Explainer: The India-Taiwan Racial Controversy

In an interview with Yahoo TV last week, Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun said Taiwan may start recruiting migrant workers from India’s northeast region where people “have similar skin color and diets like us.”

“Furthermore, most people in that region are Christians. Moreover, they are really good at sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction,” Hsu said.

While the remark may lack malice, the Taiwanese minister failed to employ appropriate language, inadvertently expressing their thoughts. The significance of the 100,000 figure should not be underestimated, especially considering Taiwan's relatively limited size and homogeneity compared to the vast and diverse landscape of India. This influx has the potential to alter the ethnic demographics of Taiwan.