Week 4-Pahnia Vang

In Pei-Chia Lan's chapter of Legal Servitude and Free Illegality: Migrant "Guest" Workers in Taiwan, she discusses and reveals the system of overseas migrant workers in Taiwan. What she delves into focuses much on migrant workers and those of undocumented migrants in Taiwan's workforce. This was an interesting chapter to analyze in terms of looking at the system of overseas workers, the process, quotas, border control, state regulation, contract bondage, labor, etc. Through analyzing the workforce of migrant and undocumented workers in Taiwan, it can be said that even though they came as overseas workers, they themselves are disposed of any rights and freedom while working for their employers in Taiwan. As what Lan had stated, most migrant workers with contracts do not last or stay with their employer due to endless work labeled as the three D (dirty, dangerous, difficult), low wages, and having little or none benefits at all. As runaway migrant workers to undocumented migrant workers, Lan studies why those of undocumented have a better economic and social standing than those of contract migrant workers. The findings that she found lies within being free in a work economy and is able to go from employer to employer and having the opportunity to choose their work as well as having better benefits as an undocumented worker with higher wages and time accommodation of their own schedule. In all, Lan mentions something that I personally think is important to know such that to be a member or have membership within a place does not entail one to have blood ties or formal identifications to it; instead, the informal connections such as participation, solidarity, and equality of the members within a community or place makes all the difference.

Question: Are guest workers or overseas migrant workers any different from people already residing within a state or country? If we are to strip away these external factors or statuses of every single worker, wouldn't we all be the same? Why is there a need to treat other workers any different than those of residency?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4OXS5iL34A

This video show that Taiwan will be lifting the ban of Vietnamese domestic workers due to Indonesian government to stop exporting labor. By increasing and lifting the ban of overseas workers in Vietnam, this will prove to be a case of exploiting labor similar to what Pei-Chia Lan had discussed among her chapter.