Sun, May 24, 2026 page8

• Taiwan is wrestling a labor rights conundrum

  • By Chiu E-ling 邱伊翎
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  Public debate in Taiwan over recruiting Indian migrant workers has revealed growing racialized and discriminatory rhetoric, with stereotypes about culture, hygiene and “compatibility” framed as policy concerns. This harms migrant communities and raises questions about Taiwan’s human rights obligations.

  The issue is worsened by the lack of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. Despite repeated recommendations from international experts, Taiwan has not enacted clear protections against discrimination based on race or nationality.

  Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), states are obligated to prohibit discrimination and ensure equality before the law. Without such legislation, exclusionary speech and practices remain institutionally unchecked.

  Taiwan’s migrant labor policy also reflects a deeper structural failure. When problems emerge — labor exploitation, abusive broker systems or social exclusion — the response is rarely stronger enforcement against employers. Instead, the government turns to new “source countries,” treating migrant workers as disposable labor. This approach conflicts with the ICESCR and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which require states to prevent corporate abuses.

  International scrutiny has been consistent. Taiwan’s migrant labor system has drawn criticism for excessive recruitment fees, debt bondage, restricted job mobility and weak access to remedies. These problems reveal an economic model that suppresses labor rights rather than internalizing the true costs of production.

  The contradictions become clearer when this policy is compared with Taiwan’s long-standing opposition to refugee and asylum legislation.

  Refugee protection has long been blocked on the grounds that it would harm local employment or threaten national security. Yet Taiwan’s labor market is demonstrably short of workers, as shown by its migrant workforce of roughly 800,000 people and continuing recruitment efforts.

  The security argument is equally unconvincing. Taiwan has never framed large-scale migrant labor as a threat. Yet asylum seekers — despite undergoing more rigorous screening, background checks and ongoing review than labor-visa applicants — are routinely portrayed as risks. Claiming that refugees pose a unique security danger while a migrant workforce of roughly 800,000 people does not is incoherent and discriminatory.

  These arguments function less as legitimate policy concerns than as political barriers, enabling selective openness: welcoming labor under controlled and exploitable conditions while rejecting rights-based migration grounded in international law

  This inconsistency is difficult to ignore. Last week, Taiwan underwent its Fourth National Review of the ICCPR and ICESCR. Migrant workers’ rights, racial discrimination, refugee protection and corporate accountability were again scrutinized by international experts.

  Taiwan was urged to adopt anti-discrimination legislation, establish refugee protections and strengthen corporate accountability.

  The debate over Indian migrant workers marks a critical moment. Discrimination cannot be disguised as labor policy, nor can exclusion be justified by contradictory claims about jobs or security.

  If Taiwan seeks recognition as a democracy grounded in human rights, it must move beyond disposable labor and selective protection. Legal reform, employer accountability and respect for human dignity are overdue.

  Chiu E-ling is the executive director of Amnesty International Taiwan.
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