Social activists yesterday showed their approval of Chen Shui-bian (
Basing their opinion on Chen's performance as Taipei City mayor, the activists said they were confident that Chen could do a much better job than the KMT.
Social activists in organizations representing labor, women, Aborigines and earthquake victims, jointly affirmed their belief in the future new government yesterday.
"The voice of the masses will be listened to more in the future," said Liglove Awu (
Chen's victory in the presidential race could act as a stimulus to the nascent struggle of Taiwan's Aboriginal population for more autonomy.
Last September Chen signed a bilateral agreement, or "New Partnership" document, with 11 representatives from Aboriginal ethnic groups. In the agreement, Chen recognized many innate privileges that should be enjoyed by Aborigines, such as local autonomy and the native ownership of land.
"We signed this agreement on the basis of equality and a consensus to pursue autonomy," said Omi Wilang (
Peng Yen-wen (
Peng said Chen had implemented solid women's policies during his term as Taipei Mayor.
"His experience coordinating with social groups in Taipei is applicable nationwide," Peng said.
Participation by women in politics has been one of Chen's policy platforms. Peng said Chen promised a minimum 25 percent female recruitment rate in the Cabinet, the Council of Grand Justices, the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan.
"All of these promises should be due [for implementation] soon after Chen's inauguration," Peng said.
High expectations have also been found among labor groups. On March 11, Chen promised the Committee of Action for the Labor Legislature (CALL, 工人立法行動委員會) to implement labor changes by 2002, and reduce working hours from the existing 48 hours per week to 40 hours.
"Chen seldom overlooked his promised labor policies in his term as Taipei Mayor. We expect and believe he will do a better job than the present government," said the secretary-general of the Taiwan Labour Front, Kuo Kuo-wen (
The prospective candidate for Premier, Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (
"Lee knows all the problems of reconstruction much better than the government," said Peng Sheng-chin (
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers. Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was caused by a faulty power module in a track switch control cabinet, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said, adding that as a full system inspection could only be conducted after operations end for the day, a decision on whether normal service would resume today would be announced before the first train departs. During a routine inspection early yesterday, a switch signal abnormality
RSS