‘Not fond of Indians’: Taiwan candidate Lee Hung-Yi’s billboards banning turban man, upside-down Indian flag sparks concern
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Hung Yi currently serves as chief of the Gangming district in the city’s Siaogang district and is running as an independent candidate in the November city council election. The images were widely disseminated on Taiwanese social media.
Speaking to a local news channel, the candidate said, “Obviously, this means that I am against bringing in Indian migrant workers. I will not remove the billboard. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion.”
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Indians found this offensive
Ian Miles Cheong, a well-known Malaysian journalist and author, used Twitter, formerly known as Twitter, to share a video from a Taiwanese news channel; here the reporter claimed that Indian-born residents in the country said the sign bothered them. “Taiwanese don’t like Indians very much. A political candidate in Kaohsiung promises to ban Indians from immigrating,” Miles Cheong wrote in the caption.
In an interview with the channel, Ms V said: “It’s a really hostile act towards our people. You can’t display such a racist sign in such a public place, I hope they remove the billboard.”
The reporter added that members of the Indian community found the billboard offensive, noting that the turban featured in the ad represented followers of Sikhism specifically, rather than Indians as a whole. The report also cited concerns that the message could reinforce negative stereotypes about migrant workers.
Only against Indian workers
When questioned by local media, Lee said he was not against migrant workers in general, only against Indian workers, The Times of India reported. The statement sparked immediate reaction from Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s longest-serving former foreign minister and current secretary-general of the National Security Council.
“I am ashamed to see a local politician doing this to attract attention. I condemn such despicable behavior in a very welcoming society. I will continue to work hard to strengthen Taiwan-India mutual cooperation,” Wu said.
How do Indians react?
An Indian engineer who has lived in Taiwan for the last four years and wished to remain anonymous said anti-India sentiment was largely confined to social media and did not affect day-to-day interactions. “We have not encountered direct racism from anyone here. But we can definitely feel the undercurrent on social media where Indians are being targeted in racist posts by vested interests. This candidate seems to be trying to cash in on this trend to attract young voters.”
“A certain section of politicians in the country have campaigned against the movement and created a sort of fear psychosis as if Indian workers will come the next day and take over the country. That will not be the case; there are a lot of checks and balances in the recruitment process,” said media professional and documentary maker Suvam Pal.
How is this legal?
A large number of netizens reacted to the video, expressing concern about Indian residents in Taiwan. “As an Indian these things used to affect me but now this kind of hatred and vile racism is so common and frequent that I don’t really feel anything anymore, in fact it seems weird to me if someone says good things about Indians,” one user wrote.
“Only 3,500 to 4,000 Indians work in Taiwan, while people from countries like Vietnam and Indonesia go there in large numbers. They are spreading propaganda against Indians just to get votes,” added another. “How is this legal? They allow this and expect the free world to save them if China attacks them?” he asked.
More than 7,000 Indians currently live in Taiwan, according to the National Immigration Service, making them the ninth largest foreign group on the island. To them, the billboards are annoying but not entirely surprising.
“This appears to be an extension of anti-India propaganda on popular social media platforms like TikTok and Threads in Taiwan and is being imposed by some countries working against India’s interests,” said Arpita Biswas, a marine science research scientist at National Taiwan University who has been living in the country for the last five years.
He added that Taiwanese society is largely welcoming, but hostility towards Indians exists in a small section and is further amplified online. “We come across anti-India propaganda posts almost every day. These are largely due to lack of understanding about Indians and their culture due to limited human contact,” he added.
Taiwan condemns discriminatory remarks
Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC), Taiwan’s main representative office in India, strongly condemned the discriminatory statements against Indians. “Taiwan has long been committed to planning the introduction of Indian migrant workers. Regarding the recent discriminatory posts/comments made by some individuals in Taiwan, we solemnly clarify that such biased statements do not represent our stance. Taiwan values the values of democracy, inclusivity and diversity and supports people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and India. We deeply regret and strongly condemn all forms of prejudice, racism and discrimination. TECC sincerely expects and will continue to do so to promote mutual understanding,” the official statement said. “to encourage greater exchange of information between both parties.”
(With TOI entries)
