In the past it has been proven that signing bilateral agreements with other countries is difficult for Taiwan due to its political and legal status. Most do not recognize Taiwan as an independent country and deal with it unofficially. Nevertheless, Taiwan, mainly through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office managed to sign such agreements and MoUs with equivalent offices in the main origin countries of labour migrants working in Taiwan. Scholars criticise the effectiveness of such agreements however because the recruitment process involves private middlemen who are difficult to control and are likely to sabotage such bilateral agreements. The information below provides an overview of the existing bilateral labour agreements the Government of Taiwan has signed.
Indonesia, 2004; Agreement on cooperation in the field of labour.
Philippines, MoU on cooperation on special hiring of workers; Taiwan’s government has signed several MoUs with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei // Support in translation services; counselling services; assistance in orientation on laws, rules and regulations; assists in recovery of monetary claims; repatriation of workers whose employment contracts are expired
Vietnam, 1999 Bilateral agreement on the sending and receiving of Vietnamese workers as contract labor; Signed between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi and the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, 1999 // The Vietnamese government is responsible for supervising the recruitment process.
Thailand, 2003 Agreement regarding the employment of Thai workers in Taiwan; Signed between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand and the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei //The Thai government is responsible for supervising the recruitment process.The agreement also allows for direct hiring.