Retired Hualon Group employees who say they are owed retirement payouts by the company yesterday were involved in several protests in Taipei and began an overnight demonstration in the lobby of Taipei Railway Station, saying they would continue their actions today.
“You see Taiwan, but do you see the laborers?” members of the Hualon Self-Help Organization shouted at a press conference held jointly by Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and director of the film Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above (看見台灣) Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) following a special screening of the documentary.
The protesters shouted the slogan in reference to the Chinese title of the documentary, part of which literally means “seeing Taiwan.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The protesters were not removed by force immediately, instead, Jiang, who was interrupted, stopped and listened to them, and asked his assistant to take the petition from some women who were speaking about their situation.
Later when Jiang was about to leave the theater after watching the documentary, National Tsing Hua University student Sun Chih-yu (孫致宇), who was with the labor group, threw a pair of red and white slippers, but the shoes all missed the premier.
Earlier yesterday, more than 100 former Hualon employees also demonstrated outside the Control Yuan and the Executive Yuan buildings, asking for help from the government.
“I’ve worked for 31 years at Hualon, but I didn’t get a penny of my retirement payout,” 65-year-old Chang Chiu-shun (張秋順) said during a demonstration outside the Executive Yuan building in front of a line of police shields. “We’re not asking the government to pay us, we’re merely asking it to help us pursue our bosses to give us our money.”
Chang said she began to work for Hualon in 1978 and retired in 2009 and though she is entitled to a NT$1.3 million (US$44,000) retirement payout, the company said that it is out of cash and promised to repay the debt within three years.
However, the promise has never been fulfilled, she said.
“We’ve worked so hard and paid so many taxes to the government, I don’t understand why is it not willing to help us” she said.
Lee Tsui-ming (李翠明), president of the self-help organization, said that to protect the interests of employees at Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co, which is now under investigation for allegedly adulterating its edible oil, the Changhua County Government has made efforts to seize some of the company’s property.
“If the county government is prepared to go this far to protect workers’ rights, why can’t the Council of Labor Affairs do the same?” Lee said.
The protesters planned to stay overnight in the lobby of Taipei Railway Station, and to stage another protest outside Hualon’s headquarters in Taipei at 7:30am today.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS