The economic status of East Asia has increased drastically in the past few decades. Most nations in the region can currently be compared to Western European countries. Foreigners are lured into the region to seek better living standards which they are unable to experience from their native countries. Although immigrants contribute positively to the economy, they cause overpopulation, native culture erosion, low wages, and unemployment.
East Asian countries are striving to control population growth by reducing the number of births. Most families have one child per household to enhance the sustainability of resources. However, foreign immigration increases the population even though the government documents some settlers. For instance, Singapore had 1,351,8000 foreign workers in June 2020, and the number was projected to increase (ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 2020). It, therefore, implies that a quarter of the population is people from other countries. Hence, foreign workers cause overpopulation on the Eastern side of the Asian continent.
Second, the immigration of foreign workers to East Asia will lead to the erosion of the native culture. Every country has its traditions, which are subscribed from the local practices. However, when foreigners come into the area, they introduce new beliefs which may influence the original practices. Yilmaz (2016) illustrates that the workers also adopt the new values, making them forget their original traditions. In the long term, the culture of the locals will be eroded with new and mixed cultures.
Third, foreign workers will cause low wage payments and unemployment for the locals. Although educated East Asians prefer white-collar jobs, some natives are not well educated to get employments informal sectors. As a result, they seek employment in informal jobs currently dominated by foreigners (Ullah, 2016). Therefore, they are forced to compete with immigrants for available opportunities. Moreover, a surge in demand for jobs leads to low salaries since there are many people seeking employment. Thus, foreign workers will take the employment opportunities of the locals and also cause low income.
Succinctly, foreign workers should be controlled by going to East Asia. Though they contribute to the region’s economic growth, their presence leads to overpopulation, culture erosion, and unemployment for the natives who lack higher education qualifications. A surge in population will lead to the depletion of the resources needed by the future generation of the natives. Hence, foreign workers are not essential to long-term economic growth in the East Asian State.
References
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, (2020). Foreign workers in Singapore. AP Migration. Web.
Ullah, A. A. (2016). Rationalizing migration decisions: Labour migrants in East and South-East Asia. Routledge.
Yilmaz, F. (2016). How the workers became Muslims: Immigration, culture, and hegemonic transformation in Europe. University of Michigan Press.