All Are Not Equal: Taiwanese Public Opinion on Southeast Asian Immigration Timothy S. Rich | orcid: 0000-0001-8940-958X Professor, Political Science, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA timothy.rich@wku.edu Isabel Eliassen | ORCID: 0000-0003-3112-0796 Alumna, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA irheliassen@gmail.com Madelynn Einhorn Alumna, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA madelynn.einhorn413@topper.wku.edu Andi Dahmer Alumna, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA andidahmer07@gmail.com Yi-Chun Chien | ORCID: 0000-0003-3204-3753 Assistant Professor, Political Science, National Chengchi University, Taipei City, Taiwan ychien@nccu.edu.tw Abstract What influences Taiwanese public opinion on immigration? Taiwan faces the same immigration challenges as many other developed nations, where the demand for immigrant workers produces a domestic backlash. Our study addresses to what extent public opinions on immigration are influenced by two factors: the skills of immigrants and their place of origin. Our results show, besides the preference for skilled labour, that public opinion on the three Southeast Asian immigrant groups varies considerably, with the strongest negative reaction to Indonesian migrants. As Taiwan prides its progress on human rights among East Asian democracies, the results suggest © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2022 | doi:10.1163/24688800-20221240 International Journal of Taiwan Studies 6 (2023) 60–81 Downloaded from Brill.com03/19/2023 08:23:09AM via free access