TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese lawmaker on Monday (March 4) condemned remarks by the labor minister about the skin color and religious affiliation of potential migrant workers from India.
In a Monday Tweet, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-Ting (陳冠廷) issued a response to Labor Minister Hsu's comments. Chen, who is also the CEO of Taiwan NextGen Foundation, wrote in English that the recruitment of migrant workers by Taiwan "absolutely cannot be based on race or ethnicity. Period."
In a Mandarin language video included in the Tweet, Chen expressed "strong condemnation" of Hsu's comments. Chen said Taiwan's standards for recruiting foreign workers "must not be based on their race or skin color."
Chen said that this is a fundamental founding tenet of Taiwan, which he said is "based on equality and the rights of people." He stressed that Taiwan has the "utmost respect for every different religion, culture, and race."
The legislator expressed concern that this incident would have a significant impact on Taiwan's diplomatic reputation. He then expressed his hope that relevant authorities would promptly submit a review of this proposed plan.
During an interview on the YouTube channel Taiwan Green All aired (台灣青一色) on Friday (March 1), Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) fielded questions about a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Taiwan and India on labor cooperation on Feb. 26. She said that northeast India had been selected as a region for recruiting workers because "Their skin color and eating habits are similar to ours. Furthermore, most of them believe in Christianity."
I would like to respond to the comments made by Minister of Labor Ming-chun Hsu:
Taiwan's recruitment of migrant workers absolutely cannot be based on race or ethnicity. Period. pic.twitter.com/RHh7ZnZyxs
— 〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕陳冠廷 Kuan-Ting Chen (@kuantingvision) March 4, 2024