The first-ever labor affairs consultation meeting between Taiwan and the EU last week represents a milestone in bilateral cooperation, Deputy Minister of Labor Lin San-quei (林三貴) said yesterday.
Lin, who led the Taiwanese delegation to the meeting in Brussels on Thursday last week, said that the nation and the bloc have had good exchanges on a wide range of labor affairs-related topics through existing channels, while top EU labor affairs officials have visited Taiwan several times.
“This year, the first-ever labor affairs consultation meeting represented the beginning of a regular exchange mechanism to facilitate future cooperation between the two sides,” Lin said.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Ministry of Labor
Lin first talked with European Commission Deputy Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Adriana Sukova for almost one hour.
Lin said Sukova paid close attention to Taiwan’s experience in executing labor policies and their success, and expressed hope that at the next meeting they would discuss Taiwanese policies to boost the rights of immigrant workers and fishery workers.
After the talks between Lin and Sukova, the meeting focused on how the European Globalization Adaptation Fund has helped workers deal with a fast-changing labor market and how the European Social Fund has helped disadvantaged workers land jobs, Lin said.
The delegation also shared Taiwan’s knowledge of the wider labor market in Asia, having invested in China and Southeast Asian nations for many years, Lin added.
The two sides also discussed youth unemployment and the impact of economic globalization and digitalization on workers, as well as cross-border social security and employment services for workers, he said.
“The consultation meeting gave EU officials a better understanding as to the value of such a view-exchange mechanism with Taiwan,” Lin said.
While pushing for further cooperation with the EU, Lin said he hoped the second consultation meeting in Taipei next year would proceed just as smoothly.
Lin also met Laszlo Andor, a former commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, and Fons Leroy, managing director of the Vlaamse Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling en Beroepsopleiding (the Flemish public employment service), to exchange views and ideas.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS