The government should gradually open up sectors to Indian migrant workers and arrange more exchanges with New Delhi to promote mutual understanding, the Taiwan Association for India Studies said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement came in the wake of criticism online after an official said that Taiwan would sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India by the end of the year to bring in more Indian migrant workers to help address a labor shortage.
Comments on social media, including on the Ministry of Labor’s Facebook page, said that the proposed policy would endanger “Taiwanese women’s safety.”
Photo: CNA
A group that opposes opening up to migrant workers from more nations on Facebook urged people to protest on Dec. 3 against the plan.
The association said that many Indians work around the world and are highly praised by the international community.
Opening up Taiwan to Indian workers would enhance the bilateral partnership, it said.
The association also expressed regret over “discriminatory comments” against Indian workers, and vowed to help Taiwanese overcome stereotypes about the south Asian nation by promoting Indian research and cultural exchanges.
The backlash is an indication of Taiwanese society’s unfamiliarity with Indian culture, which leads to misunderstandings, it said.
Government agencies should promote exchanges between Taiwan and India in areas such as media, youth affairs, education and culture so that Taiwanese could better understand Indian society and the importance of the Taiwan-India relationship, it said.
Cross-Border Workforce Management Division head Su Kuo-yu (蘇國裕) said that the government still needs to finalize details of the MOU, including the sectors to be included and the number of workers to be hired.
About 18 million Indian workers are employed around the world, including in Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UK and the US, Su said.
About 2,700 Indian workers are employed in professional fields in Taiwan, including the high-tech sector, Su said, expressing hope that Taiwanese could gain a better understanding of such people.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS