Taiwan reaffirms commitment to mobility of Indians, condemns local politician's 'discriminatory' comments

Regarding the recent discriminatory publicationscomments made by certain individuals in Taiwan, we solemnly clarify that such biased remarks do not represent our stance, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center TECC said on social media.Taiwan cherishes the values of democracy, inclusivity, and diversity, and support people to people exchanges between Taiwan and India.

Taiwan on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to facilitating the mobility of Indian citizens, strongly rejecting ''discriminatory'' remarks made by a local election candidate who vowed to ban Indian immigrants.

Taiwan cherishes the values of democracy, inclusivity, and diversity, and supports people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and India, the Taiwanese mission in New Delhi said.

The remarks came after the candidate put up a billboard vowing to ban Indian immigrants from Taiwan.

''Taiwan has long been committed to planning the introduction of Indian migrant workers. Regarding the recent discriminatory publications/comments made by certain individuals in Taiwan, we solemnly clarify that such biased remarks do not represent our stance,'' the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) said on social media.

''Taiwan cherishes the values of democracy, inclusivity, and diversity, and support people to people exchanges between Taiwan and India. We deeply regret and strongly condemn any form of prejudice, racism and discrimination,'' it said.

The TECC said it sincerely looked forward to, and will continue to promote, further exchanges between both sides to enhance mutual understanding.

China considers Taiwan as its breakaway province and insists it should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan, however, sees itself as completely distinct from China.

Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upswing.

In 1995, New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and to facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges.

ITA has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services. In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi.