Activists from the Anti-Poverty Alliance, which comprises 13 civic groups, held a press conference at the legislature in Taipei yesterday urging legislators to address the problem of the widening disparity between rich and poor in Taiwan.
They also announced plans for two 44-hour hunger strikes that will begin on Sunday.
Anti-Poverty Alliance representative Chien Hsi-chieh , a former Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker, said the gap between rich and poor is expanding in Taiwan, just like in the US and Europe.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s economic growth rate last year was 10.8 percent and labor productivity increased by 16 percent, but wages decreased by 11 percent, the alliance said.
It said the total income of employees accounted for only 44 percent of GDP, which was lower than in many other countries.
Twenty-five people from Taiwan were listed on Forbes’ latest list of the world’s richest people, and the wealth of the top 10 richest people in the nation has increased from US$30 billion to US$40.7 billion, Chien said.
However, there are about 1.04 million workers in Taiwan who receive less than NT$20,000 per month, he added.
He also questioned why the government gave preferential treatment, such as a sales tax exemption, to banks but not to other sectors, and said mounting frustration over the plight of the average wage earner would express itself as it had in recent weeks on Wall Street.
“Occupy Wall Street is not a single incident, but is spreading around the world,” Chien said.
Chien said the alliance would hold two “44-Hour Famine” hunger strikes to raise awareness about the unfair distribution of wealth in the country, with workers not receiving their deserved share.
The hunger strikes will take place in front of the legislature. The first will run from Sunday to Tuesday and the second will run from Tuesday to Thursday.
The groups will also protest against the government giving tax relief to enterprises when the working poor are becoming poorer, and they want to experience poverty through fasting.
Chen Fang-yu (陳方隅), a representative from a group called “Young people want to be rich,” said that about one-fourth of young people in their 20s work as dispatch workers or as hourly wage workers, often with low incomes, long working hours and no welfare benefits.
He said with incomes so low and housing prices high, “who still wants to get married and have children?”
Lin Yung-sung (林永頌), an attorney who advises victims of credit card debt, said some workers are only paid about NT$20,000 per month and had to pay between NT$4,000 and NT$5,000 per month to labor dispatch agencies.
Lin said that as many as 1.04 million Taiwanese — or 15 percent of the working population — earn less than NT$20,000 a month.
That means there are 220,000 more people in that income group than in 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, Lin said.
The alliance said unemployment and low incomes were the roots of poverty and called on legislators to amend the Statute For Consumer Debt Clearance (消費者債務清理條例), regulations on student loans and the Housing Act (住宅法) during the current legislative session.
The alliance also voiced support for the “Occupy Taipei” rally that is scheduled for Saturday outside Taipei 101.
Additional reporting by CNA
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS