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The formation and representations of a new trend of labor migration: a case study on Taiwanese working holiday makers in Australia

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The formation and representations of a new trend of labor migration: a case study on Taiwanese working holiday makers in Australia

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THE FORMATION AND REPRESENTATIONS OF A NEW TREND OF LABOR
MIGRATION:
A CASE STUDY ON TAIWANESE WORKING HOLIDAY MAKERS IN
AUSTRALIA

BY
Ju-Yu Huang

A Thesis presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in
East Asian Area Studies

July 2015

i

Table of Contents

List of Figures ii

Abstract iii

Introduction 1

Methodology 4

Characteristics of Samples 6

Section I: Masking the movement 10
A gateway or getaway? Features of Taiwanese WHMs 14

Section II:“Tai-lao” in context 27
Analysis of “Tai-lao” formation 29
A reversal or reinforcement of manual labor 38

Section III: Reactions of both governments 46

Conclusion 56

References 59

Appendix 63

ii

List
of
Figures

Figure 1: The comparison of annual average household income between 7
governmental statistics and reported estimate from WHMs

iii

Abstract
This thesis analyzes the phenomenon of Taiwanese working holiday makers (WHMs)
as temporary migrant workers in Australia, from the perspectives of historical changes of
immigration policies, public representations and the impacts on current WHMs. As
globalization facilitates international migration and reduces national barriers, WHMs fall
into a complex class positioning. Being part of international labor migration, the
temporary and circular characters of WHMs lead to their vulnerability in the global
migration process. In using the idea of “quest for the West” and the long-existing concept
of technocracy from the mainstream, this study also aims to mark the current situation of
WHMs in Taiwan and government’s response toward this issue.
Moreover, this study explores links between peripheral countries under current
transpacific literature. Taking Taiwan, a small but not insignificant emigrant nation
instead of China, and; Australia, a well-known immigrants receiving nation that is less
noticed in American academia, this paper shows a newly formed migration pattern
among Taiwanese youth and addresses a current deficiency of the diversity literature in
global context.

1

Introduction
Originally, the WHM program in Australia started in 1975 and only citizens of United
Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada aged 18-26 were eligible in the beginning. The purpose of WHM
program was to provide up to 12 months for youths to “encourage cultural exchange and closer
ties between Australia and eligible countries.”
1
This program later expanded its upper age limit
to 30 and its duration to 24 months in 2005. To this date, up to 31 countries and regions had
reciprocal agreements with Australia.
There are two types of WHM visas arrangements— Working Holiday visa (Subclass 417,
SC417) and Work and Holiday visa (Subclass 462, SC462). It is not clearly stated on the
Australian government website why certain countries fit within one of the subclasses but not the
other. However, there are different requirements applied to these two visa types. For nations all
under SC462, applicants have to meet additional requirements like “functional English,
completion of at least two years of undergraduate study, and a letter of home government support”
for their visa application. Currently, there are 19 countries fall under SC417 and 12 countries in
SC462. The main difference between SC417 and SC462 is that only SC417 visa holders can
apply for second year of working holiday visa and there is no cap number limit on SC417
nations.
Taiwan became one of the SC417 countries in 2004. Since then, Taiwan has been one of the
top nations that is granted with SC417 visa every year. Notably, in order to apply for the second
year SC417 visa, applicants have to work in regional areas in Australia as seasonal workers for

1

Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. “Working Holiday Visa (subclass 417).” 2014.
Retrieved from http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx

2

88 days (a minimum of 3 months). Moreover, employers are restricted to agriculture, forestry,
fishing, and construction for granting the second year visas.
According to government’s, ”Working Holiday Maker Visa Program Report”
2
in 2014, a
total of 29,366 visas were granted to Taiwanese WHMs in 2013-14, and 11,295 of them were
second year working holiday visas. In 2013-14, Taiwan was ranked first among all the SC417
nations for second year visas
3
. Notably, according to the 2012-13 report, Taiwan has only ranked
3
rd
(7162) after United Kingdom (7349) and Ireland (7300); however, its increasing application
rate was the highest (68.7 percent) among other nations. Considering the annual total number of
applications from the top five nations, United Kingdom (45,208), Taiwan (29,366), South Korea
(26,893), Germany (26,819), and France (25,734)
4
, more than one-third of Taiwanese WHMs
apply for their second year visa. In addition, compared to other WHM programs that Taiwan has
with other countries, the number of youths in Australia is distinctive.
For instance, the annual cap number of WHMs is 2000 in Japan, 1000 in Canada, 500 in
United Kingdom, 600 in New Zealand, and 300 in Germany
5
. Therefore, I argue that the
phenomenon of a large number of Taiwanese WHMs in Australia is not simply a “culture
exchange” program eligible to a small and privileged group of people, but a masked, newly
formed, temporary migration from Taiwan to Australia.

2

Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. “Working Holiday Maker Visa Program
Report.”(2014) Retrieved 12 March,2015. From
https://www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/pdf/working-holiday-report-jun14.pdf
3
The top five nations for second year visas are: Taiwan (11295), United Kingdom (8430), South Korea (5783),
Ireland (5233) and Italy (3150).
4
In the 2013 semiannual report, Korea has less numbers of WHMs by the end of June than Taiwan. It had been the
largest WHMs origin country in the past; however, the numbers have been continuingly decreased since 2008.
5
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan R.O.C. “Information of WHM program for ROC
citizens.” Retrieved 20 June, 2015 http://www.boca.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=2707&ctNode=739&mp=1

3

This phenomenon of Taiwanese working holiday makers in Australia has gained attention in
Taiwan after a local business magazine published a story about three college students who
worked in Australia with the title “I am a Tai-lao, and I am here for money!”
6
This article and its
follow-up discussions raised four main themes for researchers to look at.
First, the temporary migrant status has become popular among Taiwanese youths as a sign
of a changed pattern of international migration and also a pathway for them to escape from their
homeland. Second, Taiwan’s recent stagnant economy and high youth unemployment rate make
the younger generation less willing to work in Taiwan in the long run. Third, people’s different
reactions to the word “Tai-lao” (this term will be illustrated more in section II) reveal a
long-existing concept of elitism, associated with technocracy and national pride in Taiwan’s
society. Moreover, by contrasting the WHMs and migrant workers from the Southeast Asian
countries, one can understand more about WHMs’ complex positioning in both receiving and
sending countries. Fourth, after the article was published in the local magazine, the Taiwanese
government’s attitude toward this phenomenon has been criticized as too passive. How can both
Australian and Taiwanese governments pay more attention to WHMs’ working conditions and
rights in order to prevent exploitation while these temporary immigrants stay and work in a
foreign country will be worth noting.

6

Yang, Shao-hua, “I am a Tai-lao, and I am here for money.” Business Today, no.821 (2012). Retrieved from, 07
April 2015 http://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article-content-80407-97960 . In Chinese, it is written “台勞”

4

Methodology
This research is based on recorded and fully transcribed semi-structured interviews with
Taiwanese working holiday makers through online software or phone
7
in Los Angeles fot the
months of March, April, and May in 2015. There were 10 interviews collected and the length
ranged from one-and-a-half hour to two hours. These interviews include 5 male participants and
5 female participants. In order to ensure the diversity of participants, samples collected samples
from personal network, using snowball referrals, and unsystematic samples from different
websites.
In addition, I also conducted a survey of a sample of 347 Taiwanese working holiday
makers, including those who are currently in Australia or in Taiwan. This survey aims to provide
more data to investigate the motivations of their departure, living costs in Australia, personal
educational background and household income in Taiwan. During the process of data collection,
it was found that there were many more female respondents than male respondents who filled out
the survey; therefore, even numbers of both genders were recruited for the interview to ensure
unbiased results. Generally, the interviewees were asked to describe their normal-daily lives in
Australia while they were both employed and unemployed. They were also asked their
motivation of departure, work-travel ratio, weekly wage and expense, previous job and salary in
Taiwan, overall experience of WHM program and their perception of “Tai-lao.” More interview
questions and survey questions will be listed in the appendix
8
. All the names of interviewees are

7

Due to some of restrictions such as time differences, instability of working locations and schedule, lack of Internet
access in rural areas, the researcher had to conduct interviews by different online software or by phone calls with
participants’ consent in advance.
8
See Appendix one, two and three.

5

fictitious in this thesis in order to comply with academic conventions.
In summary, the interviews include some open-ended questions and their personal
experiences of one or two years staying in Australia as WHMs, providing a rich source of data
that can be used to better understand the subjects of this newly formed migration pattern from
Taiwan to Australia. The survey provides supplemental yet important data of respondents’
economic information in detail in Taiwan prior to their departure and helps the researcher to
analyze this phenomenon from a social and structural perspective.

6

Characteristics of the Samples
The online survey was conducted from March 2015 to May 2015. There are 347
respondents, 121 male respondents, 225 female respondents and one unknown. According to the
interviews conducted, most the interviewees had a university degree (8 out of 10 have bachelor
degrees, one male has an associate’s degree and one male has a high school degree.) The survey
respondents also show a similar result, 80.5% of the respondents have acquired a
college/university (or unfinished) degree before the departure to Australia; 10.3% of the
respondents have a master’s (or unfinished) degree when they took part in the WHM program.
Only 9.2% of the respondents’ highest level of education is high school completion or lower
before their departure.
The median monthly salary of respondents in the survey is 25,000-30,000 NTD (around
863-1045 USD), while the median of average disposable income among youths aged below 30 in
Taiwan is 26,413 NTD (around 927 USD)
9
. There are three female interviewees and 39.1% of
the respondents who incurred debts (including either student loan or mortgage) before they
decided to go to Australia.
According to the interviews, weekly wages in Australia differ according to location,
industry, and legality. In 2013, the minimum hourly wage in Australia was AUD 16.3 (around
USD 14.9), while in Taiwan was NTD 109 (around USD 3.6). 57.3% of the respondents reported
their hourly wage as AUD 15 to AUD 20 and 25.1% of the respondents received more than
AUD20 per hour.

9

Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. “Analysis of Household
Income in 2013.” Retrieved May, 2015 from http://win.dgbas.gov.tw/fies/a11.asp?year=102

7

However, the survey also shows that there were 14.7% of respondents who worked under
AUD11 per hour
10
. Moreover, from valid questionnaires, WHMs reported their annual average
of household income by regions as the following: 1,098,156 NTD in the northern Taiwan,
1,011,212 NTD in the central Taiwan, 926,478 NTD in the southern Taiwan, and 1,550,000
NTD in the eastern Taiwan. There are two features of the reported annual household income.
Firstly, the amount of reported annual household incomes of all four regions are higher than the
average annual household income from governmental statistics in 2013
11
. Figure 1 illustrates the
differences by regions:
Figure 1.
The comparison of annual average household income between governmental
statistics and reported estimate from WHMs
12

Second, the reported income shown above does not represent the real income condition for the
eastern Taiwan due to a lack of samples from this region and some outliers. Compared with the
other three regions that collected 179 valid samples (North), 66 valid samples (Central) and 72

10
The weekly wage or hourly wage in Australia reported could only indicate an approximate assessment due to the
frequent change of jobs and locations during their stay in Australia.
11
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan R.O.C. ,“Yearly Statistics from
1981 to 2013.” Retrieved May, 2015 from http://win.dgbas.gov.tw/fies/214.asp
12
Source: see note 9 and survey conducted by the author.

8

valid samples (South), there were only five valid samples from the eastern Taiwan and no sample
was collected from adjacent islands around main Taiwan Island. The numbers of WHMs
between the whole western part of Taiwan and the eastern Taiwan indicate the existence of
regional disparity and information within the island.
Aside from educational and economic background, according to the survey, 55.7% of
WHMs reported their motivations as “cultural experience” (including English learning); 23.3%
said their motivations were out due to “economic concern”; 7.5% were out for “job-seeking
transition”; and only 2% were because of “immigration”. Although there are more than half of
the respondents who address their motivations to be “cultural experience”, there are 71.2% of all
the respondents applied for second-year visa, which means that more than two-thirds of them
need to stay in the rural areas for at least 88 days in order to fulfill the requirements. Moreover,
there are 33.3% of WHMs who chose to work in rural areas for 3 to 5 months and 31.6% who
chose to work in rural areas for more than 5 months throughout their whole WHM program.
People who were willing to work longer than required at those primary sectors of the economy
are the salient feature of Taiwanese WHMs according to survey.
In addition, the survey also investigated WHMs who have resumed work after completing
their WHM program. 19% of respondents reported their current salary is lower than their
previous salary in Taiwan before the WHM program. In contrast, there are 15.5% of respondents
reported their current salary is higher than their previous one. Among those who reported a
higher salary, only 2% of them received a more than 10,000 NTD (333USD) raise in salary.
Furthermore, there are 67.4% of respondents said their current positions are not related to their

9

jobs in Australia (including “no relevance” and “little relevance”) while 9.5% of the respondents
consider their new jobs related to their jobs in Australia (including “some relevance” and “high
relevance”). Other parts of this survey will be discussed in other sections of this study.

10

Section I: Masking the movement
In this section, some similarities and differences between WHMs and migrant workers are
characterized by comparing existing literature and interviews. According to record, ever since
the effect of WHM program between Taiwanese government and Australian government in 2004,
the number of Taiwanese WHMs roared up from 739 in 2005-6
13
to nearly 37,000 in 2013
14
.
However, existing literature of WHM mainly focused on British or other European countries and
does not discuss much about cultural differences from a non-European’s point of view. Moreover,
much of the existing literature in Taiwan focused on WHMs’ personal motivations or language
training; hence, a discussion from economic, cultural and social structural perspectives is
lacking.
Nowadays, globalization has not only broken down national barriers in terms of the
exchange of goods, finance, and trades, but also has made transportation and communication
from site to site easier and faster. Moreover, the authority of nation-state has had to make
adjustments to its immigration policies with time. Hugo indicated that global flows are different
from early postwar decades. It is not a movement from Europe to “traditional migration
countries”, but a “South-North” movement
15
(Hugo 2006). He also stressed the complexity of
parallel migration of highly skilled people, and those who are not within globalization context. In
addition, he noted that Australia’s immigration policies had changed to respond to the shift of

13

Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Australian Government, “Working Holiday and Work & Holiday
Visa Grants 2005-06 to 2009-10 Program Years.” Retrieved May, 2015 From
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/pdf/visitor/2005-06-to-2009-10-whm-wah-visa-grants.pdf
14
Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. “Working Holiday Maker Visa Program
Report.”(2014), 13.
15
Graeme Hugo, “Globalization and Changes in Australian International Migration,” Journal of Population
Research23, no.2 (2006): 108.

11

increasing temporary immigrants in the last decade due to globalization
16
. Other research
resonated with these ideas. Stalker (Stalker 2000) has pointed out:
“The character of international migration has also changed. Migrants can move
back and forth much more readily and rapidly-- and can keep in regular contact with
their homes, even if these are on the other side of the globe, As a result, the
flows are more diverse and complex.”
17

As modern migration becomes more cyclic and temporary, current migration in Australia is
different from historical waves of migration. Similar to the United States, Australia is also a
large immigrant-receiving country. However, unlike the United States, Australia is still in need
of seasonal workers in regional areas especially in the primary sector of its economy. Unlike
traditional migrant workers, the WHM program offers youths from certain countries the
opportunity to go to Australia to work and travel at the same time.
Past literature on British youth WHMs in Australia as Clarke (Clarke 2005) illustrated tend
to focus on the impact of transnationalism on either the high-end or low-end labor market, which
makes WHMs ignored in the context
18
. From his interviews, these WHMs’ experiences were
closer to the original idea of working holiday provided by Australian government. It was an
overseas experience (OE) for many interviewees, a gap year away from home; moreover, they
regarded traveling as discovery and exploration. Yet, these experiences may be different from
WHMs of other regions. First, the research was conducted in 2001-2002 when the WHM

16

Ibid., 118.
17
Peter Stalker, Workers Without Frontiers: The Impact of Globalization on International Migration (Boulder, CO:
Lynne Rienner Publishers,2000), 7.
18
Nick Clarke, “Detailing Transnational Lives of the Middle: British Working Holiday Makers in Australia,”
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies31, no.2 (2005): 25.

12

program had a 12-month limit, and WHMs did not work in regional areas to get their second year
visas. Second, taking Sydney as the main research field would be different from regional areas in
Australia because there were more professional positions in the major cities. Third, interviewees
were mainly from the UK (some were from the Netherlands), and the experience of cultural
differences in Australia was not a problem for them as compared to WHMs from Asian countries.
Even so, Clarke made the point that WHMs were suited to a “middling” status in the global
context
19
. In Clarke’s article, these WHMs were more inclined to the idea of “holiday” than
“working” and they fit in the discourse of a gap year or sojourning of middle class youths.
20

As for researches on Taiwanese WHMs, Ho and others (Ho, Lin, and Huang 2012) had
analyzed the motivations of the WHMs from Taiwan. According to their analysis, most
Taiwanese WHMs referred to positive outcomes. For the direct reasons of participating in WHM
program, there are two functional consequences reported, “developing a considerable range of
skills” and “being in control of personal finance”
21

Inconsistent with Clarke’s findings, Ho’s article revealed a different experience of working
holiday from European (mostly British) WHMs. Even though some of the Taiwanese
interviewees regarded WHM program as overseas cultural experience, many others still focused
more on building their personal skills and earning wages.
22
In Taiwan, it is commonly

19
Ibid., 27.
20
See note 18. In the note of his research, he describes WHMs as “relatively rich, privileged, and powerful
nevertheless” It is remained questionable whether these descriptions are applicable to WHMs from other nations or
not.
21
Chang-Iuan Ho, Pi-Yueh Lin, Shu-Chin Huang, “Exploring Taiwanese Working-Holiday Makers’ motivations:
An analysis of Means-End Hierarchies,” Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (2012): 15. DOI:
10.1177/1096348012461549
22
By 2013, the minimum hourly wage in Australia was AUD 16.3 (USD 14.9), while in Taiwan was NTD 109
(USD 3.6).

13

understood that the working holiday program in Australia is a fast means to earn money. If the
WHMs can stand to live thrifty lives for one or two years, they will do well because of the
different currency valuations and higher minimum hourly wages. Therefore, in order to
understand the formation of this new labor migration pattern among Taiwanese youths, some of
the similarities and differences between Taiwanese WHMs and past researches on migrant
workers should be addressed first.

14

A gateway or getaway: Three features of Taiwanese WHMs
Based on Robertson’s (Robertson 2014) finding, “being temporary”
23
is a crucial feature of
WHMs, and Taiwanese WHMs also share this characteristic. Out of the sample population of
347, only 7 have the intention to immigrate to Australia before their departure, and these 7
respondents all have relatives living there currently, according to the survey. Although one of the
interviewees said that she is considering to change her visa status in order to gain permanent
residency (PR) in Australia in a year or two, she developed this idea after she found Australia
very much to her liking:
Actually I changed my visa status from WHM visa to student visa after completing my two
years’ WHM program. I studied Arts and Carving in Taiwan and now I’m studying in a
nursing program. Um…you know, if you would like to immigrate to Australia, it would be
better that you started it early. I did not think about immigration earlier, but I started to plan
this before my second year (WHM) visa ended. It was a coincidence that I started my
second year (WHM) visa, but my second year duration turned out to be great! I love this
place. I guess I am an unrestrained girl
24
, and I like to get along with foreigners not
Taiwanese WHMs. [Gloria, 28]
Another interviewee, Fred, whose employer would like to sponsor his working visa when
his working holiday visa ends; however, he decided to turn down this opportunity to work in
Australia as a chef.

23

Shanthi Robertson, “Time and Temporary Migration: The Case of Temporary Graduate Workers and Working
Holiday Makers in Australia,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies1, (2104): 3.
24
Original text is “ai-wan” literally means like to play. It is written “ 愛玩” in Chinese.

15

When I arrived Australia in 2013, there were so many Taiwanese people and I could not
find jobs in the city. Therefore, I went to rural area and worked at a zucchini farm for three
months. After that, I found a job as a chef, which I was familiar with. Then for the
following 14 months, I only worked as a chef. Well, I think chef is a good job in Australia,
and I earned more than I expected (Laugh). I worked eight months for my second boss.
(Researcher: How did you do it? Isn’t it forbidden to work for the same employer for more
than six months?) Haha. It was because my boss owns more than one restaurant; he only
needed to change my name to his other company so that I can still work for him. I think he
really liked me and wanted to sponsor my work permit. He even asked me three times!
(Researcher: Why didn’t you stay?) Um, I think the overall living condition in Australia is
better than Taiwan. However, my English is not very good. Do you know that you need to
get at least 5.5 on IELTS
25
? It is too hard for me. I left Taiwan for nearly two years, and I
think it is a little bit too long. [Fred, 26]
Comparing migrant workers, Paul (Paul 2011) indicated that many Filipino domestic
workers chose their destinations with a “stepwise international migration trajectory”
26
which
means they would plan to work at intermediate countries, such as Singapore, Taiwan, or the
Middle East before they finally immigrated to their preferred destinations. According to that
research, Paul argued that:

25

IELTS stands for The International English Language Testing System. Score 5.5 is around 46-59/120 in TOEFL
iBT. Test of English as a Foreign Language. “Compare TOEFL Scores.” Retrieved May, 2015 from
https://www.ets.org/toefl/institutions/scores/compare/
26
Anju Mary Paul, “Stepwise International Migration: A Multistage Migration Pattern for the Aspiring Migrant,”
American Journal of Sociology116, no.6 (2011): 1842.

16

“Prospective migrants create in their minds a hierarchy of destinations, ranked according
to multiple criteria, and that the goal of stepwise international migrants is to climb as high
up this hierarchy as possible until they eventually reach their preferred destination.”
27

Although there were three of the interviewees who said that they would like to go to other
countries for working holiday after they completed current program in Australia, they also
addressed the concern of leaving Taiwan for too long which would cause discontinuity of
work-experience in Taiwan. This concern shows two distinct features of Taiwanese WHMs that
differ from the Filipino migrant workers as described by Paul. First, they do not consider their
WHM program as “regular jobs” but more of an experience. Second, they expect that they will
resume work in Taiwan once they completed WHM program in Australia.
I will go to Canada after I finish my working holiday in Australia this year.
(Researcher: Had you planned to go to Canada before you went to Australia?)
Yes, I was lucky enough to be granted a Canadian working holiday visa. Therefore, I
decided to come to Australia first so that I can afford my trip to Canada. I am working at a
farm now and trying to meet the requirement for second year visa here, so that if I do not
earn money in Canada, I will come back here again.
(Researcher: How long do you plan to stay overseas?) Um, it is hard to say now. Probably
two or three years…it depends on how much I can earn in Canada. If things go well, I
would not come back here for second year working holiday.
(Researcher: So, would you like to go back to Taiwan in a year or two?) Yes, as you have

27

Ibid., 1845.

17

known, I just completed my military service in Taiwan. I do not have real working
experiences in Taiwan except for some part-time jobs. I think I will definitely go back in a
few years. Otherwise, I think it will be too late for me to start working. [Douglas, 24]
(Researcher: You just came back to Taiwan this week, right? What is your next step?) Um, I
have been thinking about this for a while since I was in Australia. Actually, my older sister
is working in UK under working holiday program right now. I am still thinking whether I
should go to UK for working holiday or find a stable job in Taiwan. My family is a little
conservative and they disliked my decision to go Australia; not to mention I even stayed for
two years. Um, I guess I would probably stay in Taiwan because you know…we girls at this
age, are usually under certain pressure (Laugh). In addition, I think I need to resume to
work in Taiwan, for my family needs my financial support.
(Researcher: Isn’t the salary in UK higher than in Taiwan?) Yes, I agree, but I also heard
that it is harder for foreigners to find jobs there. Well, I think I was lucky that most of the
time I had a job in Australia so that I could repay my college loans by my savings in two
years. What if I do not find a job in the UK? It will be a problem. [Helena, 28]
However, it does not mean that Taiwanese WHMs do not desire “the West” as migrant
workers do; it is exactly “the quest for the West” that encouraged them to move globally. By
using the concept of cultural capital, Chang (Chang 2014) indicates that working holiday is a
method for Taiwanese youths to distinguish their social status as middle class from others
28

Meanwhile, WHMs often mentioned “living abroad for one or two years”, “overseas

28

Hui-Tzu Chang, “Experience The West: A Study on Taiwan Working Holiday Maker in Australia.” (Master’s
thesis, National Taiwan University, 2014), 33-34.

18

experience”, or “the experience of Western lifestyle” to describe their perception of WHM
program. In fact, “foreign (western) experience” is highly encouraged in Taiwan’s society but
often restricted to studying abroad or working as white-collared. From Chang’s research, many
of the WHMs bear a hierarchy of nations in their minds too. USA and English-speaking
European countries such as UK and Ireland are preferred destinations for them
29
. However, due
to cap numbers restriction and living cost, most people still chose Australia for their WHM
program.
If I could choose, I think I would go to Europe or UK.
(Researcher: Why?) I have been longing for studying abroad in UK and traveling in
European countries. My major in College was foreign literature, and I think it is my dream
to visit the places I had read.
(Researcher: Is Australia different from your expectations?) I love western culture,
well…Australia is similar but different. I guess Australia has its diversity, which is not that
authentic to European cultures. I like Australia though I prefer Europe more (Laugh). [Anya,
26]

I think I would choose USA if there are no any other restrictions when choosing my
destination for working holiday.
(Researcher: Why?) I used to go “work and travel” in the US during my summer vacation in
college. It is a program only for college students and I am not eligible anymore. I like my

29

Ibid., 42-43.

19

past experiences there very much and it was the first time that traveled around the US with
my own savings. I like its culture, haha maybe it is the so-called American dream.
(Researcher: What is the definition of “American dreams” for you?) It is hard to explain. I
guess it is an atmosphere that you can do the things you like and no other people want to
bother you. Um, I just do not like Asian culture.
(Researcher: What is the difference between American culture and Australian culture in
your mind?) I think Australian culture is quite open, but sometimes I think they are rude and
impatient. Not knowing why, it is another cluster from European or American cultures.
[Elsa, 28]
The interviewees revealed the same desire of living abroad temporarily, especially in Western
countries. However, they could not achieve this goal by working or studying directly, thus,
Australia became an intermediate choice for them. Moreover, this desire of “Western culture” is
rather an ambiguous expectation that many Taiwanese WHMs shared. This viewpoint of a
homogeneous “Western culture” is in fact referring to a confined definition that links to
English-speaking and Anglo-Saxon cultures. Unlike migrant workers, after a year or two of
living abroad, they are less likely to go on the next journey once they go back to Taiwan.
The second difference is that the use of their wages (remittance). According to Ministry of
Interior, between the ages 20-29, 82.8% of Taiwanese females stay unmarried and 91.7% males
stay unmarried in 2012
30
. Most of the Taiwanese WHMs do not have dependents and it is
prohibited to bring any dependents to Australia under WHM visas. According to the survey,

30
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan R.O.C. (2013). “Population,
Marriage and Family,” Retrieved May, 2015 from
http://www.dgbas.gov.tw/public/Attachment/43794519KIDNIEKP.pdf

20

aside from daily expense, 48.1% of the respondents spent their wages on traveling; 25.5% on
gourmet; and 13% on shopping. There are only 6.1% of the respondents said they nearly spent
nothing except for necessities. In contrast to WHMs, Filipino migrant workers for instance, sent
back $2.6 billion remittances to Philippines through the banking system in 1994
31
(Karp 1995;
Parreñas 2001). Unlike Philippines, remittances from WHMs are not one of the top sources of
foreign currencies in Taiwan. In the interviews, Carlos stated:
I came to Australia right after my military service because I want to go to other countries
while I am still young. (Researcher: What is you motivation for going to Australia and why
this destination?) There are a lot of Taiwanese who had been to Australia before, so I think
it is safer and easier to start with. Also, I really want to be financially independent from my
family. You know, the payment was low when I was in the army. (Researcher: What do you
plan to do with your savings?) I want to learn Japanese. My goal is to get about
500,000-1,000,000 NTD (around 16,667-33,333 USD) in two years. (Researcher: It sounds
a lot. Do you need that much for Japanese learning in Taiwan?) Well, I want to study
abroad in Japan and the living costs and tuition are high for foreigners. (Researcher: Why
did not you go to Japan for working holiday?) I do not know Japanese language yet;
therefore, I chose Australia. [Carlos, 25]
The above excerpt from Carlos’ interview showed that he regarded his earnings in Australia to
be education investment for himself. The money he earned was neither for familial expense nor
for a better future of the younger generations, but for him alone. Another interviewee, Helena,

31
Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration, and Domestic Work. (California:
Stanford University Press, 2001), 52-53.

21

provided her story:
I went to Australia in 2013 after I had worked in Taiwan for 4 years since graduation. I was
lucky that most my duration in Australia I was employed except for the very beginning. I
even repaid my student loan in these two years. Well, I think I lost money because the
exchange rates dropped a lot since 2013
32
. Thankfully, I still managed to repay my loans.
[Helena, 28]
As we can note, she had student loan before she went to Australia, and her savings in Australia
helped her get rid of her debts in a shorter period of time that she might not be able to
accomplish if she worked in Taiwan. In the survey, there are 24.1% of respondents who are
bearing college loans, 9% bearing mortgage, and 6.4% under both.
In addition to loans, high rate of unemployment and stagancy of average income also
encourage youth to work overseas. According a news report, the average annual growth rate of
income is -0.4% in 2010
33
(Yu 2010). These striking results indicate that many recently
graduated Taiwanese youths are facing a severe low-paid and long working hours environment.
Leaving Taiwan to Australia, thus, becomes a short getaway for the Taiwanese WHMs.
Interestingly, when asked “how much did you earn/or bring back to Taiwan when you finished
WHM program?” Most of the interviewees avoided answering this question directly.
Oh, I think I earned much less than other Taiwanese.
(Researcher: Why?) I did not work too hard. I am not like some Taiwanese who worked all

32
Later on she explained her loss caused by the dramatic decrease of exchange rate by using “kuei-si le” in Chinese,
meaning a huge loss.

33

Kuo-chin Yu, “Taiwan’s salary is becoming stagnant.” [Forum]. Retrieved May, 2014 from
http://www.jobmarket.tw/bbs/showthread.php?t=569

22

the time. There were four months that I did not have any job and could only live on my
savings.
(Researcher: Then, can you tell me how much you brought back or wired back?) I think
probably 300,000 NTD (around 10,000 USD) after I worked for two years. I have to tell
you, it is not much at all! There are a lot of other Taiwanese people who earned much more
than me. I think I am unrestrained
34
(Laugh). [Anya, 26]
I brought back around 17,000 AUD and I am still waiting for my tax return. Well, as I had
told you, I could have brought back more if the exchange rates were more desirable. There
were more people who had brought back more than me because they did not travel much or
did not need to repay loans.
(Researcher: Did you travel while you were in Australia?) Yes, I traveled a lot. I even spent
a week with my boyfriend doing volunteer work at a dolphin conservation park.
[Helena, 28]
I arrived Australia in 2013 and there were too many Taiwanese in the cities. I think I was
lucky because I am a chef, which made me easier to find a job. My highest wage was at a
mining site (as a chef), and I stayed there for eight months in total. I earned more than I
expected, so I just traveled around.
(Researcher: How much did you bring back to Taiwan after two years of program?)
I did not bring much because I spent a lot on traveling. My parents visited me and I paid for
their plane tickets! Haha, I think I worked really hard; therefore, I should play harder. In

34
See note 22 above.

23

addition, my girlfriend and I went to New Zealand for a month before we came back to
Taiwan. I spent almost 3,000 AUD in New Zealand, otherwise I could have brought back
more.
(Researcher: That was quite much for traveling. Did you remember the amount you brought
back?) Probably, I would say is 13,000 AUD (around 10,4000 USD). The exchange rate
was really low this year. [Fred, 26]
Compared to the “heroic” representation constructed by Philippines government to its
female migrant workers
35
, many of the Taiwanese WHMs refused to be classified as (solely)
moneymaking people in Australia. When asked the amount of remittances, they preferred to
reply that the amount is lower than their other friends. Instead, interviewees would tend to
mention their travel experiences or the use of their remittance to explain the reason that the
amount is little.
However, aside from the differences between Taiwanese WHMs and migrant workers, there
is one main theme that they both experience. Contradictory class mobility observed by Parreñas
when interviewing domestic workers in Rome and Los Angeles
36
. Similar to her findings,
Taiwanese WHMs who are mostly college degree holders, stating that the degrees they hold are
not useful in job seeking.
One of the most unforgettable memories I had was the interaction with my boss, a farmer,
who was not very well educated.
(Researcher: Could you describe it?) Um, he and his girlfriend quarreled a lot, almost

35

Parreñas, Servants of Globalization: Women, 53.

36

Ibid., 150.

24

everyday. They are not rich but they like to spend money on drugs and cigarettes. There was
once his girlfriend told me that the reason I am an Asian was because I ate too much rice.
(Researcher: How did you feel then?) I was not really offended because I know she was not
well educated. Um, but I did feel like living in the bottom of that society. You know…I am
more educated but I work for them. [Elsa, 28]
Elsa majored in journalism in college and worked as saleswoman before going to Australia.
Her two-month observation at a farm was a culture shock for her. By describing educational
success and interactions with her Australian employers, she clearly understood a contradictory
mobility that she was experiencing and what the social stratum her employers fall into. Similar to
Elsa, another interviewee pointed out that:
I noticed that many western WHMs are much younger than Taiwanese WHMs. (Researcher:
Do you know the reason?) I think many of them did not complete university degree.
Especially, many German WHMs are only 18 or 19 years old, graduated from high school. I
think Taiwanese (college) degrees are useless here because we still do manual labor works
and get low wages here.
(Researcher: How did you perceive this?) I feel pathetic. You know what? I think it is a
problem of Taiwan’s education. It might be a waste of time and educational resource for
many people in Taiwan because they do not really know what they want in the future. I just
hope that this could be a chance for many of us to think about our education system.
[Gloria, 28]

25

From the survey, 84.6% of the respondents attained college degrees or higher; compared to
a survey conducted by Australian government that only 54% of the surveyed WHMs attained
University as their highest degree. In addition, 40.9% of German WHMs are holding high school
degree as their highest degree
37
(Tan et al. 2009), which resonates to what Gloria stated. She
focused on her hope that temporary downward mobility may be a chance for people to rethink
the problem of existing educational structure. This comment resulted form the fact that she did
not expect contradictory mobility would continue once she completed WHM program. Similarly,
it is exactly the temporary characteristic of WHMs (and their short period of downward mobility)
that makes this contradictory mobility more endurable for them.
The fact is that “being temporary” is a double-edged sword for many of the Taiwanese
WHMs. On the one hand, the WHM program brought them a short-term getaway from recent
stagnant economy growth, and an opportunity to live in a “Western” country as part of their
cultural capital. On the other hand, it is the temporary characteristic of their migration that
distinguishes them from traditional linear immigration pattern. The constraints of this temporary
status include the label of less-commitment in the labor market, and higher possibility to tolerate
exploitation at workplaces. Moreover, when compared to migrant workers who intentionally
strive to build up a stepwise strategy, Taiwanese WHMs seemed to be more unplanned and
aimless. This newly established labor migration for Taiwanese youths falls into an ambiguous
status positioning. By deploying the overlapping characters as workers and travelers, they need
to adjust their positions when facing questions in Taiwan. Their slight reluctance to talk about

37

Yan Tan, et al “Evaluation of Australia’s Working Holiday Marker (WHM) Program,” (2009), 11-12. Retrieved
May 2015 from https://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/_pdf/whm-report.pdf

26

remittances is an instance of their strategy in association with the representation of “Tai-lao”
which will be illustrated in the next section.

27

Section II: “Tai-lao” in context:
Since a local business magazine in Taiwan published the article titled “I am a Tai-lao, and I
am here for money.”
38
The word “Tai-lao” was immediately used in association with WHMs
especially those in Australia. This compound word in Chinese consists abbreviations of Taiwan
and worker, which should not have been perceived negatively from its literal meaning. However,
this term is easily associated with some other words, which exist in Taiwan’s society such as
“Thai-lao” (Thai labor workers), “In-lao”(Indonesian labor workers), and “Fei-lao”(Filipino
labor workers). In general, foreign migrant or foreign contract workers are called “Wai-lao”
(Foreign workers). In order to understand the reason why “Tai-lao” evoked intense debate and
attention from both the media and the public, “Wai-lao” is the most crucial word to begin with.
These terms represent two features: ethnocentrism and elitism, which are usually disguised
in Taiwan’s society. The former displays an established social value with regard to economic
development and national pride. These notions of masked discrimination have been noticed by
scholars and welfare institutions; yet have not fully been eradicated.
For years, the images of migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries and “foreign mail
order brides” have been constructed through the mass media as inferior. According to Kung
(Kung 2006), Taiwanese government officials have a tendency to stigmatize Vietnamese spouses
when they are applying for visas. In addition, from the interviews, the tacit acknowledgement of
ethnocentricism and elitism permeates Taiwan’s society
39
. Recently, many institutions
40
have

38
See note 7 above.
39
I-chun Kung, “State and Marriage Politics: the Cross-Border Marriage Between Taiwan and Vietnam,” Taiwan
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies3, no.1 (2006): 91.
40
Taking Awakening Foundation, 2003. “Why do you call me foreign new bride? I am already an old maid, not a
new bride.” [Press release]. Retrieved May, 2015 from http://www.awakening.org.tw/chhtml/topics_dtl.asp?id=98

28

advocated for a rectification of names such as “New immigrants”(Xin Yi Min) or “Foreign
spouses” (Wai Ji Pei Ou) and ”Foreign migrant workers” (Wai Ji Yi Gong) instead of “Foreign
brides”(Wai Ji Xin Niang) and “Foreign labor workers” (Wai Lao). Although those campaigns
influenced many people, the parlance of negative media coverage and negative images of
migrant workers are deep-rooted in the minds of most people.

29

Analysis of “Tai-lao” formation
The term “Wai-lao” consists of “foreign” and “worker”. By stating “others and
foreign”(Wai), an exotic but usually pejorative meaning stands out in the whole word especially
with the prefixes of Southeast Asian countries. Interestingly, these prefixes are not applicable to
Western/European countries in people’s daily conversation contexts. Lin and Brenda S. A. Yeoh
(2014) criticized that past migratory trajectories were too Western-centric; therefore they did not
notice that a large numbers of “white migrants”
41
are working in East Asian cities such as
Shanghai and Hong Kong
42
. As Lan (Lan 2011) noticed, many white workers (expatriates) who
work as English teachers for their initial positions in Taiwan. Yet, their cultural capital such as
English inheres in their appearance:
“ [T]he English-language capital is, nevertheless, highly racialized: it has to be attached to
white skin and only particular accents are considered ‘proper’ and valuable in the global
socio-linguistic field.”
43

Even though some of them are not “highly-skilled” professionals, their whiteness and
native-language skills are still marked as ‘superior other’ in Taiwan. Hence, white workers are
seldom labeled as “Wai-lao” which contains pejorative meaning and merely applies to workers
from the Southeast Asian countries. The use of this term, “Wai-lao” not only represents the
imagined hierarchy of nations, but also shows the hierarchy of ethnic groups by differentiating

41
Weiqiang Lin and Brenda S. A. Yeoh, “Transpacific Studies: The View from Asia.” In Transpacific Studies:
Framing an emerging Field, ed. Janet Hoskins and Viet Thanh Nguyen (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press,
2014), 59. According to the authors, this term is deliberately used in order not to justify the common linkage
between migrants and certain ethnic groups.
42
Ibid., 53.
43
Pei-chia Lan, “White Privilege, Language Capital and Cultural Ghettoization: Western High-Skilled Migrants in
Taiwan,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies37, no. 10 (2011): 1670.

30

nationalities, races, cultural capital, and economic background.
Researches on Taiwan’s immigration policy also showed that the government has a strong
preference for class selection of immigrants. That is to say, the Taiwanese government puts more
emphasis on “economic” immigrants and high-skilled workers while migrant workers were often
considered less important due to their lower class profile
44
(Tseng 2006). This preference is not
unusual among nations; for instance, by analyzing immigration policies in Australia, researchers
noted the complexity of parallel migration of highly skilled people and those who are not within
globalization context
45
(Hugo 2006).
However, the existence of parallel migration of both high and low skilled workers could not
legitimize the “normality” of the high skilled group’s mobility when juxtaposed to the mobility
of the low skilled group. Past literature seemed to vest transnational elites with “legitimacy”;
while low-skilled workers were more often merely considered to be “strategic”
46
(Findlay et al.
2008; Lin and Brenda S. A. Yeoh 2014). In contrast, the ambivalent “Wai-lao” and the context of
using this term came to reinforce the inequality of nationalities and social classes in the everyday
conversation in Taiwan.
After understanding a well-constructed national and ethnical meaning of “Wai”(foreign);
“Lao” (workers) is another important element in this projective word. This brief part will
illustrate how and why labor (-lao) become less favored in Taiwan’s society and its association
with Taiwan’s economic growth and education system.

44
Yen-feng Tseng, “Who Can Be Us? Class Selection in Immigration Policy,” Taiwan: A Radical Quarterly in
Social Studies61, (2006): 74.
45
Hugo, “Globalization and Changes in Australian International Migration”, 118.
46
See note 41.

31

Taiwan’s economic growth started to increase fast and stable not long after the end of
World War II. With international financial aids and governmental policies, the industrial and
social structure also changed drastically. As Chu (Chu 1999) noticed,
“Taiwan’s industrial structure has been changing swiftly over the last few decades. The
transformation from a dominantly agricultural society to an industrialized one took place in
the 1950s and 1960s. The light industries grew rapidly from the late 1960s to mid-1980s, and
then began to grow much more slowly or even contract or simply moved offshore since the
late 1980s. The heavy industries emerged slowly in the late 1960s, then picked up speed in
the 1970s, and took over the dominant position in the 1980s.”
47

When industrial structure changed from primary sector to tertiary sector of industry, the
significance of manual labor decreased due to factories moving offshore to Southeast Asian
countries or Mainland China seeking cheaper labor. In the meantime, the emphasis on higher
education has never been downplayed. More and more people attended universities pursuing
higher education in hope of better prospects in the society. This was not a novel trend but a
deeply rooted ideology from traditional Chinese thinking since Mencius. Cheng and White (1990)
had an explicit explanation of this phenomenon.

47
Wan-wen Chu, “Productivity Growth and Industrial Structure: The Case of Taiwan,” (Osaka: Pacific Economic
Outlook Specialist meetings, 1999, photocopied), 15.

32

“Social stratification in traditional China was generally based on Mencius’s idea that those
who labor with their minds rule, and those who labor with their physical strength are ruled.
This notion not only justified an unequal distribution of power but also defined ‘who should
rule.’ In a society under this ideology, education served as a main avenue of upward
mobility.”
48

With this ideology permeating the society, the recent college admission rate has roared as high as
90.93% since 2006 and up to 95.73% in 2014.
49
In addition, the number of (both national and
private) universities in Taiwan has increased dramatically from 28 in 1986 to 154 in 2004. Wang
(Wang 2003) pointed out the problems of too many higher education institutions established in
Taiwan after education reform, which caused the devaluation of higher education.
50
Yet, even
though with limited public (national) universities and devaluation of higher education, the
passion for attending universities never faded. Therefore, it is not surprising that Taiwanese
WHMs are largely university degree holders and many of them have school loans to repay before
their departure to Australia.
Since higher education became more reachable for the youth, manual labor positions
became less desired by younger generation. Taiwanese government started to recruit foreign
labor force in 1992 when the whole society started to transform form labor-intensive industries to
an industrialized society. Scholars noticed that a higher rate of unemployment and shortage of

48
Li Cheng and Lynn White, “Elite Transformation and Modern Change in Mainland China and Taiwan: Empirical
Data and the Theory of Technocracy,” The China Quarterly, no. 121 (Mar., 1990), 17.
49
Ministry of Education, Taiwan R. O. C. (n.d.). “Important Information of Educational Statistics.” May, 2015
Retrieved from
http://www.edu.tw/pages/detail.aspx?Node=4076&Page=20047&Index=5&WID=31d75a44-efff-4c44-a075-15a9eb
7aecdf
50
Ru-jer Wang, “From Elitism to Mass Higher Education in Taiwan: The Problems Faced,” Higher Education43,
no.3 (2003): 282.

33

labor coexisted during the period of industrial transformation
51
(Liu 2000). That is to say, the
fact of “labor shortage” should be a phenomenon of “cheap labor shortage” in reality. Influenced
by this new social setting, foreign workers (Wai-lao) who mostly came from Southeast Asian
nations were highly linked to cheap labor force, low skilled positions and manual labor.
After analyzing the social and economic changes that resulted in the present reputation of
“Wai-lao”; the following part of this section will focus on “Tai-lao” by two dimensions:
historical perspective and elite transformation.
Back to Taiwan’s flourishing economic growth in 1970s, with higher education in reach and
governmental support, a large number of Taiwanese students studied abroad. There is a proverb
that contiunes in existence,”Come, come to NTU; Go, go to the U.S.”
52
Meanwhile,
Cross-Straits relations remained agitated, citizens or businessmen were prohibited from visiting
or investing in China. Alternatively, the government encouraged businessmen to invest in
Southeast Asia countries and to build companies or factories there. Later on, these Taiwanese
businessmen, known as “Tai-shang”, moved their investments to Shenzhen or Xiamen when
China opened its market to the world. Although working and living abroad, with abundant
financial captial and experience in management, Tai-shang were commonly regarded as
successful and rich for their investments in foreign countries by the public and the government.
Chen (Chen 2010) depicted and also criticized this mentality vividly:

51
Mei-chun Liu, “A Critique from Marxist Political Economy on the ‘Cheap Foreign Labor’ Discourse,” Taiwan: A
Radical Quarterly in Social Studies38, (2000): 64.

52

It is anonymous. Original Chinese texts : “來、來、來台大，去、去、去美國”. NTU stands for
National Taiwan University.

34

“Both of these new political forces required a new version to further their political goals,
and the Taiwan-centered worldview implied in the southward advance, ‘restoring Taiwan to
Southeast Asia, returning to Nangyang,’ was something both camps could share. … [A]
step toward resolving Taiwanese society’s collective anxiety and ambivalence over
westward advance.”
53

Chen (2010) criticized Taiwanese government and businessmen’s investments in Southeast
Asian nations as reflecting not only anxiety from the society but also a “sub-imperial” role that
the Taiwanese government inherited from the old Japanese empire
54
in order to rebuild national
reputation and international status. Ever since the public embraced this new order of international
hierarchy and the leading roles that Tai-shang play between Taiwan and other Asian countries,
when the government made a decision on recruiting foreign labor force in 1992, the
subjectivities of these migrant labors were highly unvalued.
After Mainland China opened its market to foreign investments, many Tai-shang moved
their factories from both Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries to China. Shortly, a new term
“Tai-gan”(Taiwanese cadres) formed as many young Taiwanese people started to work in China
in managerial positions. “Tai-gan” who work as intermediates between Taiwanese employers
and Chinese workers are often classified as high-skilled professionals or elites for their capability
to move across borders. However, Deng (Deng 2007) argued that this movement is not a
frictionless mobility and Taiwanese workers are more prone to be middle class migrants rather

53
Kuan-hsing Chen, Asia as Method: Toward Deimperialization (Durham and London: Duke University Press,
2010), 47.

54

Ibid., 59.

35

than “global elites”
55
. Moreover, as salaries increased in China and native Chinese youths came
to occupy more managerial positions, some “Tai-gan” started to mock themselves as “Tai-lao”
indicating that secured and privileged positions were no longer reserved to Taiwanese expatriates.
Although some Taiwanese expatriates jokingly called themselves “Tai-lao” in comparison with
working conditions and salaries in the past, they are still less considered as manual labors
because of their mobility and common linkage to Tai-shang who are rich in financial capital.
Another perspective of “Tai-lao” is associated with the pursuit of education overseas and
return elites. According to researches, Cheng and White (1990) pointed out that a new generation
of leadership are Closely associated with foreign educational background. Consequently, it is not
surprising to know:
“In Taiwan, Chen Lu-an and Ma Ying-jeou, who served successively as KMT
56
deputy
secretary-general, were M.I.T. and Harvard graduates respectively.”
57

Not to mention that Ma Ying-jeou later became the President of R.O.C.(Taiwan) . They also
stressed that not only KMT but also the opposite party is also very elite-oriented. As discussed
before, high educational background was taken seriously in the Taiwanese society and the new
political leaders were mostly educated in the Western countries; consequently, studying or
working abroad is usually seen in relation to the privileged and well-educated ones. Seldom did
people think about any associations between working overseas and manual labor since most of
the Taiwanese international students studied in the field of engineering and natural sciences in

55
Jian-bang Deng, “Constrains on Flexibility: Understanding Transnational Mobility and Living Arrangements of
Taiwanese Highly Skilled Migrants in China,” Journal of Taiwan Studies3 (2007): 13 and 24.

56

KMT stands for Kuomintang which is a political party in Taiwan and sometimes refers to the Chinese nationalist
party.
57
Li Cheng and Lynn White, “Elite Transformation and Modern Change in Mainland China and Taiwan: Empirical
Data and the Theory of Technocracy”, 20.

36

that 1990s.
58

Besides, in the 1990s, the flow of return migration was distinct when government planned
to establish a highly technological city in Taiwan.
“Taiwan’s policy has shifted from emphasizing technology imports to emphasizing
primarily exports of technology-intensive goods. The global technological revolution and
increasing integration of the international economy has called for the emergence of
technical elites.”
59

Many of the Taiwanese overseas students or even expatriates decided to go back, seeing future
prospects in Taiwan, which was known as “the return flow of human talent” (rencai-huiliu).
60

Thanks to the development of globalization and division of labor, Taiwan has benefited from the
high-tech industry since the previous return migration in the mid-1990s.
What makes WHMs different from the previos discourse is that they are neither
businessmen with substantial capital nor international students equipped with high-tech skills.
Instead, they are viewed as labor workers, “Tai-lao” which consists of certain discriminative
meaning in Taiwan. As a new form of return migration, many of them only have up to two-year
overseas experience, unlike previous return migration in the 1990s, they seemed to be less
dedicated to national development. Since they are not “recalled” by the government, their
self-actualization is often mentioned, in terms of remittances, working experience, and even
language learning. However, as public debates go on, the advantages of working holiday were
questioned. Perplexed by both the fear of being marginalized within global context and the fear

58
Ibid., 3.
59
Ibid., 6.

60
Stalker, Workers Without Frontiers, 112. In Chinese, it refers to “ 人才回流”

37

of becoming a labor exporting nation, the debate over globalization continues in Taiwan.
Hence, bringing in the opinions from the rather voiceless Taiwanese WHMs is crucial in
order to understand how they perceive this phenomenon. The last part of this section will look at
multiple viewpoints of the “Tai-lao” discourse from WHMs .

38

A reversal or reinforcement of manual labor?
In the survey, respondents were asked to choose their opinions on “Tai-lao” discourse and
their working experience in Australia, options were the following: “Agree, it is exactly the same
as wai-lao in Taiwan and highly relevant to economic motivation”, “Agree, working as manual
labor should be considered –lao, generally”, “Disagree, I think it is more like a foreign
experience” and “Disagree, well-educated people are different from manual labors”. There are
16.1% of responsedents who agreed with “Wai-lao”sentence, 25.1% who agreed with “-lao
discourse”, 47.6% who considered it is more like a foreign experience, and 3.7% chose the
education statement.
In this spectrum of “Tai-lao” discourse, option one shows a pejorative meaning of manual
labor and a strong link between “Wai-lao and Tai-lao.” Meanwhile, option two, presenting a
more neutral standpoint of manual labor. Moreover, it also shows the possibility of disconnecting
the discrimination of migrant workers in Taiwan since these Taiwanese WHMs could view
foreign labor force positively. Option three resonated with Chang’s (Chang 2014) research in
that Taiwanese WHMs that they tend to transfer their downward mobility working experiences
into cultural experiences and accumulated their cultural capital.
61
Option four indicated a small
percentage of WHMs followed the traditional social hierachy that denied association between
manual labor and higher education.
From the survey, the rate of bearing student loans or mortgages was 33.9% in all
respondents who regarded WHMs as a cultural experience which is lower than the overall rate

61
Chang, “Experience The West: A Study on Taiwan Working Holiday Maker in Australia”, 74-75.

39

(39.1%) of bearing loans among all the respondents. On the contrary, those who agreed with
“Tai-lao” discourse (including option one and two) have a rate up to 45.7% of bearing loans or
mortgages. From this result, their financial capital might affect how they percieve their WHM
program experience and the “Tai-lao” discourse.
In terms of percentage, option three is the highest for it ingeniously provides an acceptable
and legitimate balance between downward mobility and human captital accumulation. Chang
categorized Taiwanese WHMs into four types by their economic and cutural capitals.
62
Her
results showed that although many people stated the WHM program is a cultural experience for
them, the Taiwanese WHMs, especially who owned less economic capital are experiencing
“semi-proletarianization” without noticing it according to her interviews.
63
To combine with her
analysis and the researcher’s survey results above, those who regarded WHM program as a
cultural experience can be seperated into two categories.
Type one owned more financial capital which enable them to stay in Australia without
financial concerns. However, type two were very concerned with their financial problems and
experienced exploitation while still regarding it as a “cultural experience”. This paradox resulted
from the essence of WHM program itself because travel and work are the two main characters
that most WHMs shared with. The ambiguity and temporal status made them become both
desired and exploited. It is difficult to determine how high the percentage of type two is from
quantitative analysis because they chose the same option. Therefore, interviews will be able to
provide a rather profound analysis from another perspective.

62
Ibid., 49.
63
Ibid., 70.

40

In addition, option one and four both strengthened the existing discourse of “Wai-lao” and
manual labor even though they held different points of view on the WHM program. Although
both option one and two supported the discourse of “Tai-lao”, the former related their
circumstances to migrant workers in Taiwan and simplified their motivations; however, option
two respondents could be viewed as a possible reversal of pejorative “-lao.”
Interestingly, most of the interviewees revealed the similar result as described above and
combined cultural experience and manual labor together. However, there are still some
differences among them as we look at the spectrum of “Tai-lao” definition. Some of the
interviewees consider “Tai-lao” to be merely manual labors.
For instances:
I think the term “Tai-lao” only refers to those who work at farms and factories. They do not
have the opportunities to get a higher wage position; thus, they need to do the work that
Australians do not want to do. I know brokers exploit many Taiwanese WHMs, but they
cannot do anything but to accept the reality. I work at restaurants and my salary is above the
minimum wage, so I do not have the feeling of being exploited at all. [Fred, 26]

When I work at the mining site, I feel more like I am an employee not a “Tai-lao”. If you
stayed at farms doing tiring work, there would be some other Taiwanese or
Chinese-speaking “managers” who supervised you and arranged everything including daily
schedules for you. I think life without freedom is definitely a “Tai-lao”. [Helena, 28]

41

Some of the interviewees think “Tai-lao” means the purpose of this journey is merely for money.
I think there are too many “Tai-lao” who only get along with other Taiwanese people and
work together all the time. After work, they stay at home instead of hanging out with
foreigners because they want to save money. Living a very thrifty life and caring about
expenses all the time is not the purpose of the WHM program. [Gloria, 28]
Although some interviewees have different definitions of “Tai-lao”, there are some others
who think of themselves as “Tai-lao” without doubts. Elsa thinks of herself as a “Tai-lao” but
opposes any discrimination toward this term.
I am absolutely a “Tai-lao.”
(Researcher: What do you think of this term?) Well, I do not really care about it. There is
nothing bad about being a “Tai-lao”. [Elsa, 28]

I think I am a “Tai-lao”. This is a chance for me to work abroad and earn money.
Sometimes I go traveling as well but I know I am here to work. There are some other
Taiwanese WHMs especially girls who complained too much because they did not adjust to
the environment. They compared this program with their past travel experiences as
backpackers; therefore, it was hard for them to fit in. I know exactly that I am a “Tai-lao”.
You know, you have to accept this first. [Carlos, 25]
Furthermore, not only people who consider themselves as “Tai-lao” but also those who do
not consider themselves as “Tai-lao” show positive viewpoints of “Tai-lao” by giving examples
or emphasizing the importance of manual labor work.

42

The circumstances of “Wai-lao” in Taiwan and “Tai-lao” in Australia are pretty similar. At
least my job was legal and I worked very hard. [Elsa, 28]
Tiring jobs deserve better wages. Being a “Tai-lao” should not be criticized. Many of the
WHMs save money for various reasons such as loans or startup funds when they go back to
Taiwan. I think they are just being realistic. [Gloria, 28]
I think it is just a stigma for both “Tai-lao” and “Wai-lao”. [Bill, 27]
I do not mind of being called as a “Tai-lao”. I mean, I can buy an iPad with my
one or two-week wage very easily. It is impossible for that to happen if I worked in
Taiwan. Here, people take manpower seriously unlike Taiwan. [Douglas, 24]
Some people might feel unpleasant about being called a “Tai-lao”, but I am not. I earn
money with my both hands and make a lot of efforts. People should not look down on
manual labor. If there were anyone who criticized me, I would think they were just jealous.
[Ian, 23]
All of them above consider their journey to be more like a cultural experience and a change
of lifestyle despite the fact that they have different viewpoints of “Tai-lao”. It is also salient that
most of the interviewees were underpaid or worked illicitly
64
for one or more jobs during their
WHM program. The response from the interviews also resonated with Chang’s (2014)
observation that some of the Taiwanese WHMs spent most of their time working and still
considering this journey as a holiday.
65
My interviewees encountered a similar condition as
Chang stated. However, it does not indicate that they did not know their situations at all.

64

Aside form underpayments, some jobs offered more than the minimum wages; however, the employers only
provide cash in hand jobs for WHMs without paying insurance and taxes. This action is still considered to be illegal.
65
Chang, “Experience The West: A Study on Taiwan Working Holiday Maker in Australia”, 106.

43

“Tai-lao”? Well, to be honest, I think working in Taiwan is more like a “Tai-lao” with little
payment and long working hours or overtime. At least, we can get more salaries here in
Australia. [Anya, 26]
Living cost in the Australia is higher than in Taiwan; however, salaries are much higher too.
For example, I bought a camera around 20,000 NTD (670 USD). I can definitely afford this
amount of money with only one-week of wage here. If I would like to do the same thing in
Taiwan, it would be more than two-third of my monthly salary. I have to say; the quality of
living in Australia is better than in Taiwan. [Fred, 26]
By giving the comparison of Taiwan, staying in Australia and working either legally or not
seemed to be a rational decision even though they need to endure unreasonable exploitation or
demands from supervisors.
Additionally, the excerpts from the interviews showed a theme that they started to value the
importance of manual labor from their own experiences in Australia that led them to think about
the working conditions of migrant workers in Taiwan. By getting rid of the pejorative meaning
of “-lao”, they defended their social position as a “Tai-lao” and criticized the discrimination from
society as their resistance. From this viewpoint, a possible reversal of public thinking on manual
labor might take place from this new generation of youths, who had never worked as
blue-collared workers in Taiwan before
66
but served a similar position in Australia.
To sum up, this section discussed the formation of “Tai-lao” and the social and cultural
representations behind it. “-lao” in a compound word has been transferred from a neutral

66

Except for one of my interviewees, Ian, who refused to tell the jobs he had worked in Taiwan but only said that
he had worked as bottom class before he went to Australia. Other interviewees were either newly graduated students
or white-collared positions in Taiwan.

44

meaning to a pejorative term in Taiwan due to the following three main reasons. First, the long
existing Chinese tradition of devaluing manual labor and emphasizing education has a strong
influence on Taiwanese society. Second, from industrial transformation to offshore Taiwanese
factories, the economy has changed drastically in Taiwan. In addition, migrant workers and new
immigrants from Southeast Asian nations have been connected to the discourse of cheap labor
and ethnocentrism that also affected how people perceive “-lao”. Third, the elite transformation
of leadership in Taiwan made the younger generation quest for Western education, experience,
and lifestyle. Therefore, one will not be surprised why severe criticism of both the government
and WHMs from the mainstream media and the public arose when a local magazine revealed that
Taiwanese students from renowned universities were doing manual labor jobs in Australia under
the working holiday maker program.
From the interviews, some of the WHMs realized that they were experiencing exploitation
or receiving unreasonable payments; however, they still viewed the chance to go to Australia as
an opportunity of lifetime. They calculated their weekly wages and controlled their expenses
meticulously to ensure they ended up with positive “profits” from this working holiday program.
Moreover, they often compare their wages in Australia to salaries in Taiwan by a measurement
similar to PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) method
67
to make this choice of working in Australia
seemed to be very rational.
As for the discourse of “Tai-lao”, seldom did the WHMs care about the formation of this
word but merely judge from its representation. Many of the interviewees agreed that they are

67
PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) is a measurement to estimate the purchasing power between different currencies.
That is, the comparisons of purchasing power with a given amount of one currency with another.

45

“Tai-lao” and disagreed with any pejorative sense for “-lao”. That is to say, by downward
mobility and physical practice in factories or farms, they could easily connect their positions to
migrant labors in Taiwan; thus, a more empathetic viewpoint of the minority groups in the
Taiwanese society might be developed in the long term.
From the survey, most of the respondents disagreed with “Tai-lao” discourse because they
still regarded WHM program as a cultural experience despite of being exploited. This paradox
results from the fact that most of them view WHM program as a temporary downward migration;
thus, exploitation at workplaces becomes more endurable for many of them. Additionally,
despite the fact that Taiwanese WHMs tend to stay in rural regions longer than the requirements
for the second-year SC417 visa, they are still available travel with friends in the country during
the low season. Hence, from their subjective assessment, many of the WHMs are inclined to
consider their WHMs program to be a cultural experience.

46

Section III: Reactions of both governments

Working holiday maker program is designed to be a mutual and reciprocal agreement for
both governments. As discussed in previous sections, there are tens of thousands of Taiwanese
youths who participate in WHM programs every year and Australia is the most popular
destination among most of the nations. In contrast there are much fewer foreigners who go to
Taiwan under WHM programs. Since the WHM program agreement was signed in 2004, there
were only 94 visas issued to Australians and 42 visas issued to New Zealanders by 2010.
68

Therefore, the reactions and stances that both governments take are worth of noting.
The public has criticized the Taiwanese government for being rather passive on this
migration issue.
69
Most people are concerned that Taiwan would become a labor exporting
country under the WHM program and urged the government to deal with this problem. Despite
the fact that there is a large number of Taiwanese WHMs in Australia, the government could not
help much unless some incidents such as car accidents, injuries
70
, assaults, or emergency events
took place. According to the government, it agrees with the Australian government’s definition
on working holiday and even renames it as “Zhuangyou”
71
(grand tour) from “Dagong-dujia”
72

(working and holiday) despite the fact that many Taiwanese WHMs left for work rather than
holiday.

68

Taipei Times, (Aug. 09, 2010) “Working holiday popular with Taiwanese.” [News] Retrieved May, 2015 from
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/08/09/2003479935
69
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia, (Nov. 03,2010) “Discussions on Working Holiday.” Retrieved
June 14
th
, 2015 from http://www.taiwanembassy.org/ct.asp?xItem=171429&ctNode=11109&mp=211.
70
Yi-wen Wang (Nov. 09, 2013) “Accidents in Australia, Taiwanese WHM was burned.” [News] Retrieved June
14th, 2015. From http://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201311090003-1.aspx
71
Literally, it refers to “壯遊”, which means “grand tour.” ETTV. (2012, September 15). “Working holiday should
not be called Tailao. MoFA: It is grand tour.” [News] Retrieved 2014, May 10 from
http://www.ettoday.net/news/20120915/103031.htm
72
Literally, it refers to “ 打工渡假”, the most commonly used translation of “working-holiday”

47

The term “Zhuangyou” focuses mainly on traveling and deviates from the original
definition of working holiday. This deviation of meaning indicates the government officials’
elite-oriented thinking on traveling and studying abroad. Their (un)intentional acknowledgement
of the labor status of these WHMs in Australia makes these youths even more vulnerable as
migrant bodies under the control of nation-states. Meanwhile, these WHMs have to endure both
the expolited working conditions in Australia and pejorative representations after coming back to
Taiwan.
From the interviews, some of the intervewees reported that this overseas experiences could
be an obstacle to resume working after they came back to Taiwan.
I think it depends on the type of jobs that you look for. My current employer likes my
WHM experience because it relates to my job right now.
(Researcher: what is your current position?)
I work for an English cram school and my job is to recruit foreigners in Taiwan to teach
English.
(Researcher: how were your other job interviews?) Some employer might think youths
going to Australia are either “Tai-lao” or “unrestrained
73
.” [Elsa, 28]
(Researcher: I noticed that your current salary is lower than your previous salary before
you went to Australia.) Haha, yes. I just ended my probation period for this job. I have
changed jobs four times since I came back to Taiwan.
(Researcher: Why did you change jobs so frequently? Is WHM program helpful in terms of

73
See note 23 above.

48

seeking a job?) I became less tolerant to the whole working environment in Taiwan since I
came back, so it was diffcult for me to stay at the same company for a long time. Well, you
know…when you quit your job and went to Australia for nearly two years, many employers
I had interviewed with would think you are “unrestrained.” (ai-wan) [Anya, 26]
Notably, there are some interviewees, such as Anya and Gloria even described themselves as
“Ai-wan” to create the opposite sense of “Tai-lao.” In fact, these two terms are simply the two
ends across the spectrum of WHM program. The similarity of these two words is the implication
of strongly disciplined and desired bodies for the employers.
This study’s survey also showed that 58.9% of the respondents considered the WHM
program turn out not to be helpful (including little helpful and less helpful) for their job
searching when they came back to Taiwan; while 12.6% of the respondents thought their WHM
experience was helpful (including somewhat helpful and highly helpful) for them to search for
their next job. Furthermore, 67.4% of the respondents thought their current positions in Taiwan
after completing the WHM program is not related (including little relevant and less relevant) to
the working experience in Australia and only 9.5% of the respondents reported their current
position is related (including somewhat relevant and highly relevant) to the working experience
in Australia. That is to say, the risk of taking the WHM program includes not only all kinds of
incidents that might occur in Australia but also the representation of “Tai-lao” or “unrestrained”
in terms of job seeking, a discontinuity of past working experience and the disconnect between
overseas the domestic working experiences.

49

Therefore, instead of emphasizing terminology such as “grand tour” or “working-holiday”,
there are much more productive actions that the Taiwanese government could take. For instance,
reducing the activities of illegal agencies or brokers and providing immediate assistance to
Taiwanese WHMs in case of emergency.
From the viewpoint of the Australian government, WHMs have been regarded as an
important labor source to alleviate the shortage of seasonal workers. Since the WHMs contribute
to both Australia’s tourism industry and its working force, the Australian government has been
promoting WHM program globally. Tan and Lester (2012) inicated that WHMs contribute to
Australia’s marcoeconomics and microeconomics in several ways
74
(Tan and Lester 2012) .
From the point of tourism industry, WHMs first job is usually located in/around major cities
which increases supply. Meanwhile, WHMs are important workforce in regional areas in
Australia and the jobs they undertake are often low-skilled.
Moreover, in terms of governmentality, WHMs are favored by the Australian government
for the follwing reasons: first, they are considered as “desirable biopolitical characteristic
migrants”
75
(Robertson 2014) because they are young and dependent-free for the receiving
country. Second, as for both marcoeconomics and microeconomics, WHMs contribute to
supplementary labor and the current account of surplus (Tan and Lester 2012). In 2011, 20% of
Australian workforce in the 20-24 age group was comprised of temporary migrants
76
. Thirdly,
migration influenced the contemporary and future demography in Australia and the relationship

74
Yan Tan and Laurence H. Lester, “Labour Market and Economic Impacts of International Working Holiday
Temporary Migrants to Australia,” Population, Space and Place18 (2012): 375.
75
Robertson, “Time and Temporary Migration: The Case of Temporary Graduate Workers and Working Holiday
Makers in Australia”, 8.
76
Ibid., 2.

50

with its Asia-Pacific neighboring countries
77
. As for WHMs, they are restricted to work with the
same employer no more than six months. Therefore, they are less likely to compete with local
residents for taking professional positions in Australia due to their lack of long-term commitment
to companies.
Although it seems that WHMs bring plenty of benefits to Australia, there are many other
problems that Australian government has to deal with. One of the most serious problems is that
many WHMs are facing exploitation or falling into gray economy in Australia. From the survey,
there are 14.7% of the respondents said that their average hourly wage is less than AUD 11 when
employed which is absolutely below legal minimum wage by the government. Moreover, all of
the interviewees said that they had been underpaid from at least one of their jobs during their
program.
(Researcher: Did you set any criteria in terms of job seeking in Australia?) Sure, I would
look for some positions such as secretary or translators; however, I could not find
white-collar jobs so my criteria change to any positions as long as it is not underpaid.
(Researcher: So, did you ever work illegally or underpaid?) Of course. When you did not
have any jobs, you feel like you are burning money everyday. I worked at a farm when I
received cash every week and it was underpaid. [Anya, 26]
A friend at a construction site introduced me my first job there, which was illegal. I received
my wage daily in cash but I did not like that job. Therefore, I only worked there for one
week and then I left. [Ian, 23]

77
Hugo, “Globalization and Changes in Australian International Migration”, 107.

51

Most of the interviews understood the difference between legal and illegal jobs; however,
they might still choose illegal jobs for various reasons. For example, they were out of cash at that
time and needed to get cash in hand to pay their rent or other expenses. They regarded this
condition as a transitional period because they would get to other jobs soon. Another kind of
illegal position is often described as a “gray job” by Taiwanese WHMs. “Gray jobs” are those
paying more than legal minimum wages but are not paying insurance or any other benefits for
WHMs. “Gray jobs” are popular among Taiwanese WHMs because they do not need to pay
taxes to the government while receiving more than legal minimum wages. Other WHMs who
take illegal jobs might do so due to lack of information on job seeking or merely because they
are controlled by brokers.
As mentioned in section II, Fred, one of the interviewees, who worked for the same
employer for more than the legal time period (six months) because his employer registered his
name under other restaurants under the ownership. Other stories might be exactly the opposite to
Fred’s case. One of the interviewees indicated that the contract he signed requires a certain
amount of deposit to get his position secured.
I paid five hundred (AUD) as the deposit to ensure that I would work in this factory for six
months. (Researcher: Is it legal to do so?) I do not know, but I think most people did it.
(Researcher: Do you think staying at the same factory for six months would be too long for
you?) Um, my salary here is okay. I just think this request deprived part of my freedom.
[Ian, 23]

52

While composing this study, a news report about lives of WHMs in Australia was broadcast
on TV, which revealed the exploitation and working conditions that WHMs suffered. The video,
entitled “Slaving Away: the Dirty Secrets Behind Australia’s Fresh Food”
78
interviewed many
WHMs about their working and living conditions, sexual harassment, underpayments, and
supermarket managers with or without secret cameras. Although none of the study’s
interviewees said that brokers directed or made arrangements for them since arrival, some of
them had the experience of negotiating with brokers or middlemen.
Before I arrived in Australia, my friend and I had contacted a female who promised that she
would provide accommodations and jobs at a very good strawberry farm. However, she did
not provide any jobs for us and we still had to pay expensive rents to her. We left as soon as
we could. That is the reason why my next job was an illegal one because our plan was
destroyed and I was very frustrated and helpless. [Jessica, 28]

One of my jobs was at a kangaroo meat factory and was introduced by a Korean broker.
(Researcher: How did you know the broker?) Well, another Taiwanese WHM introduced
him to me and the broker promised that there would be two vacancies for us to fill in.
(Researcher: Can you tell me how much you paid him? Is this situation common?)
I paid him AUD 500. I think I was lucky because I did not need to wait for too long to get a
job. Some other WHMs including Koreans and Taiwanese had to wait for a couple weeks to

78
Caro Meidrum-Hanna and Ali Russell, (May 06,2015). “Slaving Away.” [Video] Retrieved June 14th, 2015 From
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/05/04/4227055.htmThe full video can be found on Four Corners on
ABC.

53

get an arranged job from the broker.
(Researcher: Did part of you wages go to your managers or brokers?) It is a good question. I
do not know. At least that job covered insurance, so I think it was acceptable for me.
[Jessica, 28]
Besides looking for jobs online including social networking sites, many of the interviewees got
employed by referrals from friends. Therefore, it is common for them to pay a small fee as
“commission” to show appreciation. Compared to professional brokers or agencies companies,
this type of “commission” is considered a one-time payment and less likely to involve deception.
However, referrals from friends could not guarantee a legal or well-paid job. Ian stated that:
My landlord referred me to a job at a factory that was actually a “gray job.” (Researcher:
Can you describe it?) I worked at least forty hours a week but my manager only reported 20
hours in the record.
(Researcher: How about the other 20 hours?) I just got cash without taxes.
After the discourse of the video on ABC News, the issue of exploitation and the abusive use
of SC417 visas were noticed by the government. In addition to the promise of investigation and
close scrutiny of the WHM program
79
, there are some forthcoming changes that will affect
WHMs when in effect. One of the reforms is that backpackers will not be eligible for tax-free
threshold under their first AUD 18,200 earnings as of the next fiscal year.
80
The impacts of this
tax reform on WHMs and travelers remain to be observed because it is difficult to anticipate the

79
ABC News. (May 04, 2015). “Victorian Government to begin inquiry into labour exploitation, slave-like
conditions after reports of 417 visa abuse.” [News]. Retrieved June 14th, 2015 from
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-05/vic-government-to-begin-inquiry-after-four-corners-report/6444806
80
Edwina Farley (May 14, 2015). “Federal budget: Backpackers lose tax-free threshold.” [News]. Retrieved June
14th, 2015. From http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-12/budget-working-holiday-visa/6464972

54

outcomes if legal wages (after tax) are decreased to a similar level as cash-in-hand jobs.
However, one can realize that WHM program in Australia will no longer be a quick means for
Taiwanese youths to “earn money” with the devaluation of exchange rate and new tax
arrangements.
Additionally, another phenomenon reported from the interviewees is “au pairs” positions
that they took in Australia. In fact, there is no official “au pairs” program provided by Australian
government; therefore, some of the WHMs take this position under SC417 visas. To most
people’s understanding, “au pair” is similar to babysitting or nanny jobs that welcome foreign
applicants except that they usually live with the employers/hosts. However, Anya told a different
story about her “au pair” experience.
The reason I did “au pairs” was because I did not want to be ripped off by brokers. The host
was a small farmland owner and he needed some WHMs to take care of his farm everyday.
When my boyfriend and I arrived, he only hired my boyfriend and asked me to do “au pair”.
(Researcher: Can you describe what you did everyday?) The funniest thing is that they do
not have any children there, so I think my job was equivalent to a free maid. (Researcher:
Did you get paid?) No, he only provided food and accommodation for free. My
responsibilities were cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and some other housework. I only
stayed there to get my second-year granted and then I left. [Anya, 26]

55

From this excerpt, “au pair” might be a gray area for WHMs to extend their duration in Australia.
In fact, there are many commonly known methods for WHMs to avoid regulations. For instance,
Ian noticed that there is plenty of WHMs who got their visas extended by using counterfeit
personal information.
There are ways for people to stay through illegal means. Some people paid for fake
documents to show that they had worked in rural areas; others would go back to Taiwan and
change their both Chinese and English names so that they could apply for WHM program
again. Although it sounds unbelievable, it is happening now. [Ian, 23]
In summary, compared with a few Australian WHMs in Taiwan, there are tens of thousands
of Taiwanese WHMs in Australia, which makes it impossible for both governments to neglect
their working conditions, exploitation, and human rights. On one hand, Taiwanese government
should not justify the mass labor migration by claiming it to be a “grand tour” while providing
little assistance to its citizens. Furthermore, the stagnancy of economic development in Taiwan is
a fundamental issue, which is also associated with the relatively high rate of youth
unemployment that the government needs to resolve. On the other hand, the Australian
government faces the issues of labor shortage and exploitations of temporary workers. It relies
on temporary migrants in terms of workforce; meanwhile, it could not ensure a fair and safe
working environment for the migrant workers. In addition, the abusive use of SC417 visas is
becoming a huge issue for policy makers. Although the effect of new tax arrangement is not yet
clear, the Australian government still needs to rethink its immigration policies on vulnerable
subjects.

56

Conclusion
This study analyzed Taiwanese working holiday makers (WHMs) as a newly formed
migration trend for Taiwanese youths and their resistances of the public viewing of “Tai-lao”.
The cyclical and temporary characteristics of WHMs bring them both advantages and
disadvantages. They are granted more mobility and freedom in terms of job searching and
traveling. However, it is also their overlapping characteristics as both traveler and worker that
make them fall into a perplexing position in international migration context.
By comparing motivations, viewpoints and strategies deployed by WHMs and migrant
workers, one can notice that this program is often considered to be a temporary getaway for
many WHMs. Unlike migrant/domestic workers, Taiwanese WHMs are less prone to becoming
permanent residents or citizens in the receiving country. In contrast, they do not think the jobs
they took in Australia were “real jobs”; therefore, the concern of discontinuity of working
experience in Taiwan is a common theme that these WHMs worried about. Moreover, the use of
earnings (remittances) also marks them as different from Filipino migrant workers. Most of the
interviewees said that this amount of money would be used for their personal investments rather
than familial expenses. Besides, Taiwanese WHMs are mostly college degree holders and nearly
40% of the respondents are in debts (including both student loans and mortgages). One thing that
WHMs and migrant workers have in common is the feeling of downward mobility when college
students doing manual labor positions, which they have not experienced before.
As discussed in section I, the fear of downward mobility comes from the pejorative
reputation of “-lao” (manual labors). This association with “-lao” and cheap workforce can be

57

explained in three dimensions. First, a traditional Chinese ideology encourages that the pursuit of
higher education is necessary for the elites in the society. Second, a strong connection between
ethnocentrism and economic growth is often discussed in the discourse of migrant workers.
Hence, cheap labors from labor exporting countries are described as inferior and unwelcomed
subjects in the society. Third, the return migration of high-skilled technical elites and a new type
of leadership in the 1990s are both built on the pursuit of overseas education.
It is hard for the public to relate highly educated students to manual labors in Taiwan’s
society since the previous return migration flow in the late 80s and 90s. Therefore, without
foreign education and substantial capital like Taishang (Taiwanese businessmen), this younger
generation of WHMs are labeled as “Tai-lao” and criticized by the mainstream media and the
public. In the meantime, many interviewees reported their WHM program as “cultural
experiences” to counter the discourse of “Tai-lao.” Even if they acknowledged that they are
“Tai-lao”, most of them disagreed with any pejorative meanings of this term, and compared the
wages in both countries as a form of resistance. The findings od this study also indicate that
WHMs’ reactions to the “Tai-lao” discourse showed a fact that they view physical labor in a
more positive way, which might generate a possible reversal of public thinking on migrant
workers and manual labors in the long run.
The final section of this study presented the responses from both Taiwanese and Australian
governments and provided excerpts from interviewees about some illicit actions that either
employers or WHMs would take. While insisting on a “cultural exchange” program, the
Taiwanese government is less willing to take the exploitation cases seriously. As for the

58

Australian government, the abusive use of SC417 visas is becoming a major issue for it to face
with. The enforcement of new tax arrangements might be helpful to regulate the prevalent
phenomenon of underpayment. However, it is still difficult to determine what the labor market
would look like after this arrangement is actually in effect. In addition, from the excerpts, there
are still various ways that the employers or brokers take and worsen the relationship between
labors and employers in Australia. In the end, the request to take the exploitations of WHMs in
Australia seriously and properly is crucial for both governments. As a relatively newly formed
trend, temporary labor migration between Taiwan and Australia under the WHM program
requires more and further research and analysis.

59

References:
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Australia.” Master's thesis., National Taiwan University:1-116
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Lan, Pei-Chia. 2011. “White Privilege, Language Capital and Cultural Ghettoisation: Western
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83.
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Online References:
ABC News. 2015. “Victorian Government to begin inquiry into labour exploitation,
slave-like conditions after reports of 417 visa abuse.” [News]. Retrieved June 14th, 2015
from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-05/vic-government-to-begin-inquiry-after-four-corners-report/6444806

Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 2014. “Working Holiday
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https://www.immi.gov.au/media/statistics/pdf/working-holiday-report-jun14.pdf

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(subclass 417)”. Retrieved 10 No, 2014 from
http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx

Awakening Foundation. 2003. “Why do you call me foreign new bride? I am already an old
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http://www.awakening.org.tw/chhtml/topics_dtl.asp?id=98
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Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan R.O.C.
2013. “Population, Marriage and Family.” Retrieved May 13, 2015 from
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ETTV. 2012. “Working Holiday Should Not Be Called Tailao. MoFA: It is Grand Tour.”
[News] Retrieved 2014, May 10 from
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Farley, E. 2015. “Federal Budget: Backpackers Lose Tax-free Threshold.” [News]. Retrieved
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Meidrum-Hanna C. and Russell A. 2015. “Slaving Away.” [Video] Retrieved June 14th,
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63

Appendix

Appendix one: Information of interviewees
Name Gender Age Year of
departure
Educational
background
Type of jobs
taken
Anya Female 26 2011 Bachelor Farms, au
pair
Bill Male 27 2011 Bachelor Farms
Carlos Male 25 2015 Bachelor Egg factory,
Douglas Male 24 2014 Bachelor Construction
site, Farms
Elsa Female 28 2013 Bachelor Farms,
House
keeping, au
pair
Fred Male 26 2013 Associate’s
degree
Farms, Chef
Gloria Female 28 2012 Bachelor Cashier,
Farms,
Car-washing,
painter
Helena Female 28 2013 Bachelor Farms,
Waitress
Ian Male 23 2015 High school Construction
site,
Car-washing,
Meat factory
Jessica Female 28 2013 Bachelor Farms, Meat
factory

64

Appendix two: Interview Questions
Personal information:
1. Can you tell me your age, educational background and the year that you took
this program?

Motivation:
1. What is your motivation to go to Australia?
2. Do your friends (family members/relatives/classmates) participate in
WH-program with you? (or before your departure)
3. Why did you choose Australia instead of other countries (eg. New Zealand,
Japan, Ireland, UK?)
4. Did people around you support the decision that going to Australia?

Working (living) experience in Australia:
1. Can you describe “a normal day” when you stayed in Australia?
2. How did you find your first job there? How long did you stay unemployed? (if
any)
3. Did you ever contact with brokers for jobs? (What are the nationalities of the
brokers?)
4. How did you move from one city to another?
5. What kind of jobs did you take? (How much did you earn per month in average?
Did you ever work illegally?)
5. Living condition. (the nationality of your flat mates, if any)
6. Did you apply for second-year visa to stay in Australia, why or why not?
7. Can you describe the most unforgettable experience at your workplace?
8. Did you travel? (frequency, budget, duration)

Impact and feedback:
1. How do you think of your working holiday experience?

65

2. Do you think your experience in Australia provides a pathway to a better
(future) job?
3. How do you perceive the public opinion of working holiday program?
4. How do you think the term of “Tai-lao”? Do you agree or disagree with it?

Return migration:
1. Do you resume work in Taiwan? (How long did you find your first job after
coming back to Taiwan?)
2. If applicable, could you tell me the salary of you current position? (Higher or
lower than you previous position)
3. Is the experience of working holiday helpful in terms of job seeking?

66

Appendix three: Survey Questions
Personal information
1. Sex Choices of Male/Female/Unknown or refuse to answer
2. Age of departure
3. Highest of Education High school/University (unfinished)/University/Graduate
school (Unfinished)/Graduate school
4. Monthly salary
before departure (if not
applicable, choose not
applicable)
Under 25,000NTD/25,000 to 30,000NTD/30,000 to
35,000NTD/35,000NTD to 40,000NTD/40,000NTD to
45,000NTD/45,000NTD to 50,000NTD/more than
50,000NTD/not applicable
5.Do you bear loans Choices of No/Yes, college loans/ Yes, mortgages/Yes,
both
Household information
6. Which city/county do
you live in?
(If it is different from “Hukou”, fill the place you live
consistently in the past year.)
7. How many people in
your household?
(If you have an independent “Hokou”, fill 1.)
8.The annual average of
household income
(estimated)
Choices of under 500,000NTD to more than
2,500,000NTD (grouped by every 30,000NTD)
Information before departure
9. Which year did you
start this program?

10.Did you plan to
apply for the
second-year visa?
Choices of No/Yes, before my departure/Yes, after the
program started
Motivation of the program
11.Indicate you
motivation of this
program (Choose the
Language learning/ Financial factors/ Cultural factors/Job
transition period/Immigration/Other

67

one fits best)
12.How did you know
about this program?
Relatives in Australia/Friends who have WHM program
experience/Media (such as News)/Internet/Brokers/Other
13.Did anyone opposite
the decision of going to
Australia?
No/Yes, concerns of safety/Yes, concerns of
relationship/Yes, concerns of existing working
experience/Yes, concerns of reputation/Other
14.Did you go to
Australia with friends
Yes/No
15.Did you get your
first offer before
departure?
Yes/No
Experience in Australia
16.Indicate you average
hourly wage (in AUD)
Choices of under 8 AUD to more than 20 AUD. (Grouped
by every 3 AUD.)
17.What is your main
source to get a job?
Social networking sites/Headhunter (Chinese)/Local
brokers/Chinese-speaking brokers/Friends/Governmental
information/Other
18.Indicate the length
you work in regional
areas
Choices of less than one week to more than 21 weeks.
(grouped by every three weeks)/Other
19.The overall length of
employment (both legal
and illegal)
Choices of less than one month to 21-24 months (Grouped
by three months)/Ongoing program, not applicable
20. The overall length
od unemployment
Choices of below one month to 21-24 months (Grouped by
three months)/On-going program, not applicable
21.Indicate your weekly
wage in average
Choices of below 300 AUD to 2,100 AUD (grouped by
every 300 AUD)/Other
22.Indicate your weekly
expenses in average
Choices of below 200 AUD to more than 1200 AUD
(Grouped by every 200 AUD)/Other
23.In general, which of
the following you spent
the most except for
Travel/Entertainments (such as movies)/Education/Social
events/Shopping/Gourmets/almost no other expenses/Other

68

daily expense?
Expectation and Impact
24.Compare with your
motivation selected in
Question 11, how
relevant you think this
program meets your
expectation?
Choices of little relevance to high relevance (score one to
five)
25.Is it easy for you to
find a legal job?
From very easy to very hard. (Score one to five)
26.Is t hard for you to
find an illegal job?
From very easy to very hard. (Score one to five)
27.Indicate your
satisfaction with your
hourly wage.
Very unsatisfied to very satisfied. (Score one to five)
28.Indicate your
satisfaction with your
length of
unemployment in
Australia
Very unsatisfied to very satisfied. (Score one to five)
Return Migration
29. Are you employed
currently?
Yes/No/not applicable
30.How long did you
stay unemployed since
you came back?
Less than one month/one to three months/three to six
months/more than six month/not applicable
31.Comparision of your
current salary and your
previous salary
Lower/Higher, less than 3,000 NTD/Higher, less than
6,000 NTD/Higher, less than 10,000NTD/Higher, more
than 10,000NTD/not applicable
32.In general, the
relevance between
WHM experience and
Choices of little relevance to high relevance (score one to
five)

69

getting your current
position
33.In general, the
relevance between your
WHM experience and
the work content of
your current position
Choices of little relevance to high relevance (score one to
five)
34.How do you
perceive the word
“Tai-lao”?
Agree, it is exactly the same as wai-lao in Taiwan and
highly relevant to economic motivation/ Agree, working as
manual labor should be considered “–lao”, generally/
Disagree, I think it is more like a foreign experience/
Disagree, well-educated people are different from manual
labors/Other
35.Open question and
comments

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Asset Metadata

Creator Huang, Ju-Yu (author)

Core Title The formation and representations of a new trend of labor migration: a case study on Taiwanese working holiday makers in Australia

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Publication Date 07/28/2015

Defense Date 07/24/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag labor migration,migrant worker,OAI-PMH Harvest,Tai-lao representations,working-holiday makers

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Bernards, Brian C. (committee chair), Cooper, Eugene (committee member), Parrenas, Rhacel S. (committee member)

Creator Email juyuhuan@usc.edu,loveericsuen27@hotmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-608526

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