well not have studied in Taiwan."

From the obscurity and neglect of the past to the economic takeoff and climb in status of the present, Chinese-Malaysian graduates of colleges and universities in Taiwan can finally lift up their heads and walk with pride. But can they strike while the iron is hot and forge ahead to even greater success? It seems that they will have to redouble their efforts to strike a proper balance between individual achievements and contributions to society as a whole, between benefiting themselves and benefiting others.

[Picture Caption]

The Resource and Research Center in the Chinese Assembly Hall in Selangor provides Chinese-Malaysians who are interested in studying in Taiwan with a channel of information.

(Right) Advantec electronics company is a good example of Taiwanese businessmen and Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan working together like members of the same family. Executive Chairman Thomas Kor (right) is from Malaysia and Managing Director Chen Chun Yin (left) from Taiwan.

(Below) News about studying in Taiwan and Taiwanese business people coming to Malaysia is a focus of attention for many Chinese Malaysians. (photo taken in the offices of the Malaysian Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges)

(Above, below) Besides entering the business world, many Chinese Malaysians who come to Malaysia after studying in Taiwan become teachers at independent Chinese-language high schools. They make up 90 percent of the faculty at Foom-Yew Middle School, the largest Chinese-language independent school in the country.

The Johor Bahru chapter of the Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities and Colleges fought vigorously to preserve the Johor Old Temple from demolition, asking Taiwan and the mainland for support, a strong refutation of the misconception that Chinese Malaysians who have studied in Taiwan are interested only in money.

Hsu Hsiu-hua, a "Taiwan wife," and her husband, Chen Shu-shih, were classmates at National Chung Hsing University and have opened a child education center in Malaysia. (photo by Huang Lili)

Teahouses, which have caught on in Malaysia, are one example of transplanting the Taiwan experience.

Golden Partners let imaginations run wild. A Mexican bandit, a Chinese swordsman, a Green Beret, a ballet dancer and a zombie from the Ch'ing dynasty could all show up in the same skit. （Sinorama file photo）

The sketches in Nonstop Bubbles are based on material familiar to all. Here Peng Chia-chia plays the Terminator.

Cross-dressing is a gimmick frequently used in comedies, but the actor behind the long tresses has to distort his personality to a considerable degree.

TV comedy has a tight structure, and communication before taping is extremely important.

Pai Ping-ping （right） has had a stream of work and hosted a number of variety shows since rocketing to fame with Daughter-in-Law vs. Mother-in-Law, 70 Rounds. Here she emcees an episode of Nonstop Bubbles. （photo by Huang Lili）

（Below） Veteran comedienne Fang Fang （right） is trying to bring back warmth and gentleness to comedy.