People born in Taiwan in the 1970s and 1980s are commonly referred to as belonging to the "Strawberry Generation," meaning that they are less able to withstand pressure and that they aren't able to work very hard.
However, Chen Po-chien (
According to Chen, the trend that the youth of Taiwan face today is long hours, low pay and job insecurity, amidst massive inflation rates. A survey carried out in Switzerland revealed that the work hours in Taiwan are the longest in the world, averaging 50 hours a week -- beating even Japan's record. Furthermore, Chen said, the minimum monthly pay -- NT$15,840 (US$483) -- hasn't been adjusted in the last eight years.
Chien Hsi-chieh, the convener of the pan-purple alliance, said that the problems are partly owing to the treatment of labor and education as a commodity, which has been reflected in staff cutbacks without any consideration of retirement, and importing foreign laborers to cut down on costs.
"People aren't products; they have rights, dignity, their own opinions," Chien said.
Chien spoke of over-time without pay, the use of part-time staff and the recruitment of new staff to replace senior staff members as a means of saving on costs, saying that "under these conditions it is no wonder that professional workers become easily replaceable."
According to Lin Chia-Ho (
"The government's idea of effectiveness is to slim down staff, which is misconceived and outdated," Lin said.
According to Lin, the government heads the list of organizations who use part-time employees to cut on costs. He compared this to the EU, which in an attempt to set a good example for its citizens makes an effort to increase staff numbers, with a monthly report being issued each month. Lin said that the problem that youth in Taiwan face, however, is of a global nature.
Lin talked about a report which was the result of a conference held in Los Angeles in 1997, which said that by 2025, the world would become a 20:80 society meaning that only 20 percent of the population would play an active role in the flow of the economy; the other 80 percent would be made "redundant."
"The young may not be the first affected, but it is not only a matter of who is first," Lin said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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