in the 1960s, many taiwanese americans chose to make america their permanent home and had children in the u.s. many sought refuge from the numerous arrests and executions during the white terror era of the kuomintang, the political party who dictatorially ruled the country. by the late 1970s, improving economic conditions in taiwan slowed the rate of immigration. during the 1990s, political liberalization in taiwan encouraged many who had left taiwan for political reasons to return.