Billboards depicting a turbaned man with a 'no entry' sign, erected by a candidate in Taiwan's upcoming local body elections, have unsettled the small but growing Indian community on the island and drawn a sharp rebuke from a senior Taiwanese official.
Billboards Spark Controversy
The hoardings were put up about a fortnight ago in Kaohsiung city by Lee Hung-Yi, currently the chief of Gangming ward in the city's Siaogang district. Lee is contesting as an independent candidate in the November city council elections. Images of the billboards circulated widely on Taiwanese social media.
When questioned by local media, Lee was unambiguous. He stated that he was not against migrant workers in general, only Indian ones. This statement drew an immediate response from Joseph Wu, Taiwan's longest-serving former foreign minister and current secretary general of the National Security Council, equivalent to India's National Security Adviser.
Senior Official Condemns Move
"I feel ashamed to see a local politician doing this to catch attention. I condemn such despicable conduct in a very welcoming society. I will continue to work hard to strengthen Taiwan-India mutual cooperation," Wu said. Despite attempts, Lee could not be reached for comment.
Indian Community Reacts
Indians currently living in Taiwan, numbering a little over 7,000 according to the National Immigration Agency, making them the ninth-largest foreign resident group on the island, say the billboards are troubling but not entirely surprising.
"It seems to be an extension of anti-India propaganda on popular social media platforms like TikTok and Threads in Taiwan, being pushed by certain countries that work against India's interests," said Arpita Biswas, a marine science research scholar at National Taiwan University who has lived in the country for the past five years. She added that Taiwanese society was largely welcoming, but hostility towards Indians existed in a small section and was being amplified online. "We come across anti-India propaganda posts almost every day. They are largely driven by a lack of understanding about Indians and their culture due to limited people-to-people contact," she added.
An engineer who has lived in Taiwan for four years and spoke on condition of anonymity said the anti-India sentiment had so far remained confined to social media rather than spilling into daily interactions. "We haven't faced any direct racism from anyone here. But we can definitely feel the undercurrent on social media, where Indians are targeted in racist posts being pushed by people with vested interests. This candidate seems to be trying to cash in on that trend to attract young voters," he said.
Roots of the Campaign
Media professional and documentary-maker Suvam Pal, who has been based in Taiwan since 2022, traced the roots of the campaign to earlier reports that the Taiwanese government was planning to recruit one lakh Indian workers to address a labour shortage. "A certain section of the country's politicians ran campaigns against the move, creating a kind of fear psychosis as if Indian workers would land the very next day and take over the country. That is not going to be the case - there are many checks and balances in the hiring process," Pal said.
