# New Southbound Policy

The New Southbound Policy (Chinese: 新南向政策; pinyin: Xīn Nán Xiàng Zhèngcè) is an initiative of the Taiwanese government under President Tsai Ing-wen that aims to enhance cooperation and exchange between Taiwan and 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia. The foreign student recruitment aspect of the program has resulted in labor abuses and sexual exploitation.
James C. F. Huang was appointed the first director of the New Southbound Policy Office.

## History

During the Cold War, Taiwan was aligned with a number of countries in the Southeast Asia region in an anti-communist alliance during the Vietnam War.
The original Southbound Policy was created to make Taiwan less dependent on mainland China and to improve Taiwan's cooperation with other countries. The new policy was officially launched on 5 September 2016.
As of 2024, the policy had not significantly reduced Taiwan's economic dependence on mainland China.$^{:14}$

## Cooperation countries

The 18 countries targeted by the New Southbound Policy are:
* Thailand
* Indonesia
* Philippines
* Malaysia
* Singapore
* Brunei
* Vietnam
* Myanmar
* Cambodia
* Laos
* India
* Pakistan
* Bangladesh
* Nepal
* Sri Lanka
* Bhutan
* Australia
* New Zealand

### Connection to Free and Open Indo Pacific (FOIP) strategy

In order to support the aims of the New Southbound Policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs officially established the Indo-Pacific Affairs Section. One focus of the Indo-Pacific section is to forge more cooperative ties with the United States, Australia, and Japan, all of whom have share similar visions for a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

### Profiles of cooperating countries

| Country | 2018 ease of doing business index ranking (out of 190 countries) | Currency | Time zone | Taiwanese business association | Visa entry program to Taiwan |
| Thailand | 26 | Baht (฿) | ICT (UTC+07:00) | http://ttba.or.th/ | 14 days visa-free entry from 1 Aug 2018 to 31 July 2019 |
| Indonesia | 72 | Rupiah (Rp) | Various (UTC+07:00 to UTC+09:00) | | Online visa application |
| Philippines | 113 | Peso (₱) | PST (UTC+08:00) | | 14 days visa-free entry from 1 Aug 2018 to 31 July 2019 |
| Malaysia | 24 | Ringgit (RM) | MST (UTC+08:00) | http://www.tiam.com.my/ | 30 days visa-free entry |
| Singapore | 2 | Singapore dollar | SST (UTC+08:00) | | 30 days visa-free entry |
| Brunei | 56 | Brunei dollar | BNT (UTC+08:00) | | 14 days visa-free entry from 1 Aug 2018 to 31 July 2019 |
| Vietnam | 68 | Đồng (₫) | (UTC+07:00) | http://ctcvn.vn/ | Online visa application |
| Myanmar | 171 | Kyat (K), baht (฿) | MMT (UTC+06:30) | | Online visa application |
| Cambodia | 135 | Riel, dollar ($), baht (฿) | KRAT/ICT (UTC+07:00) | | Online visa application |
| Laos | 141 | Kip (₭), baht (฿) | ICT (UTC+07:00) | | Online visa application |
| India | 100 | Indian rupee (₹) | IST (UTC+05:30) | http://www.taiwan-india.org.tw/zh/home.php | Online visa application |
| Pakistan | 122 | Pakistani rupee | PST (UTC+05:00) | | General visa |
| Nepal | 105 | Nepalese rupee | NST (UTC+05:45) | | Visa application from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India |
| Bangladesh | 177 | Taka (৳) | BST (UTC+06:00) | | General visa |
| Sri Lanka | 111 | Sri Lankan rupee | SLST (UTC+05:30) | | Visa application from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center |
| Bhutan | 75 | Ngultrum (BTN) and Indian rupee (INR) | BTT (UTC+06:00) | | Visa application from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center |
| Australia | 14 | Australian dollar | Various (UTC+08:00 to UTC+10:30): minor variations from the three basic time zones also exist | | 90 days visa-free entry until 31 December 2018 |
| New Zealand | 1 | New Zealand dollar | NZST (UTC+12:00): the Chatham Islands have a separate time zone 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand | https://tba.org.nz/ | 90 days visa-free entry |

## Foreign student abuse

Foreign students from Southeast Asian and African countries who came to Taiwan under the New Southbound Policy have been subject to labor abuse, and at least one from Vietnam has died. Students from this region came to Taiwan for study but worked in factories because university recruiters collaborated with labor agents. Taiwan's government auditor has censured the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labor as a result of the abuses, and at least one person has received a prison sentence as a resulut.
A 2024 US government report noted that human traffickers took advantage of the New Southbound Policy to "lure Southeast Asian students and tourists to Taiwan and subject them to forced labor and sex trafficking."

## Cooperation aspects

The New Southbound Policy is for Taiwan to cooperate with 18 countries in the following aspects:
* Trade
* Technology
* Agriculture
* Medicine
* Education
* Tourism

## Implementation measures
### Promote economic collaboration

* Trade offices will be set up by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand to assist the local integration of Taiwanese companies
* Interested Taiwanese businesses will be able to access market and investment information of all countries covered under the New Southbound Policy via newly established information services

### Conduct talent exchange

* The Taiwan Education Center, Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan and universities in Taiwan help execute higher education talents exchange programs, including teaching Taiwanese Mandarin in cooperated countries locally and accept students from cooperated countries to apply for scholarships to study in Taiwan.
| Universities in Taiwan | Responsible Countries |
| National Sun Yat-sen University | Philippines |
| National Taiwan University | Malaysia |
| Asia University (Taiwan) | Indonesia |
| Chung Hua University Taiwan | Philippines (Adamson University) |

### Share resources

* Expanding scholarships to students from ASEAN countries up to 60,000 students by 2019.

### Visas for the cooperation countries

* In order to improve tourism, especially from Southeast Asian countries, Taiwan has expanded visa-free entry for citizens of the Philippines, Thailand, Russia, and Brunei up until 2021.

## Budget

The operational budget for the policy implementation is taken from the Presidential Office budget.

## Slogans

The slogan "Taiwan helps Asia, and Asia helps Taiwan” has been promoted by President Tsai.