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我們與他們: 台灣社會阻止移工剝削的角色 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學亞太研究英語碩士學位學 程 College of Social Sciences National Chengchi University 碩士論文 Master’s Thesis. 立. 政 治 大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 我們與他們: 台灣社會阻止移工剝削的角色. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Us vs. Them: Taiwanese Society’s role in stopping migrant worker abuse. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Student: Rachel McGuffin Advisor: Dr. Pai Po Lee and Dr. Dawei Kuan. 中華民國 2016 年 02 月 February 2016.

(2) 我們與他們: 台灣社會阻止移工剝削的角色 Us vs. Them: Taiwanese Society’s role in stopping migrant worker abuse 研究生:. Student: Rachel McGuffin. 指導教授:. Advisor: Dr. Pai-Po Lee and Dr. Dawei Kuan. 立. 治 政 國立政治大學 大 碩士論文. 學. ‧ 國. 亞太研究英語碩士學位學程. ‧ A Thesis. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. n. v i n C h Master’sUProgram in Asia-Pacific Submitted to International e nStudies gchi National Chengchi University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For the Degree of Master in Chinese Studies 中華民國 2016 年 02 月 February 2016.

(3) 立. 政 治 大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. II. i n U. v.

(4) Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my adviser, Dr. Paipo Lee, and my co-adviser, Dr. Dawei Kuan for their invaluable guidance and insight in completing this research. I would also like to thank my committee member, Dr. Shih, for all of his poignant suggestions and support in refining the research and ensuring the quality of this analysis. Additionally, I am incredibly grateful to National Chengchi University for providing the necessary tools, environment, and instruction to master this research and provide my contribution to the academia on human rights. Through National Chengchi University, I was able to meet a law student, Tzu-Huan Yang, who selflessly sacrificed time and energy to aid in my translation efforts, and. 政 治 大 Secondly, I must thank PhD Candidate and Biostatistician Byron Casey Jaeger 立. for that I am deeply grateful.. at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) for all of his dedicated effort in. ‧ 國. 學. assisting with the statistical analysis of this research. Through his unfaltering patience and guidance, significant trends and relevant research points were discovered and. ‧. analyzed with the utmost care to ensure accuracy and cohesiveness throughout the. sit. y. Nat. thesis. I am forever grateful for his mentorship and guidance throughout this process.. io. er. Thirdly, I would like to thank God for guiding me to choose a topic I am truly passionate about and supporting me every step of the way. I would also like to thank. n. al. i n U. v. Tyler Joseph Gatsche, for keeping me sane during this long journey and providing the. Ch. engchi. perfect sounding board for all of my irrelevant ideas and digressions. His constant support, meaningful suggestions, and inspiring encouragement have truly made up the backbone of this research.. III.

(5) Abstract With a rising aging population and labor shortages across its key fishing and factory industries, the importation of migrant labor is more crucial than ever in keeping Taiwan’s small but impressive economy propelling forward. With over half a million migrant workers and rising, Taiwan is increasingly facing social, legal, and institutional issues that arise when a temporary labor force is mixed in with the status quo population. A small number of grassroots organizations (NGOs) have sprung up in helping these workers, especially when handling human rights violations such as. 政 治 大 has been haltingly slow 立 because change has only been enacted on the. invasions of privacy and discrimination from employers, but progress. ‧ 國. 學. macro-level, and not within society where prejudice persists. This research argues that those involved must focus their efforts on changing. ‧. society’s perceptions of these migrant workers in order to stop the cycle of labor abuse. Through quantitative data collection and literature. y. Nat. sit. analysis, this research explores Taiwanese attitudes towards migrant. er. io. workers as people, migrant workers’ rights, social norms, rule of law, and. n. a l these variables. The results the correlations between i v from this research n U show that attitudes towards migrant e n g cworkers h i are associated with the. Ch. support of social norms that inhibit migrant workers’ rights and found that these attitudes, social norms, and weakness of rule of law all contribute to the marginalization of the migrant worker population.. Keywords: migrant labor, human rights, civil society, social norms, homogeneous society. IV.

(6) 摘要 在人口高齡化、漁業與工業缺乏勞工的情況下,引進移工對於臺灣 經濟發展的重要性日益提升。到目前為止,臺灣已有五十萬名移工, 而且數字還在持續增加。這些逐漸增加的臨時移工人口,使得臺灣 社會逐漸需要面對所引起的社會、法律與整個移工結構的問題。為 了解決前述的問題, 臺灣出現了幾個以幫助移工為目的的非政府組 織。這些機構主要協助移工處理隱私受到侵犯或雇主歧視等人權問 題。但由於非政府組織的主要著力於大方向價值觀的倡議,對於移. 政 治 大 變臺灣社會對於移工的觀念與態度,以停止虐待移工的惡性循環。 立 工實質生活條件的改善仍然進步緩慢。本研究的主要關注於如何改. ‧ 國. 學. 研究方法為透過專家文獻論述與量化數據分析,探討臺灣人對於移 工認知、移工權利、社會規範、法治態度等四方面的關係。研究結. ‧. 果顯示,人民對於移工的態度、對於社會規範的看法,以及法治觀. sit. y. Nat. 念的具備程度,都與對移工的支持程度有顯著關聯,這些因素也都. io. n. al. er. 密切影響移工在臺灣的生活權益。. Ch. engchi. V. i n U. v.

(7) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background 1.2 Research Questions & Objectives 1.3 Thesis 1.4 Delimitation 2. Historical Background and Literature Review ............................................................ 7 2.1 Current NGOs in Taiwan 2.2 NGO’s Missions and Functionalities 2.3 Contending Theories. 政 治 大. 2.3.1 Rule of Law & Social Norms. 立. 2.3.2 Us vs. Them Mentality. ‧ 國. 學. 2.3.3 Marginalization of Migrant Workers. 3. Research Design .......................................................................................................... 28. ‧. 3.1 Methodology. sit. y. Nat. 3.2 Sampling. io. al. n. 3.4 Pilot Study. er. 3.3 Instruments. Ch. i n U. v. 4. Research Findings & Analysis .................................................................................... 36 4.1 Descriptive Statistics. engchi. 4.2 Reliability Analysis 4.3 Correlations Between Variables 4.4 Influences between Variables using Linear Regression Models 4.5 Summary and Discussion of Results 5. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................. 55 5.1 Conclusions 5.2 Limitations 5.3 Recommendations 5.4 Implications VI.

(8) LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 NGO’s roles and challenges ................................................................................ 15 Table 3.1 Pilot Study Demographic Variables .................................................................... 32 Table 4.1 Demographic Characteristics of the Sample ........................................................ 37 Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of the Mentality Variable ................................................... 38 Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics of the Social Norms Variable .............................................. 40 Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics of the Marginalization Variable .......................................... 41 Table 4.5 Descriptive Statistics of the Rule of Law Items ................................................... 42 Table 4.6 Male Paired Sample T Test ................................................................................. 45. 政 治 大 Table 4.8 Cronbach’s Alpha of the Measures ..................................................................... 46 立 Table 4.7 Female Paired Sample T Test .............................................................................. 46. Table 4.9 Linear Regression Analysis of Mentality, Social Norms, and Rule of Law on. ‧ 國. 學. Marginalization .................................................................................................................. 48 Table 4.9.1 Hypotheses summary ........................................................................................ 49. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. VII. i n U. v.

(9) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Breakdown of Domestic NGOs ........................................................................... 9 Figure 2.2 Causes behind separation of Taiwanese society and migrant workers .................. 24 Figure 3.1 Research Framework ......................................................................................... 29 Figure 3.2 Pilot Study Hypotheses Data Results .................................................................. 33 Figure 3.3 Percentage of Discriminatory Responses in Pilot Study ..................................... 34 Figure 3.4 Preference of Norms over Laws (by response) in Pilot Study ............................. 35 Figure 4.1 Responses to Mentality Variable items .............................................................. 39 Figure 4.2 Responses to Social Norms Variable Items ........................................................ 41 Figure 4.3 Summary of Mean Scores of Continuous Variables Stratified by Age ................ 43. 政 治 大. Figure 4.4 Summary of Mean Scores of Continuous Variables Stratified by Gender ........... 44. 立. Figure 4.5 Visualization of correlations between outcomes ................................................. 47. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 4.6 Overall Hypothesis Data ..................................................................................... 52. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. VIII. i n U. v.

(10) 1. Introduction As Taiwan continues its bumpy transition into a full-fledged democracy, the issue of mistreatment of migrant workers has been brought to light time and time again as this new addition to Taiwanese society tests the preexisting notions on human rights and rule of law. These temporary guest workers, or migrant workers hoping to support their families with remittances come from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia to Taiwan to fill labor shortages in domestic long-term care, fishery, and industrial work. As of 2015, there are over 500,000 of these workers currently on labor contracts in Taiwan, and their numbers are only predicted to grow as Taiwan’s labor shortages increase (Taiwan Ministry of Labor, 2015). Migrant workers’. 政 治 大. contributions are often considered an essential part of the foundation of Taiwanese economy as well as society, as they free up dual income families to continue working. 立. in needed job fields. However, this addition of a temporary labor force to a mostly. ‧ 國. 學. homogenous society has not been beneficial for all parties involved, as migrant workers throughout their tenure face a myriad of discrimination and marginalization. ‧. from the government, the people, and the system as a whole.. y. Nat. Migrant workers are not always protected by the same policies as other. sit. immigrants, and before even stepping onto the island they are subject to different. al. er. io. abuses including debt bondage and even coercion. These workers are placed in a. v i n C h society (Tseng from ever assimilating into Taiwanese e n g c h i U & Wang, 2013). Examples of n. “temporary status” position by the local government; therefore they are discouraged. the types of abuse perpetuated by the system include the payment of illegally high. “brokerage fees” which reach upwards of 8000 USD for the sole privilege to work in Taiwan, the confiscation of passports by employers, the inability to freely move about the labor market, and an overall lack of protection and discrimination in domestic legislation and law enforcement (Lan, 2007). In the cases of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse of the migrant workers, the judicial system rarely prosecutes the employers or brokers and when it does the trial is conducted under domestic legislation which results in far lesser sentences. For example, conviction of sexual abuse or rape will result in a six month sentence under certain legislation as opposed to the six year sentence laid out in the adopted international human trafficking conventions (Taipei’s Women Rescue Foundation, 2014)..

(11) Even though Taiwan opened its borders to migrant workers in 1992, NGOs and Taiwanese society were not fully aware of the exploitation of these people until the early 2000s. This could be attributed to many reasons: most migrant workers do not receive any days off or vacation time, there is a language barrier between workers and Taiwanese society, and civil society itself within Taiwan was also in its infancy after the end of authoritarian rule in 1989. Human rights, as understood by United Nation Conventions are still slowly permeating public consciousness, and there were no NGOs established for human rights in Taiwan until 2003. In regards to human trafficking including sex trafficking and labor exploitation, Taiwan was consistently placed as a Tier 2 country according to the U.S. State Department’s rankings until 2009, which means during this time the government was not in full compliance in. 治 政 大 (American Institute of the large amount of forced labor and sexual exploitation 立 Taiwan).Therefore efforts made by both the government and society have only in the combatting human trafficking and was even placed on the watch list in 2006 because. ‧ 國. 學. past decade formalized into small, relatively weak institutions and efforts. Embedded in this system of labor importation are many areas in which. ‧. migrant workers suffer abuse, so NGOs began their missions with the sole purpose of. y. Nat. protecting the workers from abusive employers and brokers. Migrant labor is tightly. io. sit. monitored and controlled by the Taiwanese government through a broker and quota. er. system, in which only after an application has been submitted and approved can the. al. n. v i n C U between the employer and the broker agencies, these agencieshacteas the middle n g c h i man. potential employer hire a migrant worker. The hiring process is also only allocated to. migrant worker by brokering contracts and facilitating transportation. There are very few direct hiring system in place in Taiwan where employers can directly hire a migrant worker. The broker agencies are limited by law to only charge the migrant worker no more than one month salary for an entrance fee, but the agencies easily work around this condition by renaming it to “service fees” (Lennon Wang, Personal Communication 2015). The worker is often charged upwards of 8000 USD and spends one third of their three year contract repaying the broker agencies (Wolgram, 2012). Adding to this fee, the government also requires the employer to pay a monthly stabilization fee to ensure their migrant worker does not run away. NGOs grew from the need to represent the migrant worker’s rights and aid them when abuses did arise.. 2.

(12) As these abuses have become more prevalent with the surge of migrant work since 1992, a small but strong force within Taiwanese society has risen up to help these workers find their voice in the new democracy and advocate for fair and equal treatment. Taiwanese civil society has slowly been gaining momentum in bottom-up and top-down movements. Bottom-up awareness has grown as more people utilize the right to unionize and protest, and top down movements have occurred as the country accepted international norms on basic rights including labor regulations, welfare, and the provision of public goods. As it is encouraging to witness the growth of civil society and promotion of human rights in Taiwan, it is crucial to understand that until recently, the momentum of this growth has only been garnered for the Taiwanese public, which is made up of Taiwanese (including Hakka which are people that. 治 政 大 a homogenous society, Factbook, 2015). With the combination of cultural influences, 立 and a nascent democracy, institutions fighting for equal rights of migrant workers are migrated from China) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, and indigenous 2% (CIA World. ‧ 國. 學. few and far between, and they face many challenges in shaking social norms that perpetuate abuse of these workers.. ‧. Research Objectives & Questions. y. Nat. sit. There has been a wide range of literature analyzing challenges from the. er. io. migrant workers’ perspective, but there is little empirical evidence from the. al. v i n quo of abuse has remained fundamentally unchanged for roughly twenty years, as Ch U i e h n c g seen in one example where it has taken twenty three years to raise the wage of n. perspective of both Taiwanese society and the NGOs working the issue. The status. caretakers from NT$ 15,840 to NT$ 17,500 which is still lower than the current minimum wage (NT$ 20,008) (Taipei Times, 2015).The government has haltingly introduced new laws, subsidies, and services for these workers, but there has been little change in the treatment of these people. Thus the research objectives for this study are as follows: 1. Discover the reasons as to why progress for migrant workers’ labor rights has been slow and fragmented. 2. Examine the attitudes of Taiwanese society towards the presence of migrant workers in Taiwan.. 3.

(13) 3. Analyze the relationships between Taiwanese feelings towards migrant workers, social norms, and rule of law. This research hopes to delve into the reasons as to why top down change has had little impact in improving the lives of migrant workers in Taiwan, and begs the following research questions: 1. What is the society’s role in improving treatment and rights of migrant workers? 2. Are there relationships between how Taiwanese people feel about migrant workers, social norms and rule of law? Does one influence the other? 3. Do Taiwanese people feel suspicious or disproving of migrant workers?. 政 治 大 the people. It is the people 立that vote for the government and thus influence the passing Social relations and the democratic government in Taiwan all revolve around. of laws, and it is the people that have the most interaction with migrant workers. If. ‧ 國. 學. Taiwanese people have an “us vs. them” mentality in regards to the migrant workers, and these suspicions influence how Taiwanese treat the workers, a case can then. ‧. logically be made that stopping the abuse must start with changing the people first,. y. Nat. not the government. Additionally, if we find that people who do feel negatively. sit. towards migrant workers also ascribe heavily to social norms that perpetuate labor. er. io. abuse, then the situation for migrant workers is better explained. Understanding the. al. n. v i n better strategies for engagingCsociety, also provide h e nitgwillc h i U evidence as to why this. influence of Taiwanese people in mitigating this issue will not only help NGOs adopt problem hasn’t been solved in over twenty years.. Thesis In Taiwan’s specific case, this paper argues changing the people’s attitudes and perceptions of migrant workers at the micro level is crucial in stopping perpetual labor abuse. There are three main reasons as to why societal engagement is needed: 1) In Taiwan, social norms and cultural influences supersede the rule of law which results in the perpetuated exploitation of migrant workers 2) there is a separateness or “us vs them” mentality between migrant workers and society fostered by both the government and the people that causes alienation and 3) complete separation between migrant workers and Taiwanese society facilitates social conflict. 4.

(14) Assumptions Treatment of migrant workers in Taiwan is a multifaceted issue with many complex, working mechanisms; therefore this argument cannot address them all nor can it provide a concrete path for change. Domestic policies, intergovernmental exchanges, business transactions, cultural differences, and societal participation all play a part in the system of migrant labor importation which means finding a causal relationship is irrelevant. Instead, this argument purports that within Taiwan, social norms and cultural influences trump the existing, secular rule of law institutions and therefore society is the most important actor in influencing the lives of migrant workers. This research cannot possibly hope to address all the problems that need to. 政 治 大. be changed in each realm of the issue listed above, so this research can only hope to explain how society has become to be this influential actor and possible avenues. 立. NGOs should take in order to spark change in the status quo.. ‧ 國. 學. Lastly, it is not the purpose of this research to assume overgeneralized sentiments such as all migrant workers are perfect guest workers or that all Taiwanese. ‧. people shun migrant workers and marginalize them. Taiwanese society and migrant worker populations are dynamic, ever changing, living bodies that consist of a. y. Nat. sit. plethora of interactions, perceptions, and dealings, so it is the researcher’s hope to. er. io. further understand the undercurrents between these two populations in order to better. al. v i n purpose is not to point fingers any actor involved in the migrant labor Cand U h evillainize i h n c g structure, the purpose is instead to comprehend the system and relationships between n. explain why perpetual abuse is rising and how it can be solved in the future. The. migrant workers and Taiwanese society.. Delimitations For this study, the research will be focusing on the perspective of Taiwanese people and thus will survey Taiwanese society, not migrant workers because there is already a plethora of research from the migrant workers’ viewpoints. Additionally, the research will not be limited to those that only have had migrant workers as employees, because it will be analyzing Taiwanese people’s perceptions as a whole towards migrant workers, social norms, and rule of law. This thesis is not meant to prove that employers abuse their employees, this is a reality across the world; this thesis hopes to 5.

(15) explore Taiwanese peoples’ opinions of migrant workers and possibly link those feelings to feelings about rule of law or social norms in Taiwan. Therefore the population for this study will be native Taiwanese people, minimum age of sixteen years old, with no discernment against occupation or gender. In depth interviews have been conducted with NGOs involved in the migrant worker issue, but quantitative data collection and analysis are the main research methods because those are the best methods in determining relationships between attitudes towards migrant workers, social norms, marginalization, and rule of law.. 立. 政 治 大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 6. i n U. v.

(16) 2. NGOs in Taiwan and the need for societal engagement Historical Context - NGOs in Taiwan In order to argue that societal engagement is key in creating a better environment for both Taiwanese and migrant worker relations, it is pertinent to understand NGO’s and the government’s role in the treatment of migrant workers. Below provides an overview of two major NGOs that have been in the field for over twenty years, engaging mostly the government and the migrant workers in setting up better policies and labor protection. Protecting the migrant workers and enacting top down policy changes are crucial pieces to solving the puzzle, but without proper engagement of another influential actor, society, it has become increasingly evident that society is the. 政 治 大 discussed and the progress 立that has been made up to date in provision of aid,. missing piece. In this historical breakdown, the development of NGOs will be. ‧ 國. 學. governmental engagement, and societal engagement.. Since the early 2000s, there have been two prominent NGOs that have laid the. ‧. groundwork for non-governmental aid and organization and have been constant beacons of hope for these migrant workers: the Taiwan’s International Worker’s. Nat. sit. y. Association (TIWA) and the Serve the People Association (SPA). There are a handful. er. io. of other organizations including the Garden of Hope, Taiwan Women Rescue Foundation, and ECPAT, all of which serve important functions such as provision of. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. aid to labor and sex exploited victims. TIWA and the SPA have been chosen for. engchi. analysis because their active role in not only providing aid to these workers, but also because they are one of the few NGOs that challenge the government and people to change their treatment and protection of these workers. Over the past fifteen years, they have consistently appealed the government for policy changes, and have been authors and catalysts for news articles and demonstrations throughout Taiwan. TIWA was founded in 2001, branching from local Catholic Church groups to advocate for legal protection of migrant workers and providing another safe place for workers to coalesce. The founding goal of this NGO centered upon changing the Labor Standards Act in Taiwan to include migrant workers in its protection. Since its creation, it has opened a shelter housing migrant workers with labor disputes, arbitrated labor disputes, advocated for policy change including drafting labor laws, 7.

(17) and has performed constant rallying and supporting of the local migrant community in Taipei. TIWA currently has a full time staff of eight people and a regular flow of volunteers and helpers, mostly college students or graduate students. TIWA’s mission, as stated by Executive Director Jingru Wu, is to “provide migrant workers with a voice and ensure they are treated as human beings, only then can we retire” (Wu J., personal communication, 2015). Their shelter is mostly funded by the government in which they receive 500 NTD per night per guest, and all of their other activities are funded by a small donor pool that has remained relatively the same over the years. Since its establishment, TIWA has created two separate sub-groups, KASAPI, which is a smaller NGO dealing only with Filipino workers, and IPIT, which deals only with Indonesian workers, and also a collaboration platform known as the. 政 治 大 ago, now has a separate立 office with roughly six dedicated staff members to helping. Migrant Empowerment Network of Taiwan (MENT). KASAPI, founded twelve years. ‧ 國. 學. Filipinos with labor dispute cases as well as media coverage and public demonstrations. IPIT founded more recently due to the surge in Indonesian workers, also operates separately from TIWA and coordinates its own gatherings and labor. ‧. dispute cases. MENT is not a separate organization, but instead represents the. y. Nat. demonstrations and efforts by all organizations involved in advocating for policy. io. sit. change. TIWA, KASAPI, and IPIT all separately hold labor education meetings (in. er. order to educate workers on their rights), arbitrate labor dispute cases, contribute to. al. n. v i n C h Taiwan and areUconsistently active in domestic network is all located within Taipei, engchi maintaining shelters, and engage in public demonstrations to raise awareness. This. media and facilitating cultural activities.. The SPA is similar in both size and mission. It operates out of Taoyuan, a neighboring city to Taipei and also serves three major functions: sheltering migrant workers, arbitrating labor disputes, and appealing to the government and people for changes. This NGO was founded in 2005 when the President of the Federation of Trade Unions in Taoyuan rejected a proposal for more institutionalized committees to help train future volunteers/staff. Union leaders, scholars, lawyers, and volunteers all contributed to the formation of the SPA, and since its creation has fought to provide protection for abused migrant workers with the goal that one day these workers will have the rights to unionize and voice their own concerns regarding labor and rights regulations (Wang L., personal communication 2015). The SPA currently has an eight 8.

(18) personnel team, with a fluid number of volunteers and donors that contribute to their cause. The staff often travels around Taiwan, to other cities such as Kaoshiung and Taizhong, and have even flown to neighboring the neighboring Penghu Islands to raise awareness and rescue abused migrant workers. The SPA has a loose but wide ranging network of volunteers, donors, and businesses that all are connected mostly by Facebook groups. One example includes the newly formed volunteer group dealing specifically with raising funds for migrant worker’s medical expenses Yan YiGong (TIG). This newly formed volunteer group also works with a student led organization called Zhongzi She at National Chengchi University, which provides advice and aid to the Filipina cleaners on campus. These larger NGOs are just the starting points for a loose and indirectly connected group of. 政 治 大. individuals that are all fighting for the same cause.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. TIWA. MENT. ATKI. Migrante International. sit. n. al. Yan Yigong. er. io. KASAPI. y. Nat. IPIT. SPA. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Zhongzi She (NCCU). Catholic Church Groups Xinzhu Diocese immigration Center Taoyuan Taipei. Figure 2.1 Breakdown of Domestic NGOs NGOs’ Missions and Functionality NGOs working with the migrant worker cause have three goals, or a combination of these goals as their primary missions which include provision of aid, public policy advocacy, and more recently societal engagement. Provision of aid contains many 9.

(19) activity goals aimed at providing basic needs for the migrant worker population in Taiwan. Provision of aid is the foundation for both NGOs and is the most pressing need of the migrant workers. Public policy advocacy acts as the outcome goal, or the end result in which migrant workers would have proper legislation and law enforcement to protect their basic rights. Achieving this type of goal requires diligence coupled with a long term vision and sustainability plan for the NGOs. It is not something that is accomplished at all once, nor does it happen overnight because top-down change requires institutionalization and time. Societal engagement, the last goal, acts as the bridge that connects NGO activities to the final desired result: a better environment for migrant workers in Taiwan. This engagement with the public is a newer concept, and is not as widely practiced across the third sector in Taiwan.. 治 政 大policy) and society (public workers will only end if both the government (public 立 engagement) change their policies and attitudes toward these guest workers.. However, scholars and activists alike in Taiwan argue that marginalization of migrant. ‧ 國. 學. Therefore it is crucial that NGOs engage not only just the government for policy changes but also the people, while at the same type providing aid to the migrant. ‧. workers in need. Below is an analysis of these three core missions and their impact on changing migrant workers lives.. y. Nat. io. sit. The three largest contributions both NGOs have successfully achieved in the. er. provision of aid are shelters, legal representation in arbitration cases, and cultural. al. n. v i n C h workers who wereUcurrently in disputes with their shelters in which abused migrant engchi activities including labor education. Both TIWA and the SPA established small employers could stay for protection. Previously it was the broker agencies’. responsibility to provide housing for workers in this situation, which created a myriad of problems and further abuse such as immediate deportation, harassment, and in some extreme cases, kidnapping (Wang L., personal communication 2015). Therefore TIWA and the SPA began renting small apartments which later became the shelter system that now exists in Taiwan. According to the Executive Director of the SPA, Lennon Wang, there are roughly fifteen similar shelters across the island, all varying in sizes and degrees of regulations stipulated by the government (Wang, L., personal communication, 2015). Both shelters have provided crucial assistance in aiding migrant workers. TIWA’s shelter can hold a maximum of forty five workers, with roughly a handful of 10.

(20) staff to manage the operation. Each shelter for the SPA also can house roughly sixty occupants, and has two to three staff members, including a translator, working at the shelter. Both directors explained that many migrant workers have used Facebook or Line (a messaging app) to reach out to the NGOs pleading for rescue and protection. Once these workers are rescued, often personally by the directors of the NGOs, they are brought to the shelter to wait out the labor dispute case. It is crucial to note here that as per stipulated by the government, the shelters can only house legal migrant workers, the workers who have run away without filing a case are considered illegal and put in detention centers to await deportation. The government subsidizes the shelters by providing 500 NTD (roughly 15 USD) per night per worker. All other expenses must be covered by the NGOs.. 政 治 大 provision of aid is arbitrating 立 labor disputes between workers and the government, The second largest contribution both NGOs have accomplished in the. ‧ 國. 學. which is the only avenue in which workers can pursue justice for the crimes committed against them. When an employer or broker conducts an illegal activity, say physically abusing the worker, this worker can call a hotline provided by the. ‧. government and officially file a labor dispute against the employer or worker. The. y. Nat. worker must then negotiate between the government and employer in settling the case.. io. sit. TIWA and the SPA are both actively involved in representing the interests of the. er. workers in these cases. If the migrant worker is successful in proving their case, they. al. n. v i n C hrunning away, or U alternatives include deportation, e n g c h i returning to the employer. may wait for a transfer of employment to fill the rest of their contract. Other. TIWA and the SPA have arbitrated labor disputes since the creation of their NGOs, and it has been proven that without their help many migrant workers would not have had the resources to pursue their disputes. As confirmed by both directors in the NGOs, the majority of migrant workers who contact the government via the 1955 hotline are treated with indifference and even hostility by the hotline staff. These workers reach out to TIWA and the SPA because they are either unaware of their legal rights and options, or they have tried to reach out to police or the hotline and have been mistreated due to the language barrier or racial discrimination. Therefore both NGOs perform invaluable assistance in ensuring these workers are heard and their cases filed correctly. Most of the daily work time for both NGOs is dedicated to labor dispute cases. As of 2014, the SPA officially had seventy closed cases on record, 11.

(21) and TIWA could not provide statistics about their cases (Wu Jingru, personal communication 2015). It is important to note that each shelter usually holds at least forty people at any given time, each with their own individual labor dispute case. Although there is a lack of statistical data to quantitatively analyze, it is evident that there are many cases being handled at any given time. Lastly, both NGOs conduct regular cultural activities in order to improve the workers’ quality of life and provide them an avenue towards camaraderie, independence, and self-worth. TIWA provides a space every Sunday for gatherings including food, sports, musical fun, as well as education opportunities. Additionally, most Sundays TIWA and its subgroups will conduct labor education lessons, where they educate migrant workers on their rights and answer legal questions about their. 政 治 大 Taipei to help workers 立 familiarize themselves with an otherwise alien environment.. situations. The SPA also regularly holds Chinese classes and organizes trips around. ‧ 國. 學. Gatherings are scheduled as often as possible, but as a majority of migrant workers do not enjoy a day off every week, it is difficult to set specific dates and demonstrations. These activities are the crux of migrant worker solidarity because it helps spread. ‧. information on legal rights, options, and support throughout the community. Migrant. y. Nat. workers are not allowed to vote in Taiwan which hinders the possibility of changing. io. sit. the status quo via legislation. Therefore cultural activities are essentially the first step. al. n. abuse together.. er. towards galvanizing and unionizing the migrant worker population to work and fight. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Since the early 2000s when abuses became known, the government pressured by international and domestic forces, has implemented policies and services to better the situation of migrant workers. At the very foundation of the migrant worker issue lays the Labor Standards Act, which since its creation in 1984 has served as an incomplete foundation for the protection labor rights. Within this law, labor regulations, standards, compensations and more are laid in detail in order to protect workers from exploitation or abuse. Article 3 specifically lists the occupation fields in which the law is applicable to, and migrant caregivers are not listed among them (Labor Standards Act, Article 3 2015). This means the protection of wages, working hours and more is not extended to migrant caregivers, who are required by law to live with their employers with no regulated working hours or days off. This loophole was the catalyst for MENT, formally known as the Promotion of the Household Alliance 12.

(22) Service Act (PAHSA) that was formed in the early 2000s. People connected to the newly formed NGOs first petitioned the government to revise the law, and as they were met with no success, they instead drafted their own law (Household Service Act). For fourteen years the act was never passed, until June 2015 when the new LongTerm Care Services Act was passed into law (Hsiao, 2015). This new law is a substantial gain in legitimizing the struggle for migrant workers’ rights in Taiwan, but it is far from eliminating the mistreatment. Firstly, the new law is vague, only listing working hours per week and mentioning nothing about wage regulation (Taiwan International Workers’ , 2015). Secondly, as seen in the past decade with rising labor dispute cases from all migrant labor professions, the existence of legislation alone is insufficient in changing a system in which paychecks. 政 治 大 met, and employers are立 rarely prosecuted for their crimes against their worker.. and passports are withheld, labor regulations and living conditions standards are not. 學. ‧ 國. Putting the law aside, NGOs have also contributed to gains from the government to include better control of the 1955 migrant worker hotline,. ‧. establishment of service desks at airports, immediate dispatch of police in migrant worker emergencies, and shelter subsidies. The hotline, originally set up in 2003, is a. Nat. sit. y. 24 hour service, funded by the government but contracted to a private company, in. er. io. which migrant workers can call to officially file a labor dispute case. For years, migrant workers called the hotline but often encountered reluctance and suspicion. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. from the tellers, which dissuaded many from properly filing their cases (Wu J.,. engchi. personal communication, 2015). The same issue was happening with the police, in which police were not immediately dispatched in a migrant worker called stating their welfare was in danger. However, after constant complaints, demonstrations, and media coverage, mostly facilitated by local NGOs, these problems have been addressed. The NGOs have worked since their creation to provide aid to migrant workers and to fight against public policy, and although there are gains listed above not much has changed for their situation. Fishermen are still getting deducted large amounts from their salaries for broker and employer fees, migrant caregivers are still forced to live with the employer with little legislative protection, and labor dispute cases are only on the rise. With the adoption of new international and domestic legislation, why 13.

(23) isn’t the overall situation for migrant workers improving? This research tests the hypothesis that the change must come from Taiwanese society, that the cycle of marginalization will only be solved by a shift in society’s attitudes as migrant workers are no longer considered as slaves but as people with equal rights. NGOs have made tangible gains in expanding aid and changing public policy, but they have yet to galvanize the public to support the needs of the migrant workers. The strategy of public engagement is still in its infancy stage with some successes that are difficult to measure. However it is crucial to study the progress made so far in hopes to understand potential methods that could change people’s perceptions of migrant workers.. 治 政 大stories or editorials, conducting efforts in performing demonstrations, providing news cross-cultural activities,立 and holding educational seminars. Apple Daily News and Societal engagement by these NGOs has grown in recent years to include. 學. ‧ 國. Liberty Times Net are two local media sources in Taiwan that conduct a fair amount of the reporting on the work done by TIWA and the SPA. Both organizations have. ‧. loose ties with international NGOs such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Domestic Worker’s Federation to promulgate their cause in. Nat. sit. y. hopes of reaching a wider audience. MENT also conducts a large scale rally every. er. io. two years around Christmas time in which supporters gather in the thousands to march in downtown Taipei. Lastly, these NGOs are informally connected to a wide. n. al. Ch. i n U. range of small groups throughout Taiwanese society.. engchi. 14. v.

(24) Table 2.1 NGO’s roles and challenges Provision of Aid. - Shelters. Functions. - Legal Representation. Challenges. Public Policy. Societal. Advocacy. Engagement. - Labor Standards Act. - Media coverage. - 1955 Hotline. - Grand Rally every 2 years. - Cultural Activities. - Smartphone APP. - Demonstrations. Office/Shelters. Protests. ??. - Funding. - No unionization. - Homogeneous society. 政 治 - Workers can’t vote 大. - Limited Staff. 立. - Geographic constraints. - Small scale. - Lack of resources. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. Facilitating interactions and establishing connections between the two parallel populations: Taiwanese and migrant workers is a constant effort for these human. y. Nat. sit. rights NGOs because once people’s attitudes change, the laws and system will follow.. er. io. Although these organizations are small and sparsely funded, they have been able to. al. v i n If they can close the culturalC and societal gap between these two populations, then hengchi U migrant workers will stand a much better chance at equal rights in Taiwan. NGOs n. organize regular demonstrations and coordinate with media to reach out to the public.. employ many different strategies (shock, multimedia, cross-cultural activities) in hopes to break this barrier, but as with any large scale effort to change societal perception, it does not simply happen overnight like the passing of a new legislation. However, without the people’s support, legislation, law enforcement, and any topdown change will be met with resistance and weak implementation.. Contending Theories Rule of Law As NGOs slowly advocate for a systemic change in the governmental handling of migrant workers, they continue to face a dilemma in which the concept of rule of law 15.

(25) is still weak and this weakness works to their disadvantage. This is a country in which social norms and cultural influences are often the final say in maintaining social order and evidence has found that these norms often supersede governmental law enforcement. Therefore if any governmental gains towards improving migrant workers’ conditions are in contradiction with widely accepted cultural norms, the implementation of these gains often face large resistance or may even be ignored. This section will analyze the progression of rule of law through modern Taiwanese regimes, discuss the weak application of this concept in modern Taiwanese society, and lastly analyze the influence of social norms in regards to migrant workers. Before analyzing the progression and application of rule of law in Taiwan, it is crucial to define the concept. Rule of law has taken on many definitions and. 政 治 大 underlying parts explored 立by Rachel Belton in her paper, Competing Definitions of the dimensions in academia, but for this research its definition is comprised of two. ‧ 國. 學. Rule of Law (2005), 1) the goods or ends that a government brings to society including law and order, a government bound by law, equality before the law, and human rights and 2) institutions within a government necessary to implement rule of. ‧. law or justice for its society. Therefore this concept is measured in two key areas:. y. Nat. goods created and distributed by the government and its horizontal institutions within. io. sit. that facilitate the just distribution of these goods. Rule of law provides not only. er. checks and balances for authority over a society, but also ensures secular equality and. al. n. v i n Ch U norms, external pressures, and corruption. of the concept gained e n g cThis h iis adaptation opportunity for its people. Ideally, rule of law should be transcendent of cultural. tremendous momentum in American and European society in the 1990s as countries around the world experienced political revolutions and supranational organizations such as the United Nations in turn advocated the installation of rule of law for these states in political turmoil (Carothers, 1998). Taiwan is no exception as the fall of the authoritarian regime sparked the transition towards a transparent and democratic government. The starting point for the implementation of the rule of law in Taiwan begins with the Japanese occupation in 1895, as the army systemically and methodically mapped out the island and established institutions to govern social order. This system was imposed on the aboriginal population of Taiwan, which consisted largely of immigrants from China’s Fujian Province as well as others that had lived on the island 16.

(26) for centuries. People were required to register for census, speak only Japanese, wear traditional Japanese dress, and attend the Japanese education system. Additionally, men were recruited to fight for the Japanese army. This was a complete overhaul of the once tribal society in Taiwan, and the arm of the Japanese rule of law was consolidated in Japanese outposts or paichusuos that were set up in every village of Taiwan (Martin, 2007). This implementation of an outside governmental system was met with little large scale resistance as Japanese outnumbered the Taiwanese population and possessed more deadly weapons. Once Japan lost WWII and was required to return Taiwan to China, not two years passed until Nationalist Party (KMT) members in China fled to Taiwan for temporary refuge from the civil war against the communists. The entire political party. 政 治 大 reforms that redistributed 立wealth among the Taiwanese. As it became more apparent moved its operational base to Taiwan, and its leader Chiang Kai-shek enacted land. ‧ 國. 學. that the KMT could not return to China, they began to focus efforts in governing the island. Japanese officials were replaced by KMT officials, and the KMT gave an incredible amount of power to policemen where they could keep social order without. ‧. further judicial review by the Policemen Violation Code (PVC) (Martin, 2007). The. y. Nat. KMT wanted to leverage local Taiwanese resources to bolster its wealth and power,. io. sit. and quickly the authoritarian regime established absolute control over the island by. er. declaring martial law. It operated much the same as it did in Mainland China, a. al. n. v i n C h goods to the society, aspect of rule of law as providing e n g c h i U the KMT updated the. government centered on a one party system fueled by nepotism and clientelism. In the. infrastructure within the island and maintained institutions for social order, but it was not an equal and fair government with checks and balances. Instead, the authoritarian regime suppressed personal freedoms and utilized the judicial system as a method for punishing unruly clientele (Chiashin & Weitseng, 2014). This partial and biased rule of law lasted for forty years and just recently ended in 1989. As Lee Tenghui became the first elected President of Taiwan, monumental changes took form in legislation, governmental institutions, law enforcement, and international engagement. This was no longer an area tightly controlled by a one party system, but instead a newly formed state in which the government and people were attempting to find their way towards more transparent law and order. As A. Bedner explained in the article, Editorial: Developing the Rule of Law in East Asia (2013), 17.

(27) Southeast Asian states including Taiwan turned to the western hemisphere for inspiration in crafting their version of democracy. The Taiwanese constitution was modeled with Sun Yatsen’s principles with parallels to the U.S. Constitution, and characters from the German state were borrowed and applied to the Taiwanese legal system. Most importantly, these concepts were transplanted from other culture’s and societies, and although were widely received, some principles remained distant from the local, cultural beliefs, such as human rights. One a macro-level, the concept of rule of law is advocated and encouraged, but there is a deeper attraction to preexisting notions of hierarchy and order that often marginalizes the newly transplanted system. There are still deeply-rooted beliefs that favor a more authoritarian system and a closed-off society that are difficult to supersede (Yun-han et al, 2001).. 政 治 大 by the constant struggle立 between sentiment (情), reason (理), and law (法) which is. Lastly, the implementation and acceptance of Rule of Law is hindered greatly. ‧ 國. 學. deeply rooted within Taiwanese society. Because of the homogeneous nature of Taiwanese society, sentiment is often the most important pillar, and it refers to being sensitive and empathetic to those in need; reason acts as the middle man between. ‧. sentiment and law where people are assumed to act rationally and work to achieve. sit. y. Nat. harmony in all things and law is the arbitrary institution of rules enforced by the government (Yang & Jiang, 2014). In most democracies, the hierarchy of maintaining. io. n. al. er. social order is the opposite: law, reason, sentiment. As modern law is an implant from. i n U. v. other cultures, it does not always fit in harmony with sentiment, as summarized by. Ch. engchi. Martin: “It is a cultural space of legitimacy in which the solidification of the rule of law is kept within boundaries of a social sensibility that does not take law as the last word” (Martin, 2007, 694). In other words, at the local level sentiment often outweighs the law, and in the case of migrant workers, this sentiment works to their disadvantage as human rights and acts such as paying overtime do not fit into the accepted sentiments.. Social Norms This leads to the strong influence that social norms can take over the transplanted system of rule of law, and in this case is disadvantageous to the migrant worker cause. One example of this is the labor culture in Taiwan, which often encourages exploitation of their workforce. For example, many Taiwanese workers 18.

(28) will work overtime with no pay in order to make a better impression on their bosses. This unequal treatment of employees ranged across the market spectrum, from factory workers to English teachers, this concept of work with no pay is not a new concept. It is viewed as a type of sacrifice by the employee in order to gain favor with their employer, and it is through this type of intangible system that mistreatment and abuse of power often occurs. Therefore, how can we ask an employer to provide rights to their employees that they never had? It is a relatively alien concept that has littler internalization by an fields in Taiwanese business society. Another example of a local, social norm that works against migrant workers’ rights is the widespread acceptance of confiscation of passports. According to the research of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation compiled in 2014, 70% of. 政 治 大 work on average 17.72 立 hours per day. Taking an employer’s passport is illegal in. migrant workers have had their passports confiscated and female domestic caregivers. ‧ 國. 學. many countries including Taiwan, because it places total control of that person’s. mobility in the hands of the employer. In the case of migrant caretakers in Taiwan, the employer has total control of the workers’ living situation, work responsibilities, day. ‧. to day mobility, and even cell phone privileges. Total control over this person’s life is. y. Nat. widely accepted in Taiwanese society which can make it extremely difficult for the. er. io. sit. worker to overcome a situation of abuse.. Lastly, through the in-depth interviews conducted for this research, it was. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. evident that there is an accepted trend among employers and employees of. engchi. “relationship over contract.” This implies that although a contract exists, the relationship between employer and employee trumps the importance of the signed document. For example, Daisy, a Filipina caretaker that has been working in Taipei for 18 months (2015) explained that the employer had no pressure to adhere to the their labor contract because all that mattered was the interaction between them. If Daisy did satisfactory work (dictated by her employer) then the employer would reward her with a day of rest. Employees working overtime and workers taking on additional job duties are not norms special only for migrant workers, but are also perpetuated in Taiwan’s own labor force (Lan 2007). The combination of governmental institutions with histories of partial treatment coupled with the strength of sentiment over law mentality perpetuated 19.

(29) throughout society has fed into the mistreatment of migrant workers in all fields. Judiciary courts with strong ties to the local population often rule in favor of the employer, law enforcement and government provided services such as hotlines lack oversight and equality, and legislation intended to protect human rights (of the migrant workers) are accepted on a macro-level but lack any horizontal accountability within the government or vertical implementation of the policies. Additionally, sentiments such as the acceptance of working overtime with no pay, confiscating passports to ensure workers do not run away, and the reluctance to involve police or the law in communal matters all contribute to abuse of these workers.. Us vs. Them Mentality. 政 治 大 in Taiwan is the division between Taiwanese citizens and the workers, perpetuated by 立 both the government and society. This schism is often referred to as the “us vs. them” Another factor that greatly hinders the progression of migrant workers’ rights. ‧ 國. 學. mentality, where Taiwanese view migrant workers as outsiders and there is no incentive from either sentiment or reason to care for their needs as they would their. ‧. own. Scholars such as Eileen Boris (2008) explain that “alien maids” are both accepted and ostracized, emancipated and imprisoned all at the same time, as they are. y. Nat. sit. crucial to Taiwan’s economic development but always kept on the outside of societal. er. io. interaction (994). Even if the NGOs could pressure the government to create the most. al. comprehensive legislation for migrant workers’ protection and ensure implementation. n. v i n of judicial and law enforcement C hreform, this us vs.Uthem mentality could potentially i e nneeds gch cancel out these gains. This mentality to be explained through its root causes, governmental policies and cultural influences. Before migrant workers were allowed to cross Taiwan’s borders, the. government had already established the parameters in which these people would only operate in a “temporary status” and would always be considered guest workers. Some examples of these separation policies include: migrant workers under any circumstances will be granted citizenship (unlike other white collar immigrants), migrant workers are only allowed to stay in Taiwan a maximum of fourteen years, and they must receive yearly health checkups and are deported if found pregnant without a husband or if their husband decides to divorce them (Kastner, 2014).. 20.

(30) Additionally, the government will immediately deport a migrant worker if they are caught running away, and the migrant worker must pay 10,000 NTD fine. There are four specific policies that greatly hinder the freedom of migrant workers and squanders potential connections between them and Taiwanese society. The first prohibits migrant workers from freely navigating the job market unlike other white collar immigrants, allowing them to only transfer when the employer dies or the migrant worker suffers abuse. As Pei Chia-Lan analyzes in her article, Legal Servitude and Free Illegality (2007), “the government deprives migrant workers to freely circulate in the domestic market, this measure deprives workers of the proletariat’s trump card-market. 治 政 大relationship” (259). aggravating inequality in the worker-employer 立. mobility-thus helping employers stabilize the relations of production and. ‧ 國. 學. Without the same freedom as other Taiwanese or even other immigrants, migrant workers are marginalized and pushed even further from society. Secondly, is the policy of the stabilization fees mentioned earlier in this paper. This policy places an. ‧. enormous amount of control over the worker, as the government has now required the. y. Nat. employer to be solely responsible for the legal status of this worker. This often leads. sit. to domination of the migrant worker, controlling their every movement to ensure their. er. io. investment stays stable. Thirdly, the National Immigration Agency launched a new. al. n. v i n C htheir legal status. U foreigner’s ID card to determine e n g c h i The official logic behind this new smartphone application in the summer of 2015 that allows anyone to scan a. application is that the government hopes this will curb the hiring of illegal migrant workers because employers will now be better informed. Whether the result is. intentional or unintentional, this application only exacerbates the feelings of suspicion between employers and migrant workers, and perpetuates the notion that all migrant workers are criminals of some kind. Additionally, according official complaints by TIWA and the SPA, most families that hire illegal caretakers for example willingly engage in this practice because they want to avoid the lengthy process between the government and the broker agency. The fourth and final policy that greatly inhibits any assimilation is the prohibition of citizenship for any migrant worker. The longest a migrant worker is permitted to stay in Taiwan as a worker is fourteen years; however they are required 21.

(31) to leave every three years and repeat the application in their home country (Hsiao, 2015). This means that they must pay another US$ 6000-8000 every three years for the opportunity to come back and work in Taiwan. The only avenue for citizenship for these workers is marriage, and this is often a dangerous path in itself. There is four year waiting period before the bride is allowed to apply in case the husband decides to send her back (Kastner, 2014). The issue that often arises is that the husband will not allow his wife to apply for fear that she will leave him once she has a Taiwanese ID card. Therefore there is no long term vision of even the smallest form of assimilation within the Taiwanese society. With these four governmental policies is evident that the government adopts a protective nature of Taiwanese homogenous society. Castles and Davidson (2000). 政 治 大 “promote ethnic homogeneity 立 through their policies more than any other country in. found in their research that north-east Asian states (Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan). ‧ 國. 學. the world” (as cited by Tseng & Wang 2013, p.4).There is a distinct otherness. between local Taiwanese people and outsiders, and this separation is perpetuated by both the government and inclusiveness of their society. Shu-Ju Ada purports in the. ‧. article, Contextual politics of difference in transnational care: the rhetoric of Filipina. y. Nat. domestics' employers in Taiwan (2004), the Taiwanese use their differences in terms. n. al. er. io. domestic workers.. sit. of race, national identity, and class to sanction their exploitative attitudes toward. Ch. i n U. v. In addition to governmental policies, there are deeply rooted cultural. engchi. influences that keep migrant workers in a perpetual ostracized state. There is extensive literature on the analysis of “Asian values,” but for this research, I want to focus on a few cultural norms that are commonly found in Taiwanese society. The first refers to the social network surrounding an individual, and how that individual specifically uses that network for personal gains. As defined in the book Culture and Customs in Taiwan by Gary Marvin Davison and Barbara E. Reed (1998), guanxi requires a person to establish good personal and professional connections by “utilizing the resulting human relations to maximize one’s chances of economic success, contribute greater glory to the eternal family, and to the achievement of a more stable social order” (207). Within this circle of connections, a type of quid pro quo exists in which people reciprocate favors and extend their help in order to maintain a stable flow of relationships. This circle is fluid and thus can include more 22.

(32) people, but in the case of migrant workers, because they have no leverage for the relationship they are excluded from network. Previous research does not completely cover the success or challenges of foreigners integrating into the guanxi network, but it is evident by the interactions between migrant workers and employers that no such connection exists. This guanxi network also feeds into the phenomenon called amoral familialism, which is where moral order is not extended pass the family. This term was first coined in 1958 by Edward Banfield, a political scientist to visited Italy and discovered a social system that revolved around nuclear family structures that acted based off of self-interest. The idea is brought to light again by Richard Robison in his article, The Politics of Asian Values (1996), which he observes that amoral. 政 治 大 Asian societies, and Taiwan 立 is no exception, the family unit is often at the core of. familialism is an “obstacle to social cohesion and cooperation” (311). When analyzing. ‧ 國. 學. social relations. Some then argue though that while this does promote responsibility and motivation for economic growth, this reality also hinders growing connections with outsiders of the family or guanxi network.. ‧. The second phenomenon that feeds into the us vs. them mentality is the. Nat. sit. y. hierarchy and newly developed social classes within Taiwanese society.. er. io. Confucianism is prevalent in Taiwanese society, and with these traditional values exists a hierarchy of social order, where each person is expected to dutifully maintain. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. their position as well as be filial to their elders. As the Taiwanese have experienced a. engchi. substantial economic miracle in the past decades, their middle class has grown substantially and have risen in their regional status as an economic power. This newly found status has enabled some of the population to develop a sense of superiority over the blue-collar workers, and specifically migrant workers. According to Alex Wolfgram, the majority of employers in his research believed that migrant workers were of a lower social class and therefore needed to be better controlled, lest they run away and cause more trouble in Taiwan.. 23.

(33) The Separation. Culture. Taiwanese Society. - Homogeneous society - Not part of guanxi network - Hierarchy and superiority over developing Asian countries - Labor Culture – no overtime, long working hours. 立. Government Policies - No citizenship - Can stay max 14 years in Taiwan (unless married) - Restriction on labor market mobility Criminalized Status • Stabilization Fees • Smartphone APP. 政 治 大. Migrant Workers. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 2.2 Causes behind separation of Taiwanese society and migrant workers. Nat. sit. y. The governmental policies and cultural influences listed above have created a. io. er. rift between the homogeneous population and the migrant workers, and closing this gap must start with connections or changes in public sentiment. There is conflicting. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. and vague legislation both protecting and ostracizing the migrant workers, which only. engchi. widens the misunderstandings and conflicts between the two populations. For example, there is the Labor Standards Act and international conventions adopted by the United Nations to protect all laborers’ rights, but at the same time there are political parties such as the Taiwanese Solidarity Union that do not agree with paying the minimum wage to migrant workers and in fact advocate to pay them in their home currency (Fu ,2015). The internalization of the “us vs them” mentality perpetuates a superiority complex among Taiwanese employers, and although legislation is important for providing a protective framework, the abuse will only stop when people begin to change their attitudes towards migrant workers.. 24.

(34) Marginalization of Migrant Workers From analyzing existing literature on migrant workers’ situation in Taiwan, the research points to the marginalization of this class of people from both above (government) and below (society). Marginalization in this study will be defined using the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: “to put or keep (someone) in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group.” Thus a marginalized group is highly vulnerable to exploitation. NGOs like TIWA and the SPA work tirelessly to peel away the barriers in an attempt to get the government to provide more comprehensive protection, but there are major hurdles standing in their way such as migrant workers not possessing the right to vote so there is no pressure from constituents and migrant. 政 治 大. workers have not effectively unionized into an organization that can apply pressure. The lack of legal protection from above combined with the ostracization form below. 立. in society has created a tolerant environment for marginalization.. ‧ 國. 學. Since the beginning, migrant workers have not been allowed to vote on any legislation within Taiwan, and this prohibition may be the reason these workers. ‧. remain trapped in a system that they cannot change. As mentioned above, this exclusion is purposefully executed by the government and also the people as this fear. y. Nat. sit. exists that migrant workers will permanently settle and will have some negative. er. io. effects on Taiwanese society (Shu Ju 2004). By not allowing the migrant workers to. al. v i n incentive to change it. JingruCWu, Executive Director of TIWA also detailed in our inhengchi U depth interview that this problem is exacerbated by Taiwanese constituents because n. vote, it creates an unbalanced, unhealthy relationship of power where there is little. they want their political officials to focus on Taiwanese society, not outsiders. Jingru Wu went on to explain that when TIWA is successful in proposing new legislation to an official, often times the official has to pull the bill because he or she receives complaints from their constituents. TIWA also has received threats and complaints from the local community, claiming they have ill intentions because helping migrant workers would only hurt employers monetarily. A non-empathetic society has made it nearly impossible to enact change at the macro-level. Additionally, migrant workers have not pooled the resources to unionize, and without a strong, organized solidarity, progress is fragmented and not uniformly implemented. There are many reasons as to why these workers have been unable to 25.

(35) form in numbers, including no days off, no way of communicating with others (many are not allowed cell phones or allowed to use employer’s technology), and knowledge gaps about the area, language, and their rights. Lennon Wang, Executive Director of the SPA explained in our in-depth interview that unionization is already weak in Taiwan, and that only small unions can form due to lack of funding and organization. This is a primary concern for the SPA, as their core mission is to provide an avenue for migrant workers to find their own voice and be able to fight for their own rights within the legal system. Migrant workers are able though to come together in mass for major religious holidays such as Ramadan at Taipei Main Station or the grand rally that takes place every year in December in Taipei. Unfortunately, these are only short bursts of solidarity and only lead to media coverage and more awareness about their. 治 政 numbers or organize them for a long term fight. 大 立. cause. It is has no real effect on high-level leadership because it cannot sustain these. ‧ 國. 學. Major political parties active in Taiwan on some occasions take a more xenophobic, homogeneity protection stance against migrant workers as can be seen by their rhetoric and actions. The Taiwan Solidarity Union in 2015 made an official. ‧. statement supporting the separation of minimum wage for domestic and foreign. y. Nat. laborers in which employers would pay the foreign laborers in their own currency.. sit. According to Lii Wen’s news article, Minister grilled about caretakers (2015) in. n. al. er. io. Taipei Times, “DPP Legislator Chen Chieh-ju (陳潔如) said that cases of collusion. i n U. v. between ministry officials and brokerage firms are rampant across the nation.”. Ch. engchi. Therefore it is important to note that opposition to changing the status quo can be felt at even the highest levels of the Taiwanese government. Another major source of marginalization is the requirement of migrant workers to live either with their employers (caretakers) or in dormitories specified by their labor contracts. When conducting an interview with a previous migrant worker employer, the reason for this requirement was explained as the insurance that the migrant worker would not run away. The migrant worker in this specific case did in fact run away. At a recent protest in the summer of 2015 organized by TIWA and KASAPI, migrant fisherman protested that their employers were deducting 5,000 NTD from their salary for dormitory expenses that they never lived in (because they reside on the boat) (Yang 2015). Mr. Laliberte, a researcher for the International. 26.

(36) Labor Organization elucidated in his lecture at National Chengchi University that the live-in requirements found in many Asian countries for migrant workers places these people in extremely vulnerable positions, such as sexual/verbal abuse and provision of personal mobility. Lastly, migrant workers receive little to no legal protection once unfortunate circumstances arise. One pertinent example is a Vietnamese man, A-dao, who had been working in Taiwan for eleven years in a factory before being badly burned in an occupational accident in 2013. A-dao had renewed three year contracts with the same employer, and since he did not have a physical copy of the last labor contract, the employer refused to pay any compensation (Henley 2015). After paying NT$ 130,000 (US$ 3,949) to the broker agency for each contract, and deductions made by the. 政 治 大 to sue the employer for立 illegal garnishing of wages and refusal of compensation. A-. employer to total A-dao’s salary at NT$ 12,000 per month, A-dao had no choice but. ‧ 國. 學. dao is still in the legal process of suing, which in the meantime NGOs have been raising money to pay for the treatment and five surgeries needed to recover.. ‧. With lack of constituent support, no unionization, and vulnerable living conditions migrant workers have not been able to correct their position in society as a. Nat. sit. y. marginalized group. TIWA expressed on several occasions the most effective. er. io. methods for enacting top-down change are constant complaining, case filing, and creating noise around the problem until a satisfactory answer is received. As. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. mentioned previously, NGOs have made progress in the services provided by the. engchi. government, but the overall stance and policy making has remained unchanged. The government continues to view these people as temporary workers, with no rights for permanent settlement, with deportation as the most efficient solution to any conflict. Therefore, pressure on the government must come from the people, as Taiwan is a democracy with a growing civil society.. 27.

(37) 3. Research Framework Methodology In order to provide a solid argument that NGOs working with migrant workers in Taiwan should engage society, we must first find out if and how much society is involved with perpetuating the abuse of migrant workers. Individual’s perceptions, preferences, and understanding of these workers need further analysis to determine the level of internalization of the “us vs them” mentality. Secondly, this research needs to understand how much society supports using social norms (which often is unfavorable for the migrant worker) over using secular rule of law. If people discriminate against migrant workers and do not rely upon governmental. 政 治 大 this shows that individual 立actors play a major role in suppressing the workers.. regulation/intervention to solve their disputes but instead on themselves or brokers,. ‧ 國. 學. Therefore, it can be validated that NGOs need not only engage the government, but also the society.. ‧. The research for this study will then focus on four variables discussed in the literature review: the weakness of rule of law, the level of discrimination or feeling of. Nat. sit. y. separateness (us vs them mentality), the influence of social norms, and the. er. io. marginalization of migrant workers through quantitative data collection and analysis. Discrimination for this study will be defined as follows: “treating a person or. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in. engchi. which you treat other people, because of their skin colour, sex, sexuality, etc” (Cambridge Dictionaries Online 2015). The definition of social norms is highly contested amongst the social sciences, but for this research the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s definition will be used which states that social norms are “customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies….and are mainly seen as constraining behavior.” In short, social norms are the intangible rules that dictate what is acceptable and unacceptable in society which makes them constraining by nature. Thus the research framework for this study is as follows:. 28.

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