Migrant worker treatment
Taiwan was previously the No. 1 importer of Vietnamese labor. Now it is No. 2 (Japan is No. 1), which is very interesting because almost a year ago, more than 150 Vietnamese tourists went missing in Taiwan.
According to media reports, they checked into their hotel and left an hour later. Then the cops went looking for them. Wait, what? People go to Taiwan on vacation, and the cops will look for them if they leave their hotel? Are tourists supposed to stay in their hotel for their entire stay in Taiwan?
To make a long story short, some of the tourists were found, but not all of them. So, what happened to the ones that were found? Were they arrested? Under what charge? What crime did they commit? Did they receive their basic human right to a trial? Were they granted the right to have an attorney defending them at their trial? If this was a case of the tourists intending to work in Taiwan illegally, who was going to hire them? Was this a case of human trafficking?
In any case, who was the leader, or leaders, of this allegedly illegal operation? What about the tourists who are still at large? Have they hurt Taiwan in any way? If they have, the media has not reported it.
Like it or not, Taiwan is a country of immigrants. Only Taiwanese Aborigines, a statistical minority, are native to Taiwan. Then the Chinese Qing came. Then the Japanese came. Then the Republic of China (ROC) came.
Immigrants and non-immigrants can coexist. Ethnic diversity is not a bad thing. Taiwan’s own president’s grandmother was a Taiwanese Aborigine — and she is not alone. Many Taiwanese have at least one Aboriginal grandparent or blood relative. Indonesians are taking care of Taiwan’s elderly. Americans, and others, are teaching English to Taiwan’s children. Filipinos are building computer hardware in Taiwan.
If you look at the actual numbers, there really are very few foreigners in Taiwan compared with native-born Taiwanese. Taiwan does not have a foreigner problem. Taiwan does not have an immigrant problem.
The foreigners and the immigrants have a problem. That problem is Taiwan. Foreigners can legally live and work and pay taxes in Taiwan and still not become ROC citizens. In the case of Filipino factory workers, many are not allowed to get their own apartment. Many have to live in company dorms. Many are forbidden to leave these dorms at night, even though there is almost no street crime in Taiwan.
Thus, even after legally living, working and paying taxes in Taiwan for more than a decade, they still cannot become ROC citizens. What?
Furthermore, Nguyen Quoc Phi must never be forgotten. He was a Vietnamese migrant worker living and working in Taiwan legally. In September 2017, he ran away from his job. The cops found him. He was naked. They shot him and left him on the ground for at least 30 minutes. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. They shot to death a naked man. Why?
The ROC must give birthright citizenship and citizenship to all foreigners who want it. No? Then stop employing foreigners and just watch what happens to the Taiwanese economy.
Andres Chang
Davao, Philippines
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