厭世代台灣留學生的顛簸美國夢

Abstract

「來來來，來台大；去去去、去美國。」是六、七十年代經常聽到的一句口號，在經過半甲子之後，台灣學生對於「美國夢」仍是現在進行式嗎？從數據上來看，答案是肯定的，據我國教育部兩岸及國際文教司統計，美國在近十年一直穩居我國學生選擇留學國的首選，且皆以巨幅落差高於他國。然而，物換星移，雖同為台灣學子，但國內的政經局勢也有所不同，面對到的美國也有全然不同的局勢背景，「美國夢」的內容已悄然發生變質，當代台灣的「逐夢者」也面臨全然不同的挑戰。

近年，台灣年輕人受太陽花學運、22k政策影響，飽受政治紛擾、低薪問題，所以國內的「厭世」風氣快速吹起，而以「厭世」指稱一個世代，並以「厭世代」表達出「世代矛盾」、「世代衝突」，意味著基於經濟發展的成功想像，產生對過去與未來的線性時間斷裂。之所以會有成功想像的落差、矛盾，某種程度是因為承接這個壓力的多為「錢淹腳目」世代的子女，除了對於低薪、工時長的未來，也有著無法「複製成功」的 壓力。

當代的美國正處於「機會不平等」的情況，有別於「只要努力就有成功的機會」的典型美國夢。美國人對自身美國夢的討論，出現在2008年的金融危機，及2021年的COVID-19疫情期間，除了失業問題、貧富差距的擴大，2016年以「美國至上」的川普當選總統後，反全球化、反移民，甚至疫情期間種族歧視的衝突，都讓「美國夢」蒙上了些許灰。厭世代留美台生如何在困難的美國求職環境留下？又是什麼原因讓他們決定出走、挑戰顛簸的美國夢？

"Come, come, come to National Taiwan University; go, go, go to the United States." This slogan, frequently heard in the 1970s and 1980s. After all these years, is the "American Dream" still a present tense reality for Taiwanese students? According to the statistics from the Cross-Strait and International Education Division of Taiwan's Ministry of Education, the United States has consistently been the top choice for Taiwanese students studying abroad in the past decade. However, as times change, and despite sharing the same background as Taiwanese students, the domestic political and economic situation presents different challenges, and the landscape of the American Dream has quietly transformed for contemporary Taiwanese dream pursuers.

In recent years, Taiwanese youth have been grappling with political turmoil and low wages. As a result, a sense of disillusionment has rapidly spread domestically, labeling this generation as the "weary generation." This term reflects the "generational contradictions" and "generational conflicts" stemming from a rupture in linear time based on the imagined success of economic development.

Contemporary America is currently grappling with "opportunity inequality," deviating from the typical American Dream narrative of "if you work hard, you'll have a chance at success." Discussions about the American Dream's challenges emerged during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic. Issues such as unemployment, widening wealth gaps, anti-globalization sentiments, anti-immigrant policies, and even racial discrimination during the pandemic have cast a shadow over the American Dream. How do disillusioned Taiwanese students studying in the United States navigate the challenging job market and what motivates them to pursue the tumultuous American Dream?