At the cafe of a library in Taipei I met a bubbly Indonesian who introduced me to #kaburajadulu, a currently trending hashtag in Indonesia that means “just run away first”. It was described to me as a cry in response to the socio-political turmoil taking over the country.
The Indonesian and I had met to discuss our respective interests inside Taiwan–it so happened that migrant labour turned out to be the most important of all of them.
I walked through the bustling streets of Taipei with this Indonesian. Bubbling with energy and curiosity while talking about everything and anything under the earth, the Indonesian told me about what’s facing the Indonesian youth and said, “We don’t know what’s happening.”
I wondered if “not knowing” was a defense against some perceived threat. Or was it an actual state of confusion and an aspiration to comprehend what’s happening? Maybe to some extent it’s both!
But this isn’t just about her description of Indonesia’s political situation. Indonesians are the largest migrant group inside Taiwan, followed by Vietnamese and Filipinos. One in every 33 Taiwanese residents today is a Southeast Asian migrant worker in Taiwan, according to One-Forty, a Taiwanese charity working with migrant workers.
Strangely in a geopolitical region with Taiwan in the center, the migrating populations each represent the political and socio-economic situations of their native countries. And each migrated with the aspiration for a better future to a more opportunity providing economy. That simple fact signifies a lot about what Taiwan represents to them–an opportunity to escape their country’s reality and a better life in the region.
Apart from the economic strength of this South East Asian population inside Taiwan, their cultural significance rests on the fact that they constitute 2.5 percent of Taiwan’s total population, equalling the population of the indigenous Austronesian tribes in the country.
Chancing Upon Indonesian Orphans
One evening in Taipei in early April, a Taiwanese American friend took me to an orphanage near Wanfang Hospital in Taipei. The orphanage run by Harmony Home Foundation founded by Nicole Yang had children from 5-day old to primary graders including many toddlers.
Born to mostly unwed, illegal immigrants, the children are given shelter, healthcare and education by the orphanage since their mothers don’t have legal residency and can’t avail the welfare available to legal residents. Most of them were also Indonesians while the children are of mixed ethnic pedigree.
Other hushed voices later told me the Indonesian women currently make up the largest number of prostitutes in Taiwan.
As Taiwan started opening up after the martial law years, investments came from Europe, the US, and Japan. At the same time, Taiwan officially started importing migrant workers from Southeast Asia in 1992. Immigrants from Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand came in large numbers to drive the country’s economy.
And even today, these migrating populations continue to drive demographic and economic trends inside Taiwan and the larger region.The aging Taiwanese society is a significant driver. Taiwan, whose population is only over 23 million, is estimated to become a super aged society this year with 20 percent of its citizens in the age group of 65 years while its birth rate is strikingly decreasing.
Driven by aspirations for higher education and more advanced professional skill sets, the Taiwanese are also increasingly taking to high-paying, skilled industries with labour intensive industry constantly facing shortage as the economy rises.
Where do Indians fit in?
However, much less talked about is where do the Indians fit in here, more so given that India and Taiwan signed an MOU on “labour force cooperation” on February 16 last year to facilitate exchange of labour between the two countries.
The two democracies are currently working to facilitate the first batch of 1,000 migrant labourers from India to Taiwan and it’s the right time to explore Taiwan’s labour context.
Migration is a very complex topic and Indians must be clear about where they fit inside Taiwan.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the 4th chapter of its April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) report titled “The Macroeconomic Effects of Global Migration” described migration as a way for “advanced economies” to raise growth. The WEO is a biannual survey of prospects and policies by the IMF staff and in its April 2020 study it said that migrants aren’t a burden on the host economies but rather improve productivity and economic growth.
“Richer countries attract more immigrants, especially from countries with younger populations. Countries with lower per capita income experience more emigration, but only if they are not too poor,” said the 2020 WEO report.
In this context, the young demographic trends of a democratic India with a burgeoning economy is surely a very attractive resource for aging Taiwan as compared to nations in Southeast Asia with persisting political volatility. More than 65 percent of Indians are below 35 years of age. This translates into 600 million people in the age of 18 and 35 years.
Thus, the context of Indian labour doesn’t appear to be the same as the situation that brought migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries to Taiwan. However India’s young demography could be India’s long term investment in the Indo-Pacific region that is of strategic and geopolitical importance for New Delhi.
Since the past few years other leading economies in the Indo-pacific like Japan too have been trying to attract Indian migrant workers–not only for its high tech industry or as students for its universities but also for its manufacturing industry with labour shortages. In that context, Taiwan’s interest in Indian labour is not unique in the Indo-Pacific region.
What’s unique about the India-Taiwan relationship is that unlike with Japan where the bilateral ties have their own history and multiple strengthening factors, the Indian labour inside Taiwan could actually play a significant role in initiating the foundations of a stronger bilateral relationship. This relationship could be an important aspect of India’s burgeoning footprint in the Indo-Pacific as well as a manifestation of its strengthening “Look East Policy.”
For Taipei, it could be an apt display of its Southbound Policy and its administration is making all efforts to overcome the roadblocks, as it said in a statement to clarify concerns about its endeavors to promote labour cooperation with India.
“Taiwan boasts a civil society that embraces different views and allows for a wide array of voices to be heard. Taiwan also fully respects India’s diverse and rich culture and cherishes the friendship between the peoples of India and Taiwan. It will spare no effort in advancing cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries, with the aim of further elevating cooperation and partnership between Taiwan and India,” the statement said.
The administration referred to India as a partner in the “Indo-Pacific” and asked its citizens to support its efforts to engage with the world.
“The Taiwan government also hopes that the people of Taiwan will support the country’s efforts to engage with the world, further advance substantive interactions with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and thereby bolster reciprocal and mutually beneficial exchanges,” said the Taiwanese government in its March 2024 statement.
More importantly, if India becomes a steady, legal source of labour for Taiwan, it could help Taipei further diversify its migrant population, enrich its industrial ecosystem and more importantly also lay the foundation for strengthening relations with the world’s fastest growing economy which in the next five years is estimated to become the third largest globally.
India is an important player to engage with in the next decade and Taiwan is making the right move by inviting its labour.
(Featured photo by Swastik Arora on Pixabay)
