The more I stay in Taiwan, the more I realize that Taiwan is not that different from Singapore. The difference is that I can speak up in one but I cannot speak up in the other. But in both, change for workers is hard to come by.

Comparing Taiwan and Singapore with other countries of similar wealth, they both pay low wages, have the lowest wage shares and high wealth inequalities. Singapore is worse, income inequality is worse as well. Of course, Taiwan's social protection is better than Singapore.

However, even in terms of unemployment benefits, coverage in Taiwan is one of the lowest among the advanced countries and needs to be loosened up to benefit more workers. Singapore does not even have unemployment benefits or adequate health insurance and pension. It's worse.

What bugs me is that, in spite of all the rhetoric the current government in Taiwan has said about helping workers, it has not. In fact, it took away 7 days of holidays, and while minimum wage increased by a larger extent than the previous government, ...

... wages in Taiwan still have not caught up to the level it should be at. Taiwan and Singapore has among the least number of days of holidays and annual leave in the world. Labor unions are weak, and at work, Taiwan's democracy is non-existent. Singapore is worse.

As such, workers in Taiwan aren't benefiting from its democracy. Democracy becomes a marketing point rather than have meaningful long-lasting change. Sure, there's same-sex marriage but that's because the current government wants an easy 'progressive' score to enter ...

... the leagues of other 'progressive' countries. In terms of treatment of migrant workers, Taiwan is similarly paltry in its protections for them, not far from Singapore. In fact, even for the death penalty, inmates can be executed even before the presidential pardon is heard.

And I do not want to be complicit in this - I do not want to speak up for a government in Taiwan which uses democracy to market itself, while allowing worker rights to languish. How different does this make Taiwan from Singapore? Only difference is Singapore does better marketing

Sure, I think it is necessary to speak in line with the current government when speaking against China's oppression. But I think it is equally important to speak up for workers. And in both Taiwan and Singapore, there simply isn't enough traction on advocacy for workers.

Singapore is only finally speaking up about minimum wage - it still does not have one. Meanwhile, many do not understand the plight of workers in Taiwan. Workers themselves are jaded. And China's oppression has thus made it a convenient excuse to push to the back worker concerns.

But it is difficult. Among Taiwanese I've spoken to, not speaking up for the current government looks like a betrayal to Taiwan, since this government is the one championing the Taiwanese identity. There is pressure to conform. Or to keep quiet.

But why? Isn't Taiwan a democracy? Why must citizens speak up for a government? Shouldn't the government speak up for citizens, for the workers? The Taiwanese identity takes precedence, but this does not mean workers should therefore be relegated until this issue is resolved.

In fact, workers should speak up for themselves. They do not need to speak up for the government, in the hope the government will later speak up for them. That's very wishful thinking, given the government sees no need to. The government could push through reducing holidays, ...

... heck, Taiwan's government even pushed through same-sex marriage, but it would not for increasing wages, annual leaves or holidays. And not for protections of immigrants, Hong Kongers who need asylum and abolishing the anti-death penatly. This isn't democracy. It's politics.

And it irks me because I know the Taiwanese are immensely capable, their talent has been made use of to create the largest semiconductor and ICT industries. Their AI talent is championed by local startups. Then why the f*** are we paying them low wages? Why the f*** are we ...

... compromising on their compensation? The reason why Taiwan has not been able to grow to its fullest potential is because it simply does not value its workers. And bosses know the law will still allow them to override workers.

Truth be told, Taiwan is not in the leagues of other advanced countries. It had the potential to grow to that level if it had kept up from the 1990s, but it regressed. And thus Taiwan is stuck in between, and this mismatch of expectations is causing Taiwan's workers to lose hope.

Should Taiwan see itself as an aspiring advanced country? Or should Taiwanese let go of their expectations and accept that they are still far away from South Korea and Japan? Democracy doesn't make a country more advanced, if it is not used to advance the interests of workers.

Digitalization should not be used to grow the industry, without growing the ability of citizens to use the innovations. Digitalization should not be used to create exports, at the expense of the rights of workers. Taiwan can keep doing this, but it is losing its ability ...

... to build up knowledge workers which Taiwan would need to rely on when it realizes it has to stop being simply manufacturers of other countries to be an innovator in its own right. And this requires empowering workers and reducing hierarchy, and reforming the education system.