'Not fond of Indians': Taiwan candidate's poster banning turban man and Indian flag raises concerns online amid larger protests

Amid a larger protest against the hiring of Indian workers, a political campaign poster in Taiwan has fuelled the fire online. In a clip going viral on social media, a political candidate Lee Hung-yi, running for Kaohsiung City Council put up a controversial billboard on Shanming Road in the city's Siaogang District.

Among the many promises made, under the no symbol is a picture of a man with a turban and an inverted flag of India, promising to ban Indian immigration into the country.

Ian Miles Cheong, a popular Malaysian journalist and writer took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a video from a Taiwanese news channel where the reporter claimed that Indian-born residents in the country said the sign made them feel uncomfortable. In an interview with the channel, Mrs V said "It's really unfriendly toward our people. You can't display such a racist sign in such a public place, I hope they'll remove the billboard."

The reporter in the video said that the residents of Indian origin found the billboard and offensive and remarked how the turban isn't quintessentially Indian but rather particular to adherents of Sikhism. They also noted how the candidate was reinforcing stigma against migrant workers.

"Clearly it means I oppose introducing Indian migrant workers. I won't remove the billboard. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion," said the candidate to the news channel.

"The Taiwanese are not particularly fond of Indians. One political candidate in Kaohsiung vows to ban Indians from immigrating," wrote Miles Cheong in the caption.

Social media reaction

Numerous netizens reacted to the video and the poster with concerns for the Indian residents in Taiwan, whereas some blamed them for moving out of their home country in the first place.

"As an Indian these things used to affect me but now this kind of hate and vile racism so common and happens so often that now I don't really feel anything , actually if now someone says good things about Indians , it feels weird to me," wrote a user.

"Only 3500 to 4000 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?" asked one.

Protest against Indian migrant workers in Taiwan

Recently, Taiwan has attempted to plug its worsening labour gap by recruiting Indian migrant workers. However, over 40,000 people in the country signed an online petition demanding the government halt a pilot plan to bring in 1,000 workers.

The plan was based on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Taiwan and India in February 2024, which allowed limited recruitment of Indian workers for manufacturing and construction. Thus, the proposal began with a cautious pilot of just 1,000 workers.

As per officials, labour shortages are being driven by an ageing population and a falling birth rate leading to an economic and social crisis. Due to this, the country's labour pool heavily relies on migrants from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.