Taiwan recognises debt to foreign hands

Taiwan recognises debt to foreign hands: "Until a group of foreign contract workers at a construction site for a new mass rapid transit system in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, rioted over their living conditions in 2005, many of Taiwan's 350,000 foreign labourers were held in virtual captivity.

The riot brought to light the uncomfortable reality for many Taiwanese that the workers from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam who build Taiwan's infrastructure, assemble its electronic products and care for its elderly were often forced to live in cramped dormitories with strict house rules and curfews.

It also shone a torch on the politicians and businessmen who for years enriched themselves by controlling the brokerage system that brings workers in from south-east Asia."