Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) yesterday apologized for her comments on the planned recruitment of Indian migrant workers that have been labeled as “racist” by some Indian media outlets.
Taiwan and India on Feb. 16 signed a memorandum of understanding signaling a willingness to make India a source of migrant workers.
In an online interview about the plan with talk show host Wang Shih-chih (王時齊) on Monday, Hsu said the ministry would first recruit Indian workers from northeastern India because “their skin color and dietary habits are closer to ours.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In addition, the Indians there are “mostly Christians” who are adept at manufacturing, construction and farming, Hsu said, explaining that the strategy was based on Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessments.
At the legislature yesterday morning, Hsu apologized for her “inaccurate” comments that caused “misunderstanding.”
The nation’s labor policies, whether directed at local or foreign workers, are crafted with equality in mind and are never discriminatory, she said.
She praised Indian workers’ abilities and performance in the interview because she hoped to highlight these attributes, she added.
Hsu’s comments drew criticism from Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) of the Democratic Progressive Party, who in a video posted on social media “strongly condemned” her comments, arguing that skin color and race should not be criteria for recruiting migrant workers.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the Ministry of Labor apologized for Hsu’s “inaccurate” choice of words, saying that the minister’s comments were not meant to be discriminatory.
Some Indian news outlets reported Hsu’s remarks after the ministry issued the apology, with at least one branding them as “racist.”
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also apologized for what it called “less than appropriate” narratives by government agencies regarding the planned recruitment of Indian workers that sparked criticism internationally and domestically.
The plan has been controversial since Bloomberg first reported in November last year that “Taiwan could hire as many as 100,000 Indians to work at factories, farms and hospitals.”
Hsu denied the report, calling stories related to it “fake news,” but she has not put a number on the potential number of migrant workers from India.
At the time, Hsu urged people not to discriminate against specific nations.
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