Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (right) apologized for her remarks on Indian migrant workers on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s Labour Minister apologised Tuesday for her controversial remark about Indian skin colour, diet and religion, clarifying that there was no discriminatory intent.
Last week, Hsu Ming-chun told Yahoo News that Taiwan might recruit migrant workers from India’s northeast region, where people “have similar skin colour and diets like us…Furthermore, most people in that region are Christians. Moreover, they are really good at sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction.”
She was responding to a question on an agreement signed in February to allow more Indian workers into Taiwan, which has a rapidly ageing population and a chronic labour shortage.
Hsu’s remarks were immediately criticized by lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties in Taiwan over the weekend. And on Monday, the island’s foreign ministry released a statement expressing its “sincere apologies over this situation,” and clarifying that “Taiwan will welcome any Indian worker who meets conditions for recruitment and satisfies industry demand, regardless of their ethnic background.”
Separately, Taiwan’s labour ministry clarified that Hsu implied “absolutely no discriminatory connotation when she mentioned ‘similar skin color’ in the interview,” and that “Taiwan respects India’s diverse and rich culture and will use this as a basis in the future to promote labour cooperation between the two sides.”
And during a legislative hearing on Tuesday, Hsu apologized for the misunderstanding caused by her remarks, saying that her choice of words might not have been as precise as they should have been, but there was absolutely no discriminatory intent.
“Known for producing advanced semiconductors, Taiwan is projected to become a “super aged” society by 2025, with elderly people accounting for more than 20% of the total population,” says a CNN report quoting a forecast by the country’s economic planning agency. The working age population (aged between 15 and 64) will account for less than two thirds of the total population by 2028, the agency said.
In November, a news report claiming Taiwan could hire “hire as many as 100,000 Indians to work at factories, farms and hospitals” had sparked heated online debate and some racist remarks. At that time, Hsu had said negotiations regarding the number of migrant workers to be accepted were still ongoing and cautioned that discriminatory attitudes could adversely impact Taiwan’s diplomatic standing and national image.
There’s a very small Indian community in Taiwan, estimated at less than 2000.
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