The Independence Evening Post (自立晚報) will release May salaries in two installments to help it through its ongoing financial difficulties, the paper said Sunday.
This is the second time this year the paper -- the oldest evening newspaper in Taiwan, founded in 1947 -- has been forced to adjust salary payments in order to deal with financial woes. In February the Post paid out salaries in two installments.
While the announcement has intensified worries among staff about the paper's financial troubles and job security, Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), president of the newspaper, brushed aside rumors that the paper would be closing down or layoffs were in the works.
"To tackle the financial difficulties, we were compelled to make this change in payments, but I will continue to keep operations going," Wang said.
But Wang, who took over the newspaper's operations in October, said he felt discouraged because "employees never understand the difficulties of managers." He also said that criticism from the staff had led him to reconsider why he works so hard to solve the paper's problems.
"I hope the staff can work together to get through this time of crisis, and not to disseminate incorrect news outside the office," Wang said.
Union representatives have expressed their willingness to negotiate with company officials to find ways to keep the paper running, but they also want assurances to "safeguard the staff's benefits."
The union plans to soon propose other measures in lieu of the delayed salary payments.
On Sunday, the newspaper posted a notice that said it would issue May pay checks in two portions -- half today and the other half on June 19.
In addition to the delayed payments, the newspaper in April cut staff salaries by 15 percent.
With nearly 300 employers, the paper requires NT$36 million a month to keep running, and it has incurred a monthly loss of NT$15 million.
The Independence Evening Post was the first evening paper in Taiwan to advocate "independence from political parties." In its 53-year history, the paper has often supported dissidents and non-KMT politicians.
After a financial crisis in 1995 the paper was taken over by KMT Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (
The paper turned pro-DPP after Wang took over the company.
Affected by Taiwan's economic slump, various newspapers have been having operational difficulties. Following the financial crisis at the Taiwan Daily (
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS