After a series of deadly accidents on construction sites in recent days, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has decided to step up work site inspections and to crack down on violations of safety rules in the run-up to Lunar New Year.
Council of Labor Affairs Chairman Lee Ying-yuan (
"It is unacceptable to bury five bodies because of accidents that could have been prevented," Lee said.
Lee was referring to the deadly collapse at the Linkou work site of a Farglory Land Development project on Dec. 17.
He also mentioned a railroad construction worker in Nangang who was buried alive on Dec. 21 and another railroad construction worker who fell to his death on Dec. 23.
Responsibility for workplace accidents will not stop with the subcontracting company, said Lin Chin-chi (
"Those who are involved at every level will be liable under the Labor Safety and Health Law [
Lin added that in addition to the Labor Safety and Health Law, individuals whose negligence causes deadly accidents could be be held accountable under Article 276 of the Criminal Code.
Chiang Dai-cheng, (
"The Farglory site was inspected prior to the accident," Chiang said. "But at that point in time the support structure that eventually fell had not yet been erected."
Chiang added that "category one" building projects -- sites that are employing more than 300 workers or costing more than NT$100 million (US$3.06 million) -- are those that attract the most inspections.
"The most common violations are unsecured openings, lack of guardrails or safe means for workers to go up and down the work site," Chiang said. "For every rule they break, we can issue a fine of NT$120,000."
But the fine is not the most effective deterrent at the inspectors' disposal, Chiang said. "If a violation is a source of danger, we can shut the site down immediately until the problem is fixed."
"There's nothing they're more afraid of than that," he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS