Kaohsiung candidate slammed for 'discriminatory' anti-Indian billboard

Kaohsiung, May 13 (CNA) A local ward chief running for the city council in Kaohsiung has come under fire over a billboard showing "no symbols" over images of an Indian flag and a turbaned man, which he said was intended to oppose a policy to admit migrant workers from India.

A post circulating on social media platforms on Tuesday, written by someone describing themselves as an Indian who has lived in Taiwan for many years, called the candidate's advertising "blatant and direct racial discrimination," making the poster feel deeply uncomfortable.

"I can respect that everyone has different views on migrant worker policy. You don't want Taiwan to open up to migrant workers -- that is your political stance. But expressing it in this way really doesn't seem right," the post on Threads read.

The post went on to say that the ads were less about debating policy than about using physical traits and cultural symbols to incite resentment toward specific groups.

The billboard was put up by Lee Hung-yi (李紘毅), the Gangming ward chief in Kaohsiung's Siaogang District, who is running as an independent in November's city council election, despite being a member of the Taiwan People's Party.

Lee told CNA on Wednesday that he was not opposed to migrant workers in general, but he specifically opposed the policy to admit migrant workers from India.

The policy to open up to Indian migrant workers lacked adequate supporting measures and management regulations, which was "concerning," he said, without elaborating further.

Taiwan could bring in an initial 1,000 Indian workers as early as this year to work in the manufacturing, agriculture, and caregiving sectors, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) told lawmakers early last month.

He said Taipei and New Delhi were still working out administrative procedures, document verification, and health checks.

Wang Yi-heng (王憶恆), the head of New Power Party's Kaohsiung chapter, also condemned Lee, saying that it was "utterly ignorant" to place no symbols -- a red circle with a diagonal line through it -- over the Indian flag as well as a cultural symbol, the turban, that represents faith and dignity.