In fact, "outsiders" make up a growing part of the population in Hualien, where, because of outmigration by locals, overall population is actually falling. Chou says the between one-third and one-half of all hospital staff were born outside the county, and in his department, only one of seven employees hails from Hualien.
周恬弘以門諾醫院為例，工作人員中有三分之一到一半都是外地人，他的部門中七個工作人員，只有一個是花蓮本地人，其餘多是新移民。然而，即使外來人口不少，但花蓮的人口數依然在逐年的減少中。