A recent Bloomberg news report that said India and Taiwan were in discussions about sending “tens of thousands of workers to the island as early as next month” generated a flurry of concern among social media users in Taiwan, resulting in what Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said was a “surge of racist remarks belittling Indian workers”.
The Bloomberg report had said Taiwan “could hire as many as 100,000 Indians to work at factories, farms and hospitals”, citing Taiwanese officials who had asked not to be identified. The Indian and Taiwanese governments were expected to sign an employment mobility agreement by December this year.
Later, Taiwanese Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun said the figure of 100,000 workers was “inaccurate”, and talks were still going on.
The abuse, and the China angle
Within 10 days of the publishing of the report and the surge in racist remarks against Indians online, Taiwan’s government said the campaign “bears the hallmarks of #PRC cognitive warfare. It’s a devious move to tarnish our national image & strain #Taiwan-#India relations, but the attempt to destroy goodwill in the #MilkTeaAlliance won’t prevail!” in a post on the social media platform X.
In September this year, a draft memorandum of understanding on migration and mobility was finalised between Taiwan and India after Taipei expressed interest in hiring Indian workers across several sectors.
“The pact that India has signed is a subset of the economic relationship and people to people ties. India is an important source of labour to the Middle East, Southeast Asia etc.,” said Sana Hashmi, a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation.
Why this pact is relevant
In the context of bilateral relations, the pact is important because it strengthens diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Taipei, said Hashmi. Although India and Taiwan don’t have formal diplomatic relations, New Delhi and Taipei established representative offices in the respective capitals way back in 1995.
Also in Explained Explained: India’s One-China stand and relations with Taiwan
In 2012, Taiwan opened the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi, and an office in Chennai, with plans to increase its presence in India by opening a third office in Mumbai. In the case of India, New Delhi has the India-Taipei Association (ITA) office in Taipei. These institutions serve as de facto diplomatic missions.
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Taiwan’s ageing population has meant that it requires migrant workers in the fields of manufacturing and agriculture. “There is a shortage of labour in Taiwan but many blue-collar workers here are from Southeast Asia. Indians will add diversity to the country,” Hashmi said.
According to a Bloomberg report from earlier this year, the surging demand for labour is rooted in several factors. “Like in many developed economies, Taiwan’s population is rapidly ageing, with the elderly expected to account for more than 20% of the populace by 2025. Historically low wages in hospitality have complicated things, discouraging potential workers. The pandemic created more problems as workers retired or left their jobs. The labour force dropped sharply after reaching a record high in August 2019. While the number of people in the labour market has steadily risen in recent months, it still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels,” the report from April said.
Over the past few years, ties between New Delhi and Taipei have become stronger. The bilateral trade between India and Taiwan is on an upswing, where the volume of trade increased from USD 2 billion in 2006 to USD 8.9 billion in 2021, according to a report by The Indian Express in July this year.
Why the racism
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“Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already clarified that this is Chinese propaganda,” said Hashmi, referring to the ministry’s statement. “The concern was that if 1,000 Indian workers came to Taiwan, how was it going to impact the labour market in Taiwan, and how the government would secure the interests of Taiwanese blue collar workers. This is a fairly common conversation in many countries whenever a pact like this is signed. The primary concern was that Indian workers would take up our jobs,” said Hashmi.
The racist and discriminatory comments on Taiwanese social media also focused on safety concerns and what the presence of “thousands” of Indian workers, primarily men, would mean for the local population. “The idea among many Taiwanese is that India is not safe, after the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. It also has to do with how India has been categorised as the most unsafe country in the world by Western media.”
In the absence of substantial people to people ties, these misconceptions and negative perceptions have remained, said Hashmi, adding that “this is not a majority view”. The source of this misinformation campaign are largely pro-China accounts, she explained.
But another cause of this recent uproar is also linked to the Taiwanese General Election scheduled for January 2024, making it a sensitive time for Taiwan and its population. Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are commonplace in the run-up to crucial polls.
