Taiwan’s Opposition Party Uses NCRB Data to Push Back on Indian Migrant Workers Plan

New Delhi: The recruitment of Indian migrant workers in Taiwan has once again drawn opposition, with members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanding safeguards to prevent workers from “absconding”. The allegation is that “runaway” Indian workers could commit crimes, including rape, and pose a threat to women’s safety.

According to Taipei Times, Chinese labour minister Hung Sun-han had on April 9 told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of Indian migrant workers could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program.

However, the KMT caucus has opposed the policy saying “the risk is too high”. KMT legislator Huang Chien-pin has said that the opposition was not based on prejudice but safety concerns.

Per the report, Chien-pin said that Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that there are systemic flaws in the system. He said that the Executive Yuan has not fixed the problem, but is now “opening the doors even wider.”

Hastily introducing migrant workers in the absence of a social consensus or supporting measures cannot be a solution to mitigate Taiwan’s labour shortage, he said.

Chien-pin then went on to cite an Indian National Crime Records Bureau report of 445,256 reported crimes against women in India in 2022, with more than 31,000 cases of rape that year – an average of 85 per day. That is the reason, he claimed, that more than 30,000 people petitioned the Public Policy Online Participation Platform to show their opposition to the introduction of Indian migrant workers.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said the proposal was already reviewed by the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee and was passed with support from opposition parties.

On the KMT's criticism, it added, “As countries compete fiercely for labor amid worker shortages, does the KMT intend to reject Indian workers and only accept Chinese workers?”

DPP legislator Rosalia Wu said that migrant workers are subject to the same strict regulations as regular workers, with no relaxed standards for Indian migrants. Populism should not be used to stigmatise specific countries or incite racial discrimination, she said, as reported by Taipei Times.

There has been no official reaction from India’s Ministry of External Affairs so far.

Taiwan and India had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February 2024 to address Taiwan’s labour shortage. The agreement was signed against the background of an explosion of protests on social media in Taiwan. 

At the time, too, many in Taiwan had expressed concerns that there would be an increase in crime rate and women’s safety would be compromised.

The chair of opposition Taiwan People’s Party Ko Wen-je had also said that import of Indian workers had to be properly controlled, as the issue of fugitive workers was already a matter of “national security”.

The debate over Indian migrants had also led to a faux pas as then Taiwan labour minister Hsu Ming-chun suggested that initial manpower from India would be recruited from the north-eastern states due to similarities in “skin colour,” dietary habits, and religion. The Taiwan foreign ministry had to express “sincere apologies” over the remarks as they were met with criticism.

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