Labor activists voiced concern yesterday that president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policies for reviving the economy could rely too heavily on large corporations and that the rights of blue-collar workers may be sacrificed.
“Ma promised to improve the economy and make life easier — we workers deserve a better life too!” Labor Party secretary-general Tang Shu (唐曙) told a crowd of around 100 people from various labor unions who gathered outside the Legislative Yuan.
“It makes us very worried, when we look at Ma’s economic platform,” Tang said. “It seems that Ma is aiming to make life better for corporations but not for workers.”
PHOTO: CNA
One of Ma’s “i-Taiwan 12 projects” to boost domestic consumption through infrastructure — turning Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport into an “air city” — was the focus of particular criticism.
The proposal would make the airport a special administrative zone and surrounding areas would be managed by an independent administration run by a board of directors.
The board would be authorized to plan the special zone’s development, manage the airport facilities — which are now under the jurisdiction of the Civil Aeronautics Administration — and invest in transportation and other industries.
Businesses operating in the zone would enjoy special tax breaks.
In addition to the airport, Ma also plans to establish a free-trade port nearby as part of the project.
Labor Rights Association executive director Wang Chuan-ping (王娟萍) said the project may sound ambitious, but it is a potential nightmare as far as workers rights are concerned.
Proposed legislation governing the special administrative zone would exempt it from Labor Standard Law (勞動基準法) regulations on the employment and treatment of foreign workers.
“It not only means that these [foreign] workers will have less protection [of rights], it also means that local workers will be less competitive,” Wang said.
The activists are also concerned that outsourcing could increase under Ma’s platform to boost economic links with China.
“We don’t mind developing cross-strait economic and trade relations, but workers rights should be the top consideration during the decision-making process,” Tang said.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS