What a Taiwan minister's racial comments about Indian workers say about challenges in both nations

On Monday, the Taiwan foreign ministry issued an apology for their labour minister’s on February 29 that as a consequence of an agreement signed by New Delhi and Taipei to facilitate employment for Indians in the island-nation, jobs would go to residents of India’s northeastern states.

This, Labour Minister Hsu Ming-chun said on February 29, was due to the Christian faith of people from this Indian region and their similarities with the Taiwanese in skin colour and dietary habits.

Even as the apology from the Taiwan government stated that Indians will be recruited “regardless of their ethnic background”, the minister’s views reveal anxieties along racial lines that have been expressed previously too.

Experts in Taiwan also voiced conern about the conditions Indian labourers would have to work in, pointing out that migrant workers from other countries are often treated unfairly.

Anti-Indian racism

The possibility of Indians being recruited in Taiwan surfaced in November when Bloomberg reported that one lakh job seekers could be sent to the East Asian country.

The report sparked outrage, with many Taiwanese social media users arguing that allowing Indians in Taiwan would result in an increase in crime rates and women’s safety would be compromised. The Taiwan government intervened, characterising the remarks as racist. It said this was part of China's "cognitive warfare" aimed at hampering...

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