TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Human Rights Commission said the government should strengthen international students’ labor rights faster, as lax regulations may have allowed some to be exploited as cheap migrant labor.
The commission said on Thursday that its members issued a report on foreign students' labor rights in January. The report found the government did not properly regulate admissions, work-study rules, and internships during the early stages of a New Southbound Policy education-industry collaboration program, per CNA.
The commission said the report found that staff at some schools worked with labor brokers to “import labor in disguise,” profiting from foreign students’ work. It found reports of brokerage fees, passports being withheld, and international students working long hours in poor conditions for low pay.
The Control Yuan has censured education, labor, and immigration authorities for foreign student labor abuses involving individuals from Uganda and Vietnam. Other cases involving Sri Lankan, Filipino, and Indonesian students have led to either jail sentences, apologies, or strained international relations.
At least one Vietnamese student on a New Southbound Policy program has died while on work placement in Taiwan. A Control Yuan investigation into the incident found the education ministry had essentially no requirements for selecting off-campus internships.
The commission said that foreign student labor exploitation in Taiwan has become a human rights concern abroad. It pointed to the US Trafficking in Persons Report, which in 2024 noted, “Traffickers reportedly take advantage of relaxed visa requirements under Taiwan’s ‘New Southbound Policy’ to lure Southeast Asian students and tourists to Taiwan and subject them to forced labor and sex trafficking.”
The commission said the government should either enact new regulations for off-campus internships or improve the current regulations. It said the education and labor ministries and the overseas community affairs council should be consulted.
Recommendations also included establishing online resources for vulnerable students and better response mechanisms for when abuse occurs. The commission said companies should be assessed on how they treat foreign student workers to incentivize them.
The commission said the education ministry and overseas community affairs commission should assess whether Germany’s regulations for international student workers could work in Taiwan. It also said the government should respond to the concerns raised in the US human trafficking reports.
