The Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) deviated from its usual support for the pan-blue camp yesterday to express the possi-bility of throwing its support behind President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in exchange for employment benefits.
According to TRLU president Chen Han-ching (
They are also asking for other employment benefits, such as education subsidies, but negotiations proved difficult yesterday as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), who attended a meeting with union representatives, said the deal was impossible.
Employees of the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) are legally categorized as laborers with civil servant status, and as such do not receive the same benefits awarded other civil servants.
The union voiced its grievances about the interest-rate benefit during its strike last year, but the issue had not been resolved.
Chen Han-ching's announcement has caused a schism in the union. Led by former union head Chang Wen-cheng (張文正) and retired TRA director-general Chen Te-pei (陳德沛), pan-blue supporters within the union criticized the move to use political support as leverage for obtaining employment benefits.
"Employees have always had the freedom to choose whom to vote for, and so should union members. Especially since the union already knows the ruling party will not agree to such an exchange, there really is no need for such a move. In addition, it's a double-edged sword and will end up hurting the union itself," Chen Te-pei said.
Chen Te-pei is heading up a campaign support group for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"A lot of union members have responded that it is not appropriate for the union to identify one specific candidate for support in an election. The union should respect the right of members to make a personal decision," Chang said.
Chen Han-ching countered that the main task of a union leader was to ensure the welfare of employees.
"I've already heard that some union members do not agree, but at this point in time, it is very difficult to sway a person's vote either way unless there is a pressing issue at hand. My most important task as a union leader is to fight for the welfare of union members, so I am taking advantage of the two political camps' fight for votes to promote policies that would benefit railway workers. How is that wrong?" he said.
According to Chen Han-ching, about half of the roughly 14,000-strong railway administration have not yet decided how they will vote on March 20 and could potentially vote according to either camp's policies on the 18-percent-interest benefit.
Meanwhile, TRA director general Hsu Ta-wen (
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai