President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration signed a cross-strait service trade pact with China in an entirely incoherent fashion and without discussing it with Taiwanese, dealing a heavy blow to approximately 80 percent of the Greater Kaohsiung Confederation of Trade Unions’ members. The move has incited strong opposition among the local working class, who came out on July 25 to voice their opposition to so-called “black-box” tactics used in signing the agreement. The following day the Greater Kaohsiung Confederation of Trade Unions, the Vocational Trade Union Confederation and the Civil Service Trade Union, among others, held an explanatory session titled “Against the Cross-strait Service Trade Pact” to show that the Ma administration’s misgovernment has left the public with no other choice but to rebel.
Greater Kaohsiung Confederation of Labor Unions’ president Chen Chih-ming says, “Of course laborers must rebel when they have nothing to eat.” He is critical of the Ma government’s opaqueness in signing the pact because it will negatively affect around 70 percent of Kaohsiung companies, including beauty parlors, cleaners, print shops, food shops and restaurants, as well as leather shoe dealers, eyeglass shops and watch sellers. They will all suffer a huge influx of Chinese investments, he says. Hired and self-employed laborers will lose their right to work as well as their livelihood, Chen says, adding that signing the pact will be highly beneficial for Chinese investors but not Taiwanese workers.
Su Yu-chih, president of the Kaohsiung Hair Industry Trade Union, says that the pact will hurt both companies and the public. Using the hair salon and beauty parlor industry as an example, Su says that having enough Chinese capital to meet the basic monetary requirement for applying to come to Taiwan makes it a relatively cheap way to immigrate. After entering the country, there will inevitably be numerous franchises opening, using the opening of such businesses as a cover for real estate speculation, keeping laborers and young people from ever being able to afford housing prices and leaving them indefinitely without homes of their own. By contrast, “fake merchants” from China that will spill into Taiwan and covertly emigrate will be able to enjoy the benefits of compulsory education and national health insurance while Taiwanese foot the bill, Su says.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者黃良傑
Greater Kaohsiung Confederation of Trade Unions’ secretary-general Shih De-lung says that nearly 80 percent of its members are in the service sector, or more than 50,000 people. Most of the union members who will be affected by the agreement are still in the dark about what the agreement signed by the Ma government means for them, Shih says. He is keen on requiring that the government offer a clear explanation of the pact, particularly as the animosity between China and Taiwan has yet to be reconciled, adding that by opening the telecommunications and finance sectors to Chinese investment it could possibly lead to security issues regarding classified and personal information, harming workers’ rights and putting the public in danger.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
馬政府毫無配套與協商便簽兩岸服貿協議,衝擊大高雄總工會八成會員,引發基層勞工反彈,七月二十五日站出來疾呼反對「黑箱服貿」,二十六日邀集高雄地區產業總工會、職業總工會、公務機關總工會等,召開「反對兩岸服貿協議」說明會,直指馬政府「官逼民反」。
大高雄總工會理事長陳志銘說,「勞工沒飯吃,必然造反」,他抨擊馬政府黑箱簽服貿,造成七成店家受衝擊,包括美髮、洗衣、印刷排版、食品、餐飲業者,連皮鞋店、眼鏡行、鐘錶行等,都面臨被龐大中資打趴,受雇勞工、自營勞工將失去工作權、生存權,簽署服貿最大受益者絕非勞工,而是財團。
高雄市美容業職業工會理事長蘇育鋕說,「服貿不只業者受創,全民都受害」,以理燙髮美容業為例,中資只要符合資本額門檻便可申請來台,形同最廉價的移民便道,進來後定會猛開分店,假開店之名行炒房之實,勞工與青年將追不上房價,永遠當無殼蝸牛族;反觀中國「假商人」輸台,變相移民後,輕易便可享有義務教育、健保等福利,等同國人買單。
大高雄總工會總幹事石德隆表示,該會近八成都是服務業,約有五萬多人,馬政府簽署服貿協議,受影響的會員沒人清楚內容,他強烈要求政府說清楚講明白,尤其是敵我關係仍未化解前,包括電信、金融開放中國入台經營,可能涉及通信秘密與個資安全,非僅勞工權益受損,而是全民受害。
(自由時報記者黃良傑)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110