2023 Taiwanese anti-Indian migrant worker protest

2023 Taiwanese anti-Indian migrant worker protest
DateDecember 3, 2024 (2024-12-03)
Location
Ketagalan Boulevard, Taipei, Taiwan
Caused byOpposition to a memorandum of understanding for importing Indian workers
Goals
  • Stop adding new migrant worker countries
  • Provide an effective platform for people to speak out
  • Impose special laws on managing migrant workers
  • Improve labour conditions in Taiwan
MethodsProtest, Internet activism
StatusProtest ended
ConcessionsThe Government continued to import migrant workers, but agreed to slow down its speed

A protest with a hundred people in Taiwan calling for a halt to the importation of Indian migrant workers took place on 3 December 2024, when a memorandum of understanding between Taiwan and India was discussed. The agreement allows Taiwan to import Indian migrant workers to address the local labour shortage in Taiwan caused by ageing population.[1] According to one of the senior officials quoted by Bloomberg News, Taiwan could hire as many as 100,000 workers from India. The news coverage provoked backlash on the Internet and led to the protest. It was the first protest in Taiwan specifically calling for a halt to migrant worker imports.

Initially, the Taiwanese government characterised the protest as the result of cognitive warfare, but later promised to strengthen communication and proceed with the policy step by step. Media outlets and experts have expressed concern about the discriminatory nature and stereotypes underlying the protest. Other commentators have suggested that the rule of the People's Republic of China behind misinformation.

Background

Under the pressure of labour shortage, Taiwan began importing migrant worker from the 1980s. In 1992, the "Employment Service Act" (就業服務法) and its corresponding regulations were enacted to provide a legal framework for employing migrant workers. Following this, Taiwanese employers started hiring migrant workers as part of their regular workforce.[2] Common migrant workers in Taiwan do caregivers, construction workers, factory workers, farmworkers, lumberjacks, and fishers. The main source countries for migrant workers in Taiwan are Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Before 2023, Mongolia in 2004 was the latest source country that Taiwan opened to migrant workers.[3][4]

With a fertility rate below replacement level, Taiwan's labour force has been declining recently. Combined with ageing population, the demand for migrant workers has continued to rise. Labour shortage has become a significant issue for Taiwanese industries. Taiwan's migrant workers' source countries, however, remain heavily reliant on Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, in contrast to other developed Asian countries that have a more diverse range of source countries. For example, Japan and South Korea source migrant workers from more than 10 countries, and both have reformed their immigration policies to attract foreign labour.[3][5] Taiwan has attempted to develop new source countries by discussing potential agreements with Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Myanmar before; all these efforts failed due to its political status.[3] Meanwhile, India, the most populous country in the world, faced the challenge of lacking enough jobs for its tremendous labour force.[5] India and Taiwan, therefore, sought to resolve their respective issues through mutual pacts.[6][3]

On 12 September 2023, Chen Chien-jen, then Premier of the Republic of China, met with Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav, then director general of the India-Taipei Association. They agreed to sign two memoranda of understanding on migration and mobility and traditional medicine.[7] Arindam Bagchi, then Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said the MOU will benefit both sides. The agreement expected to be finalised by the end of 2023, according to Chen.[8] In November 2023, negotiations of a mutual pact were almost complete, with Taiwan could hire as many as 100,000 Indian workers, according to a senior official quoted in Bloomberg News. The report also noted that it would potentially anger China, which has geopolitical tensions with both Taiwan and India.[5][9]

Protest

After the Bloomberg news, a rumour that Taiwan will hire 100,000 Indian workers has spread on Dcard and PTT. Opinions opposing the pact have expressed concerned that Indian migrant workers may affect local security from perceptions that sexual assault and murder are quite prevalent in India and that absconded migrant workers in Taiwan could pose a risk.[10] Another concern from opposing opinions is the potential decline in working conditions due to the importation of migrant workers.[11][4][3] Some other opinions criticise the government for its hasty decision-making and lack of supporting measures.[12][11]

Media coverage has noted a racist tendencies that connect Indians with sex crimes, labeling them as "potential rapists" or suggesting that "Taiwan will become a land of rape" on social media.[13][11] Some media outlets have also noted that Pro-China media emphasised violence against women in India to create a negative impression on Indian workers. [14]

On 3 December 2023, a citizen activist group called "反對增加新移工國" (lit, "Oppose Adding New Migrant Worker Countries") held a protest named "守護民主台灣大遊行 123別印來" (lit, "A Great Protest of Protecting Taiwan: 123 Don't Come In") in Ketagalan Boulevard, Taipei, with four demands to the government, including "stop adding new migrant worker countries", "provide an effective platform for people to speak out", "impose special laws on managing migrant workers", and "improve labour conditions". The protest, with about a hundred participants, was organised by Yuna. Yuna emphasised that the demands and doubts about India were collated from Dcard and Line. It was the first protest whose demands opposed the importation of migrant workers.[15][4][11]

In response, Taiwan International Workers Association held a protest called "政府承擔、仲介滾蛋" (lit, "government kick in, agents kick out") on 10 December, calling on the government to lead the hiring process and abolish private agents involved in hiring migrant workers.[16][11][17]

Government response

Hsu Ming-chun, then Minister of Labor, responded that "Taiwan will hire 100,000 Indians" is misinformation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also responded that racist feeds on social media are Internet manipulation done by China based on their similar trends from fake accounts. During the protests, traces of modular message manipulation appeared, according to national security departments in Taiwan.[18][11] The official Twitter account of Ministry of Foreign Affairs later stated that any attempts to destroy goodwill in the Milk Tea Alliance won't prevail.[19] Protesters, on the other hand, disagreed with the government's tone. Yuna denied allegations of discrimination or manipulation during the protest.[11]

In December 2023, in response to the protest, the Minister of Labor stated that they will plan supporting measures. Any introduction of new migrant workers will be gradually opened up.[20] On 16 February 2024, Taiwan and India signed the memorandum of understanding, agreed to import migrant workers after the preparations completed.[1] In November 2024, to test the situation, Taiwan agreed to import 1,000 Indian migrant workers to factories in Taiwan, and adjusted importing policy according to the results and needs.[3]

Reaction

They are independent and not manipulated by others in certain kinds, and determined to prove it by resisting the labels put by authority. Their understanding of the policy, however, is often one-sided: They built a fuzzy perception from "flashing" feeds on social media, and linked it with existing stereotype labels. It is very easy to breed xenophobic activities, or even hate speech, in the emotion of fear without awareness.[Note 1]

Comment from the reporter reporting the protest on the Initium Media。[11]

Many Indians found the protest offensive and discriminatory, according to news coverage. Priya Lee Lalwani, an Indian who has resided in Taiwan since 1987, expressed her disappointment with the protest, indicating that the origin of the protest came from a misunderstanding between Taiwanese and Indian people. Taiwan Association for India Studies (臺灣印度研究協會) issued an announcement, expressing regret about hate speech and the fact that Taiwanese society does not understand Indian society and culture enough. Yuna, the organiser of the protest, corrected their protest demands after hearing how Indians see the protest.[11][4]

On the other hand, Sun Chi-pen (孫治本), then executive of Taiwan-India Association (台灣印度協會), observed that many protesters were concerned labour conditions in Taiwan, and distrust the ruling government. Sun also suggested that the government should strengthen communication and formulate and improve supporting measures.[4]

Sriparna Pathak, Associate Professor of China Studies at O.P. Jindal Global University, described racist feeds on social media as "malicious propaganda" in her column of NDTV, and critised the feeds ignore Taiwan's sexual crimes. She also suggested that China may spread disinformation of stereotypes against Indians, citing China Times's media coverage as evidence.[21] Fact checks by Taiwan FactCheck Center and Taiwan Information Environment Research Center was also underway at the time.[22][13] According to NHK, most protesters were aware of the memorandum of understanding from Dcard, while the post was written with words used in China instead of Taiwan. NHK also discussed the possibility of cognitive warfare by its quick spreading on Dcard and Twitter.[23]

Pei-chia Lan, distinguished Professor of Sociology at National Taiwan University, who studies migrant workers in Taiwan, mentioned Taiwanese people's tendency to sexualise foreign people behind the protest, and the legacy of 2023 Taiwanese MeToo movement behind womens' participation. Yoyo Yu, a former reporter who was a correspondent in India, said the environment builds rape in India cannot be cloned into countries migrant workers worked in. [4] Both Karen Hsu (徐瑞希), founder of the Global Worker's Organization (台灣外籍工作者發展協會), and Yoyo Yu, emphasise the rule of mass media in Taiwan building stereotype of Indians and hate speech further.[11][4]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 某種程度他們很有獨立精神，想透過反抗權威貼上的標籤，證明自己並非腦袋空空、任人操控。然而他們對議題的理解往往相對片面，透過社群媒體上「閃現」的動態消息成為一個模模糊糊的印象，再將這樣的印象與（刻板）標籤進行連結。因此，容易在恐懼的情緒孳生成排外的行動，或發表赤裸裸的歧視言論而不自覺。

References

  1. ^ a b 吳欣紜 (16 February 2024). "印度移工MOU簽了 勞動部：開放行業人數由台灣決定". 中央社. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ "移工與外籍勞工的差異？從零接觸移工議題的你，一定要看！". 社團法人台灣四十分之一移工教育文化協會. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f 劉苑杉 (15 November 2024). "印度移工什麼時候進來？台印簽署MOU後，你需要釐清的幾個爭議點". 天下雜誌. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 許詩愷 (4 December 2023). "暌違20年再開國門，歧視移工爭議風波如何因印度再現？". 報導者. Archived from the original on 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Sen, Sudhi Ranjan; Srivastava, Shruti; Hou, Betty (10 November 2023). "India Plans Taiwan Labor Supply Pact While China Tensions Brew". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  6. ^ 吳欣紜、曾以寧 (28 September 2023). "印度可望成新移工來源國 家總期待補充照服人力". 中央社 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  7. ^ Laskar, Rezaul H (26 September 2023). "Taiwan, India to seal pact on migration to overcome Taipei's shortage of workers". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  8. ^ Leskovsky, Filip (10 November 2023). "Taiwan and India to sign MOU on labor cooperation - Rti". RTI Radio Taiwan International (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  9. ^ Sen, Sudhi Ranjan; Srivastava, Shruti; Hou, Betty (10 November 2023). "India Plans Taiwan Labor Supply Pact While China Tensions Brew". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 27 June 2025 – via The Times of India.
  10. ^ 張佳琪 (25 November 2023). "專題報導／開放印度移工非缺工唯一解方 三面向觀察". 中廣新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 蕭函青 (19 December 2023). "右翼民粹能量暗湧，台灣反印度移工浪潮中的張力與微光". Initium Media (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  12. ^ "引進印度移工引反彈？ 專家憂台灣還沒準備好". 中央廣播電臺. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  13. ^ a b "「10 萬印度移工讓台灣變成性侵島」可判定為資訊操弄". 台灣資訊環境研究中心 IORG (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ^ StratNews Team (23 November 2023). "India-Taiwan Bridging The Labour Gap". Strategic News Global. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023. Pro-China media reports have warned that Indian workers could pose law and order issues.
  15. ^ 張雄風 (3 December 2023). "民團上凱道提4訴求 籲暫緩新增移工來源國". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  16. ^ 張雄風 (4 December 2023). "移工大遊行10日登場 要求強化公立機構服務". 中央社 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  17. ^ 張梓嘉; 葉霈萱 (10 December 2023). "移工大遊行登場百人上街頭 籲跨國直聘廢除私人仲介". 公視. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Taiwan Indian Workers News: China Spread Racism Against Indian Taiwan Hit Back With Milk Tea Alliance". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). 25 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  19. ^ Banka, Neha (27 November 2023). "Taiwan's plan to hire Indian workers sees racist backlash on social media: Why Taipei has blamed China for this". indian express. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  20. ^ "穩健開放新來源國回應外界期待 健全配套消除社會疑慮". 勞動部勞動力發展署. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  21. ^ Pathak, Sriparna (16 November 2023). "Opinion: Racism, Disinformation Cast Shadow On India-Taiwan Cooperation". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  22. ^ "【錯誤】網傳「全世界都不敢招印度工人」？". 台灣事實查核中心 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
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