Implications of Indonesian Migration to Taiwan for Enhancing Bilateral Relations

[[abstract]]Since the early 1990s, the human interactions between Indonesia and Taiwan have intensified significantly due to the rapid increase in the migration of contract workers. Currently, the Indonesians account for almost a half of the market of the 450.000 foreign workers in Taiwan. In the service sector, the market share of Indonesians is as high as 89 percent. The migration of workers was followed by the inflows of almost 30,000 Indonesian females through marriages to Taiwan starting in the mid-1990s. The migrant workers (mainly care providers to the aged) and immigrant spouses are deeply involved in the family and community lives in Taiwan, with a wide coverage from cities too country side. In recent years, the student migration from Indonesia to Taiwan has also grown at a high rate. The student population (3,233) is characterized by a high percentage of non-ethnic Chinese and a big number of professionals, who are on leave from their positions in higher education institutions and government agencies in Indonesia. There is also an increasing small number of Indonesian professionals working in Taiwan. In the meanwhile, however, there were little increases in any types of migration from Taiwan to Indonesia. The only significant set of Taiwanese in Indonesia is the capital-assisted migrants, including investors, their employees, and dependants. This paper attempts to identify the size, characteristics, and impacts of the asymmetric human interactions between Indonesia and Taiwan. The major data utilized comes from government statistics and some survey results. Based on the official data and field observations, the paper discusses the implications of the changes in key migration flows for both Indonesia and Taiwan. Special attention is placed on the possible interactions between the Indonesian students and professional workers in Taiwan and the Taiwanese Indonesianists. Finally, the paper has tried to explore how Taiwan and Indonesia can take advantage of the increasing human interactions between the two countries to strengthen their bilateral relations.[[notice]]補正完