The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vows to improve workers’ rights by amending laws that would promote a shorter workweek and a higher minimum wage, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, while calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to stop prioritizing cross-strait relations over labor issues.
The DPP legislative caucus has proposed an amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that would change current regulations defining regular work as 84 hours every two weeks to 40 hours per week, and will push for the legislation of a minimum wage act that ensures workers can enjoy an income necessary to meet basic living standards, Tsai said while attending a religious ceremony in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山).
The DPP also plans to put forth legislation regulating the labor dispatch industry to reduce abuse as part of the party’s upcoming policies aimed at improving working conditions and labor rights, she said.
The Taiwanese workforce suffers from substandard working conditions, including low wages and long working hours, while the legal minimum monthly wage — NT$19,273 — is not adequate for workers to meet their basic needs, Tsai said.
Asked to comment on the likely KMT presidential hopefuls for next year’s presidential election, Tsai — the DPP’s presidential candidate — said it is the KMT’s business to work out its nomination, while the DPP is preparing for next year’s presidential and legislative elections by directly engaging itself with the public.
The DPP must not underestimate the KMT, despite flagging support for the party because of its poor performance, as the KMT still holds abundant resources and a strong grassroots political network, she said.
Asked about the meeting between New Taipei City Mayor and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at the annual KMT forum with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Monday, Tsai reiterated that the KMT should know how to differentiate between KMT-CCP exchanges and cross-strait relations.
“Cross-strait relations are not KMT-CCP relations and should not be regarded as such,” she said, adding that manipulating cross-strait issues through the media would only compromise Taiwan’s interests.
That the KMT government was working on cross-strait affairs on Labor Day suggests that it is out of touch with society, and the cross-strait achievements that it has been boasting do not conform with public sentiment, she said.
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