Workers’ groups yesterday called a press conference to protest the omission of the right to strike from a UN covenant signed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) earlier this year, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the omission was unintentional and it had forwarded a correction to the legislature earlier this week.
The Taiwan Labour Front and other civic groups said part of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that guarantees the right to strike was excluded from the version adopted by Taiwan and demanded that it be reinstated before it takes effect next month.
Article 18, clause d, of the UN covenant reads: “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure ... The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity with the laws of the particular country.”
On March 31, the legislature ratified the Act Governing the Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟社會文化權利國際公約施行法). Ma signed the legislation in May.
The ratification of the two UN covenants drew praise from local NGOs including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, who expressed hope that the covenants would play a role in strengthening human rights in Taiwan.
Taiwan Labour Front secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said yesterday that the omission of the right to strike was “a step backward in terms of Taiwan’s human rights development.”
The groups called on the government to revise the legislation before Dec. 10, international Human Rights Day, when the covenants are scheduled to take effect in Taiwan.
But MOFA told the Taipei Times later yesterday that the omission was unintentional and an amendment had already been forwarded to the legislature on Monday.
MOFA Deputy Spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the version of the two UN covenants was written years ago and was based on the UN’s official Chinese and English texts.
“Taiwan composed its own covenant many years ago by mirroring the UN version, but our personnel at the time somehow unintentionally failed to record the content verbatim and accidentally left that part out,” Chang said, adding that the ministry was “sincerely” sorry.
No one noticed the error, even when the covenants were sent to the legislature for review, Chang said.
But MOFA discovered the omission earlier this month while performing a double-check of Taiwan’s version of the covenants against the UN documents, he said.
When the mistake was found, MOFA notified the Executive Yuan and provided a revised copy of the document, which was forwarded to the legislature on Monday, Chang said.
When asked for comment earlier yesterday, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the office would look into the matter before determining whether to take any action or punish anyone.
Wang said workers’ groups should not doubt the commitment of Ma and his administration to labor rights.
“The president has [previously] promised to conduct a blanket review of all laws and regulations within two years of the two UN covenants being promulgated to ensure that they conform to the spirit of the two covenants,” Wang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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
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
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard