18 December 2023. Today, on International Migrants Day, we are releasing our newest publication, “Recruitment Fees and Related Costs in Taiwan: Dictionary of English-Chinese Terms,” to remove misunderstandings arising from language and translation as obstacles to responsible recruitment in the migration corridors to Taiwan.
WBI celebrates International Migrants Day 2023 with the release of this policy brief to acknowledge the tremendous contributions that migrants make globally as “a source of prosperity, innovation, and sustainable development” to Taiwan and beyond.
This ‘Dictionary Brief,’ authored by our Executive Director, Dr Bonny Ling, with the assistance of our Project Officer, Shuhan Lin, is the first in a series of Work Better Innovations policy briefs planned for 2024. It is the first of its kind to better align recruitment-related terms across English and Chinese for Taiwan.
“We often talk about different things across the English-Chinese language divide. International terms sometimes do not translate well. Colloquial terms can be confusing because they have no basis in law. It can be a linguistic challenge.
This “Dictionary Brief,” we hope, does exactly what it says — helping all who advocate for responsible recruitment to navigate across the language divide. We need to have conceptual clarity on the terms of cross-border recruitment.”
– Dr Bonny Ling
The “Dictionary Brief” builds upon our previous research and outreach work, following WBI’s Guidebook on International Labour Organization’s Forced Labour Indicators, released in December 2022. The Guidebook continues to be used as the basis for training on forced labour public education and labour rights podcasts for Taiwan in 2023.
Every year on 18 December, the UN marks the International Migrants Day to recognise the important contribution of migrants, while highlighting the challenges they often face. WBI is a team of individuals with lived experience of migration. We are honoured to contribute to global efforts to improve the working and living conditions of migrant workers.
We will organise webinars next year to delve into this ‘Dictionary Brief’ in more detail and analyse what they mean for labour reforms in Taiwan. We thank everyone who played a part in the production of this brief.
In the meantime, we at WBI have strong subject matter expertise in international labour standards and human rights with specialisation on Asia and Taiwan – talk to us about how we can help you work towards fair recruitment and decent work for all.
