2023 Taiwanese anti Indian migrant worker protest

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Template:Infobox civil conflict On 3 December 2023, 100 individuals took part in a protest named Template:Lang (Template:Lit) in Taiwan, which called for a halt to the importation of Indian migrant workers. The protest took place during the discussion of a memorandum of understanding between Taiwan and India, which would allow Taiwan to import Indian migrant workers to address the labour shortage in Taiwan caused by its ageing population.[1] The MOU would allow Taiwan to hire up to 100,000 Indian workers. The news coverage of the MOU provoked backlash on the Internet, which led to the protest. It was the first protest in Taiwan specifically against 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 incrementally. Media outlets and experts have expressed concern about the discriminatory nature of the stereotypes driving the protest. Other commentators have suggested that disinformation campaigns linked to the People's Republic of China contributed to the protest.

Background

File:Memorandum of understanding between The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi, India and The India Taipei Association on the facilitation of employment of Indian workers.pdf Due to a labour shortage, Taiwan began importing migrant workers from the 1980s. In 1992, the "Employment Service Act" (Template:Lang) 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] Migrant workers often work in Taiwan as 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, the latest source country that Taiwan opened to migrant workers was Mongolia in 2004.[3][4]

With a fertility rate below replacement level, Taiwan's labour force has been declining recently. This, combined with ageing population, has caused the demand for migrant workers to continue to rise. Labour shortage has become a significant issue for Taiwanese industries. Taiwan remains heavily reliant on Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, to source migrant workers from. In contrast, other developed Asian countries 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 previously attempted to develop migrant worker sourcing agreements with Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Myanmar. However, these efforts failed due to Taiwan's political status.[3] Meanwhile, India, the most populous country in the world, faced the challenge of high unemployment due to the size of its labour force.[5] India and Taiwan, therefore, sought to resolve their respective issues through a mutual agreement.[6][3]

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

Protest

After the Bloomberg news report, a rumour that Taiwan would hire 100,000 Indian workers spread on Taiwanese social networks Dcard and PTT. Reasons for opposition to the pact include concern that Indian migrant workers may affect local security due to perceptions that sexual assault and murder are highly prevalent in India.[10] Another concern was a potential decline in working conditions.[11][4][3] Other users criticised the government for its hasty decision-making and lack of complementary measures to the policy.[12][11]

Media coverage noted racist stereotypes that connect Indians with sex crimes, as some users on social media labelled them as "potential rapists" and suggested that "Taiwan will become a land of rape".[13][11]

On 3 December 2023, a citizen activist group called "Template:Lang" (Template:Lit) held a protest named "Template:Lang" (Template:Lit) 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, which included approximately one hundred participants, was organised by social media user Yuna. Yuna emphasised that doubts about Indian workers and the protest's demands were gathered from Dcard and Line. It was the first protest in Taiwan against the importation of migrant workers.[14][4][11]

On 10 December, Template:Ill held a protest called "Template:Lang" (Template:Lit), calling on the government to lead the hiring process and abolish private agents involved in hiring migrant workers.[15][11][16]

Government response

Template:Further Hsu Ming-chun, then Minister of Labor, responded to the protest by stating that the claim "Taiwan will hire 100,000 Indians" was misinformation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also alleged that racist feeds on social media are a part of Chinese Internet manipulation, citing similar activity from other fake accounts. During the protests, traces of "modular message manipulation" (Template:Langx) appeared, according to national security departments in Taiwan.[17][11] The official Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later stated that any attempts to destroy goodwill in the Milk Tea Alliance would not prevail.[18] However, protesters, rejected these assertions. Yuna denied allegations of discrimination or manipulation during the protest.[11]

In December 2023, in response to the protest, the Ministry of Labor stated that they would plan complementary measures to the policy.[Note 1] Any introduction of new migrant workers would be a gradual process.[19] On 16 February 2024, Taiwan and India signed the memorandum of understanding, agreeing that Taiwan would import migrant workers after preparations had completed.[1] In November 2024, Taiwan agreed to import 1,000 Indian migrant workers to factories in Taiwan, in a test of the policy, and stated it would adjust importing policy according to the results of the test.[3]

Reaction

Template:Quote box

According to media coverage, many Indians found the protest offensive and discriminatory. Priya Lee Lalwani,[4] an Indian resident of Taiwan since 1987, expressed disappointment with the demonstration, stating that it stemmed from a misunderstanding between Taiwanese and Indian communities. The Taiwan Association for India Studies (Template:Lang) issued a statement expressing regret over instances of hate speech and the limited understanding of Indian society and culture within Taiwan. Yuna, the organiser of the protest, revised the protest demands after being made aware of the response of Indians to the protest.[11][4]

On the other hand, Sun Chi-pen (Template:Lang), then executive of the Taiwan-India Association (Template:Lang), observed that many protesters were concerned about labour conditions in Taiwan and distrusted the government. Sun also suggested that the government should strengthen communication and formulate and improve complementary measures to the policy.[4]

Template:Ill, Associate Professor of China Studies at O.P. Jindal Global University, described racist feeds on social media as "malicious propaganda" in her NDTV column, and criticised this content for ignoring sexual crimes in Taiwan. She also suggested that stereotypes against Indians may be spread as a part of Chinese misinformation campaigns, citing China Times' media coverage as evidence.[20] Fact checks by Template:Ill and Template:Ill were also underway at the time.[21][13] According to NHK, most protesters were influentially made aware of the memorandum of understanding by posts on Dcard; often these posts used the mainland China dialect instead of the Taiwanese dialect. NHK also discussed the possibility of cognitive warfare, citing the quick spread of rumours and misinformation on Dcard and Twitter.[22]

Template:Ill, Professor of Sociology at National Taiwan University and a researcher of migrant labour in Taiwan, mentioned the tendency of Taiwanese individuals to sexualise foreigners and the legacy of the Template:Ill in increasing the participation of women in the protest. Template:Ill, a former journalist stationed in India, said the environment that can develop rape in India cannot be reproduced in countries where migrant workers reside. [4] Both Karen Hsu (Template:Lang), founder of the Global Worker's Organization (Template:Lang), and Yoyo Yu, emphasise the impact of mass media in Taiwan in constructing stereotypes of Indians and promoting hate speech.[11][4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 印度移工MOU簽了 勞動部：開放行業人數由台灣決定. 中央社(2024-02-16).
  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.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 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(2024-11-15).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 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(2023-12-04). Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 India Plans Taiwan Labor Supply Pact While China Tensions Brew. Bloomberg News(2023-11-10).
  6. ↑ 印度可望成新移工來源國 家總期待補充照服人力. 中央社(2023-09-28).
  7. ↑ Taiwan, India to seal pact on migration to overcome Taipei's shortage of workers. Hindustan Times(26 Sep 2023). Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  8. ↑ Taiwan and India to sign MOU on labor cooperation - Rti. RTI Radio Taiwan International(10 November 2023). Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  9. ↑ India Plans Taiwan Labor Supply Pact While China Tensions Brew. Bloomberg News(2023-11-10).
  10. ↑ 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(2023-11-25). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 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(2023-12-19).
  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(2023-11-24). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 「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(2023-11-10).
  14. ↑ 民團上凱道提4訴求 籲暫緩新增移工來源國. 中央社 CNA(2023-12-03). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  15. ↑ 移工大遊行10日登場 要求強化公立機構服務. 中央社(2023-12-04). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  16. ↑ 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(2023-12-10).
  17. ↑ Taiwan Indian Workers News: China Spread Racism Against Indian Taiwan Hit Back With Milk Tea Alliance. Navbharat Times(2023-11-25).
  18. ↑ Taiwan's plan to hire Indian workers sees racist backlash on social media: Why Taipei has blamed China for this. indian express(2023-11-27).
  19. ↑ 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(2023-12-03). Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  20. ↑ Opinion: Racism, Disinformation Cast Shadow On India-Taiwan Cooperation. www.ndtv.com(2023-11-16).
  21. ↑ 【錯誤】網傳「全世界都不敢招印度工人」？. 台灣事實查核中心(2023-11-22).
  22. ↑ 調査報道 新世紀 File6 中国・流出文書を追う. NHK(2024-10-20).

References


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