Local labor rights groups staged a demonstration in Taipei yesterday against what they said was the illegal import of Chinese workers by electronics manufacturers in Taiwan.
According to the groups, Chinese workers were brought to Taiwan under the guise of being highly skilled professionals, who are -legally allowed to stay in Taiwan for extended periods, but were discovered working in factories operated by Young Fast Optoelectronics Co, ASE Group and AU Optronics Corp.
Chu Cheng-chi (朱政麒), a spokesman for the protesters, said such illegal activities could be behind the sharp increase in Chinese businesspeople and highly skilled professionals visiting Taiwan in recent years.
Citing statistics from the -National Immigration Agency, Chu said 180,000 applications by Chinese businesspeople and professionals to visit Taiwan were approved last year, up from 90,000 the previous year. As of August, more than 160,000 such applications had been -approved, with the total number expected to top 200,000 by the end of this year, Chu said.
He said the situation, if proven true, would run counter to the government’s promise “not to open Taiwan to Chinese laborers,” and he demanded that the agency and the Council of Labor Affairs investigate the matter.
The Chinese-language Next Magazine reported on Wednesday that the practice was especially widespread among major electronics manufacturers that have a strong commercial presence in China. The allegations have prompted opposition lawmakers to urge the -government to crack down on -companies using Chinese labor in Taiwan under false pretenses.
Speaking in an interpellation on the legislative floor on Friday, Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said that the council had never issued any work permits to citizens of the People’s Republic of China, as stipulated by the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
According to Article 95 of the act, introducing workers from China into Taiwan would require approval by the Legislative Yuan, Wang said.
Addressing the issue at the same session, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) suggested that companies or organizations inviting Chinese citizens to Taiwan for training should have them wear special vests to prevent people from “trying to pass fish eyes for pearls.”
He added that Taiwan would not allow Chinese citizens to enter Taiwan for employment under the guise of receiving training or attending courses.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
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,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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