Taiwan’s Regime of Temporary Migrant Labor

[English] – On July 7, 2025, Asian Labour Review published two related papers written by Samia Dinkelaker and Ralf Ruckus. The first one, Taiwan’s Regime of Temporary Migrant Labour: An Overview, shortly describes distinct phases of that regime and serves as a summary of the second paper: Taiwan’s Regime of Temporary Migrant Labour: Timeline of Changes, a detailed chronology of state regulations, migrant protests, local support, and other important events from the mid-1980s to the present.

Indonesische Wanderarbeiter:innen in den Fabriken Taiwans

[Deutsch] – In ihrem Buchbeitrag "Anmerkungen zur Klassenzusammensetzung indonesischer Wanderarbeiter:innen in den Fabriken Taiwans" erläutern Samia Dinkelaker und Ralf Ruckus die Bedingungen der Wanderarbeit und schildern den Eigensinn und die Kämpfe in Taiwan beschäftigter indonesischer Fabrikarbeiter:innen. Der Beitrag ist Teil des Buches Klassensolidarität, Autonomie, Selbstorganisation. Erfahrungen und Reflexionen von unten, herausgegeben von M. Lautréamont (Unrast-Verlag, August 2024).

The Class Composition of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan

[English] – On November 30, 2023, Asian Labour Review published the article Sweatshops and Assembly Halls. The Class Composition of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan’s Manufacturing Industry by Samia Dinkelaker and Ralf Ruckus. The article sketches out the concept of class composition and applies it to Taiwan's migration regime and the everyday struggles of Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwanese factories and their forms of organizing outside their workplaces.

Southern Riot

[English] – On August 16, 2023, New Bloom Magazine published an article written by Ralf Ruckus on the punk band Southern Riot, the members' daily experiences as migrant workers, their music and their lyrics in which they attack the "system of slavery" migrant workers from Southeast Asia are subjected to by Taiwans racist migration regime: Southern Riot: Indonesian Migrant Workers Use Punk Music to Claim Improvements in Taiwan.

At Work Treated like a Robot, Through Metal Feeling like a Human

[English] – This article written by Ralf Ruckus was published by New Bloom Magazine on June 5, 2023. It follows the heavy metal scene of Indonesian migrant factory workers in Taiwan and its flagship band Jubah Hitam. Caught up in Taiwan's racist migration and labor regime that treats migrants as mere labor power serving the interests of Taiwan capital, Indonesian migrant workers search for spaces to come together, be creative, and have a life outside wage work: At work treated like a robot, through metal feeling like a human.

Indonesian Migrant Labor in Taiwan’s Racialized Capitalism

[English] – Positions Politics published preliminary notes by Samia Dinkelaker and Ralf Ruckus on their ethnographic study among Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan’s fishing and manufacturing industries. They "share how migrant workers describe their conditions," and they "introduce racialized capitalism as an analytical lens to understand the systematic differentiation and exploitation of Southeast Asian migrant workers and Taiwan’s racialized labor market."