Students stormed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei yesterday, escalating a protest over controversial amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
About 20 students from groups affiliated with the Workers’ Struggle Alliance scuffled with police guarding the glass doors lead to the DPP’s offices, shouting for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to come out and face them over the party’s plan to cut the number of national holidays per year from 19 to 12.
The cuts would be implemented following the passage of a bill that is part of reforms to implement a 40-hour workweek, with a final vote possible as soon as next week after the expiration of a one-month waiting period imposed after cross-caucus negotiations.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Protesters occupied a reception area at the DPP offices shortly after noon, prior to a meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee, after reportedly failing to force their way down to a lower floor where the meeting was to be held.
They pasted slogans across foyer walls and doors, occasionally shouting slogans in between speeches.
“The main reason [for the occupation] is the response we received from [DPP caucus whip] Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday [Tuesday] and the fact that we have protested in front of DPP headquarters many times, but have never received a response,” Taiwan Higher Education Union student action committee member Su Tzu-hsuan (蘇子軒) said.
Ker on Tuesday said he was only willing to discuss the amendments with other legislators, after protesters briefly occupied one of his offices at the Legislative Yuan to demand a public debate.
The protesters also criticized statements by Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), who said Tuesday’s occupation was unacceptable, as a legislator’s office constitutes “private space.”
“If offices were truly ‘private space,’ then Su as legislative speaker should not have issued an official condemnation and the fact that he did not shows that they at least partially belong to the public,” Su Tzu-hsuan said, threatening that the protesters would follow DPP members “like shadows” if they failed to respond.
“We have to draw a line between ourselves and this ‘capitalist’ party that is advancing the interests of the wealthy, meeting secretly with business groups and capitalists, rather than listening to young people,” he said.
The protesters occupied the foyer for about an hour before attempting to stage a retreat, only to be blocked briefly by police officers before they were allowed to quietly trickle into the elevators.
DPP officials reportedly asked the police to refrain from dragging the students out of the building.
Su said the protesters staged a voluntary retreat after it became apparent there was “absolutely no way” that they would meet with Tsai.
DPP spokesman Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) said the party respected the protesters’ opinions and their right to freedom of expression.
“We respect different opinions and believe these young people have fully expressed theirs,” Juan said when asked why no DPP officials tried to communicate with the protesters.
Tsai did not comment on the protest during the committee meeting, Juan said.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS