Accompanied by several dozen former Hualon Corp workers, Hualon Self-Help Organization president Lee Tsui-ming (李翠明) came to the Taipei District Court for an inquiry session yesterday, over charges of violating the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) during a demonstration in January.
The workers retired from the bankrupt textiles manufacturer about a decade ago and are claiming an average of NT$1 million (US$33,000) each in unpaid pensions, after a court auction of Hualon’s assets in August provided them with less than NT$3,000 each in compensation.
Lee was summoned for leading an unauthorized demonstration in front of the Presidential Office Building on Jan. 27.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
She said the court did not notify her about any illegal behavior until last week, right before another surprise demonstration at the same location, which she said prompted speculation on the government’s judicial influence.
“We launched that [first] demonstration right before the Lunar New Year, because we really did not have any money left to celebrate the holidays,” Lee said. “We were forced to take to the streets for our pensions.”
Clad in signature yellow cloaks with the word “anger” written across their chests, the workers carried a large banner reading: “[The government is] slow as a turtle in providing compensation, while abusive in judicial prosecution.”
Human rights lawyers Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) and Tseng Wei-kai (曾威凱), both volunteering their services for the Hualon case, condemned the court’s use of the Assembly and Parade Act, which they see as a violation of the workers’ rights.
“It always makes me sad to defend social activists, when the court should really be going after murderers or arsonists,” Chiu said.
Chiu also stated his support for the workers’ compensation: “If all the money from the Hualon auctions goes to the banks instead of the workers, I think Taiwanese society will never forgive our judicial system.”
With a pre-approval system that requires organizers to obtain permits from local authorities before rallies or protests, the Assembly and Parade Act has often been described as “a relic from the Martial Law era” by human rights advocates, with many campaigning for its abolition.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS