The Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) yesterday vowed to launch a massive members' conference on Sept. 11 to protest what it says is the government's sacrificing of the 115-year-old railway enterprise to the benefit of the nation's north-south high-speed railway.
Sept. 11 is the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the union called for travelers to use other means of transportation to return home for the holiday, so that the union's move would not affect them.
PHOTO: CNA
Union chairman Chang Wen-cheng (張文正) said that about 14,000 railway workers will attend the September conference to discuss a strike during next year's Lunar New Year holidays.
As a significant number of railway workers will be attending the conference, the union apologized to the public yesterday for the inconvenience it may cause them.
Some trains are expected to be cancelled because of the high number of railway workers that will take leave to join the conference.
"We decided to do so because we had no other choice. We have the right to seek a way to survive," the union said.
Union members gathered on a platform at the Taipei Railway Station yesterday afternoon to announce their decision.
The traditional railway system under the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) faces two grave challenges: settling its disputes with the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) and the government's plan to turn the TRA into a corporation.
The union's grievances against the THSRC, the company constructing the north-south railway, first emerged when the government asked the TRA to share Taipei Railway Station's platforms, tracks and tunnels with the THSRC.
The union alleged that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications apparently favored the THSRC when negotiating between the TRA and the THSRC about the distribution of Taipei Railway Station's platforms and tracks.
TRA deputy director Hsu Ta-wen (
"If the government can manage to meet the union's demands, its members will not need to hold the conference in September," was Hu's only response.
Viewing the completion of the high-speed railway as a serious threat to the survival of the traditional railway system, the union has launched a number of protests over the past three years, all without avail.
The high-speed railway, with its trains designed to travel at a speed of more than 300kph, will effectively cut the traveling time between Taipei and Kaohsiung to 90 minutes.
In contrast, the fastest trains currently provided by the TRA take at least four to five hours to travel between the two cities.
The union said workers of the deficit-burdened traditional railway enterprise are facing job losses because the government plans to revitalize the traditional railway, partly by axing jobs and reducing salaries.
Accusing the government of ignoring their pleas to secure proper operation of the traditional railway while the high-speed railway is under construction, the union has been staging protests against construction of the new railway since 2001.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)