With the cross-strait tensions rising, the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is pushing Indonesian authorities to take precautionary measures to pull out their citizens from the country. These will include migrant workers, students, and immigrants.
According to the labor department, there are approximately two hundred and fifty-four thousand Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, making it the largest migrant population in Taiwan.
Students and immigrants make up thirty percent of the Indonesian nationals in Taiwan. Many of them express concerns about the Indonesian government’s contingency plan, worrying that it might affect them economically.
According to the Global Workers’ Organization Chair Hsu Jui-hsi (徐瑞希), many Indonesian nationals who came to Taiwan to work have decided to return to Indonesia. The main reason is the worsening relations between Taiwan and China. Traditionally, Indonesia aligns itself with China on the global stage, while the Philippines enjoys a strong relationship with the United States.
As the Indonesian community is the largest manufacturing and agricultural workforce in Taiwan, a large-scale evacuation will certainly worsen the current labor shortages.