Author/ Hsiao-Chi Chu
It is difficult for migrant workers, especially illegal workers, to obtain a better life (Utopia) because of social values and inadequate migrant policy. This reaction paper considers how the restriction of individual sovereignty by biopolitics imprisons migrant workers’ bodies and features perspectives from Rodriguez, Graham, Puar and other scholars. The significant observation is that ‘the system of colonial racial differentiation established a modern hierarchical system through historical identities discerned by a new global structure of the control of labour associated with specific social roles’ (Rodriguez 2018:24). In some developed countries and regions of Asia, such as Taiwan, Japan, China and Hong Kong, as a result of racism and colonisation, Southeast Asian (SEA) migrant workers have faced discrimination and exploitation. Hence, this reaction paper will outline the phenomenon through Taiwan cases.
The interaction effect of gender and racism by global capitalism generates migrant policy as ‘a biopolitical tool of governance’(Ibid:21). It means that binary relationships, such as between insiders (citizens) and outsiders (migrants), are embedded within ‘social relations shaped by the long-term implications of colonial power’ (Ibid:35). This results in the classification of ethnic groups in the social structure. This situation has been observed in Taiwan. Numerous SEA migrants, including illegal migrants, have sought a better life in Taiwan because of higher wages. Migrants respond to the demand for workers prepared to undertake dirty, dangerous and difficult labour (the ‘3Ds’). Nevertheless, concern over the influx of SEA workers has grown in Taiwanese society because these workers have become one of the leading groups in the social structure. One reason is that migrant workers replace local citizens who are not willing to work for lower wages. As a consequence, the labour structure is redistributed. Another reason is that due to ‘moral panic’ (Hall et al. 1978, cited in Rodriguez 2018:17–18) caused by the media, the stereotype of impoverished and undeveloped SEA countries is exacerbated and ingrained in public perceptions and local society. Hence, SEA migrants are classified as second-class and labelled as inferior and uncivilized. The situation is similar to the one described in Resisting Borders: A Conversation on the Daily Struggles of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon ‘there is no one listening to or helping migrant workers. Those workers labelled as the poor group experience discriminations and social exclusion’ (Gemma, Rose, Mala, Meriam, and Julia 2016). Thus it tends to be that the racial and class boundaries under social ideology enhance the discrimination of SEA migrants in Taiwan as well. Migrants’ bodies and actions are imprisoned by social consciousness and, as Fassin (2001:4) states using Foucauldian terminology, ‘the body has become the site of inscription for the politics of immigration — biopolitics of otherness’.
Furthermore, the phenomenon of exploitation and physical maltreatment is on the rise, especially in the Taiwanese fishing industry, not only because of social values and stereotypes about SEA migrants but also because of Taiwanese migrant policy — ‘Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members’ (FA, 2019). Taiwan, as the biggest distant water vessels economy in Asia, has an oligopoly of the whole trade from catching yield to the employment of fishery workers. Also, it is one of the leading countries in the trafficking of illegal SEA migrants. In 2018, the documentary Exploitation and Lawlessness: The Dark Side of Taiwan’s Fishing Fleet, filmed by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), not only revealed that Taiwanese distant water vessels plunder the ocean’s resources but denounced the trafficking of illegal SEA migrants in the Pacific Ocean. The documentary also highlighted the fact that issues of maltreatment and exploitation are hidden in sophisticated transnational illegal trades. There are two factors that cause dehumanisation. Firstly, the systematic classification of fishery workers is the result of racism and colonisation. One agent (cited in The Reporter in 2018) said, ‘we buy cheap and obedient fishery workers from the margins of the world, such as Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand’. Fishery workers are classified by ethnic group and purchasing price. Also, according to the captains’ training book produced by the Fisheries Agency (FA), fishery workers are classified by nationality and ethnic characteristics (Ibid). Some description in the training book portrays Indonesians as less able to adapt to hard work compared to Vietnamese. These classifications not only enhance racism through subjective evaluations of different ethnic groups but also present southern countries (southeast Asian /fishery workers /poor) as colonised and oppressed by northern countries (Taiwan /captain /wealthy). These inequalities discipline fishery workers’ bodies.
Secondly, the conditions for and treatment of fishery workers on the sea are described as inhumane. According to the documentary by EJF(2018), migrants are mistreated or beaten savagely like animals and cannot receive a regular salary because employers dominate all resources. The purpose of exploitation or maltreatment is ‘maiming manifested’ (Puar 2017: 129). Puar (2017:52), studying a similar situation in Palestine, states, ‘it is another aspect of this biopolitical tactic that seeks to render impotent any future resistance’. It will be seen from this that most fishery workers have difficulties redeeming themselves or leaving the boats because of a lack of sovereignty and resources. As a result, workers stay on the sea for their entire lives. Inequality and inhumanity imprison and maim fishery workers’ bodies in an endless vicious reincarnation.
Overall, the space of migrancy, such as boats, present a dystopia for migrant workers affected by biopolitics. The testimony by migrant workers unswervingly delivers the grim praxis of exploitation, immobilisation and criminalisation in order to survive in the (in)formal economy (Graham 2011:120). It interprets symbolically ‘the position of the global migrant in this purgatorial space of a post-colonial global market economy’ (Ibid). The oppressed migrant workers often desire to escape long-term suffering and the imprisoned body rather than survive in purgatory. Death tends to become a way for migrants to emancipate themselves from discrimination and exploitation. Nevertheless, it is critical to review the biopolitics and transparency in migrant policy to improve the unequal human rights and end long-term exploitation and maltreatment.
生命政治、移工與身體禁錮——以台灣東南亞移工為例
作者：朱筱琪
由於社會價值觀與不完善的移民政策，移工——尤其是非法移工——難以獲得更好的生活（烏托邦）。本篇回應論文探討生命政治如何透過限制個人主權，禁錮移工的身體，並引用Rodriguez、Graham、Puar等學者的觀點加以分析。其中一個重要的觀察是：「殖民種族差異化體系透過歷史性身份，建立了一套現代階層制度，這套制度由一種與特定社會角色相連結的、新的全球勞動控制結構所形塑。」（Rodriguez，2018：24）在亞洲部分已開發國家與地區，如台灣、日本、中國大陸與香港，東南亞移工因種族主義與殖民主義而飽受歧視與剝削。因此，本文將以台灣案例為主軸，概述這一現象。
生命政治作為治理工具
全球資本主義下性別與種族主義的交互作用，使移民政策成為「一種生命政治治理工具」（同上：21）。這意味著，內部人（公民）與外部人（移民）之間的二元對立關係，被嵌入「由殖民權力的長期影響所形塑的社會關係」之中（同上：35），進而導致族群在社會結構中被加以分類。
這種情況在台灣清晰可見。由於薪資較高，大批東南亞移工（包括非法移民）來台尋求更好的生活。移工填補了願意從事骯髒、危險、辛苦勞動（「3D工作」）的勞動力缺口。然而，台灣社會對東南亞移工湧入的憂慮日益增長，因為這些工人已成為社會結構中的重要群體之一。
原因之一，在於移工取代了不願接受低薪的本地公民，導致勞動結構重新分配。另一個原因，則是媒體所引發的「道德恐慌」（Hall等，1978，引自Rodriguez，2018：17-18），加深並固化了公眾對東南亞貧窮落後國家的刻板印象。因此，東南亞移工被劃為二等人，被標籤為低劣、未開化。這種情況與《抵抗邊界：黎巴嫩移工家庭工人日常掙扎的對話》中所描述的情形如出一轍：「沒有人傾聽或幫助移工。那些被標籤為弱勢群體的工人，承受著歧視與社會排斥。」（Gemma、Rose、Mala、Meriam 與 Julia，2016）由此可見，社會意識形態下的種族與階級邊界，同樣強化了台灣社會對東南亞移工的歧視。移工的身體與行動被社會意識所囚禁，正如Fassin（2001：4）以傅柯術語所言：「身體已成為移民政治銘刻的場所——他者的生命政治。」
漁業中的剝削與去人化
此外，剝削與身體虐待的現象日益加劇，在台灣漁業中尤為突出。這不僅是因為社會對東南亞移工的刻板印象，也與台灣的移工政策——《外國漁業工作人員聘僱及管理辦法》（漁業署，2019）密切相關。
台灣作為亞洲最大的遠洋漁業經濟體，從漁獲到漁業工人的雇用，幾乎壟斷了整條產業鏈，同時也是東南亞非法移民人口販賣的主要國家之一。2018年，由環境正義基金會（EJF）拍攝的紀錄片《剝削與無法無天：台灣漁船的黑暗面》，不僅揭露了台灣遠洋漁船對海洋資源的掠奪，更譴責了太平洋上非法販賣東南亞移民的行為，並突顯出虐待與剝削問題如何隱匿於複雜的跨國非法交易之中。
造成去人化現象的原因有二：
其一，漁業工人的系統性分類，是種族主義與殖民主義的產物。 一名仲介（引自《報導者》，2018年）表示：「我們從世界邊緣購買廉價、順從的漁業工人，例如印尼、菲律賓、越南和泰國。」漁業工人按族裔與收購價格被加以分類。此外，根據漁業署所製作的船長訓練手冊，漁業工人依國籍與族裔特徵被分門別類（同上）。手冊中的某些描述，將印尼人描繪為比越南人更難適應艱苦工作。這些分類不僅透過對不同族群的主觀評價強化了種族主義，也呈現出南方國家（東南亞／漁業工人／貧窮）被北方國家（台灣／船長／富裕）殖民與壓迫的結構。這些不平等關係，規訓著漁業工人的身體。
其二，漁業工人在海上的生存條件與待遇可謂非人道。 根據EJF（2018）的紀錄片，移工遭到虐待或如禽獸般被野蠻毆打，且因雇主掌控所有資源而無法領取固定薪資。剝削或虐待的目的，是一種「顯現化的致殘」（Puar，2017：129）。Puar（2017：52）在研究巴勒斯坦類似處境時指出：「這是生命政治策略的另一面向，旨在使任何未來的反抗都歸於無效。」由此可見，大多數漁業工人因缺乏主權與資源，難以自我救贖或離開漁船，最終在海上度過餘生。不平等與非人道，將漁業工人的身體囚禁於無盡的惡性輪迴之中。
結論
整體而言，對受生命政治影響的移工而言，漁船等移工空間呈現出一種反烏托邦的景象。移工的證詞，無不揭示了他們為在（非）正式經濟中求生而承受的剝削、禁錮與入罪化的殘酷現實（Graham，2011：120）。這象徵性地詮釋了「全球移民在後殖民全球市場經濟這一煉獄空間中的處境」（同上）。受壓迫的移工，往往渴望逃脫長期的苦難與被囚禁的身體，而非在煉獄中苟活。死亡，往往成為移民從歧視與剝削中解脫的出路。
儘管如此，重新審視生命政治與移工政策的透明度，對於改善不平等的人權狀況、終結長期的剝削與虐待，仍至關重要。
Reference
Environmental Justice Foundation. 2018. Exploitation and Lawlessness: The Dark Side of Taiwan’s Fishing Fleet. <https://vimeo.com/258117796>.
Fassin, Didier. 2001. The biopolitics of Otherness: Undocumented foreigners and racial discrimination in French public debate. Anthropology Today 17(1): 3–7.
Fisheries Agency 2019. Regulations on the Authorization and Management of Overseas Employment of Foreign Crew Members. < https://www.fa.gov.tw/en/LegalsRegulation/content.aspx?id=31&chk=1ab5d1ef-2c1f-4df7-92db-6db044616ec9¶m=pn%3d1>.
Graham, James. 2011. Postcolonial Purgatory: The Spaces of Migrancy in Stephen Frears’s Dirty Pretty Things. In Postcolonial Spaces: The Politics of Place in Contemporary Culture, edited by Andrew Teverson & Sara Upstone, 112–128. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gemma, Rose, Mala, Meriam, and Julia 2016, Resisting borders: A conversation on the daily struggles of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research, 2(2), 141–153.
Puar, Jasbir K. 2017. The Right to Maim. Durham: Duke University Press.
Rodriguez, Encarnación G. 2018. The Coloniality of Migration and the “Refugee Crisis”: On the Asylum-Migration Nexus, the Transatlantic White European Settler Colonialism-Migration and Racial Capitalism. Refuge 34(1): 16–28.
The Reporter (2018). The trades of fisheries workers of the world — why does Taiwan become an accomplice of trafficking in person? [In Chinese] <Retrieved from: https://www.twreporter.org/i/slave-fishermen-human-trafficking-gcs>.