Two workers from South Korea’s Hydis Technologies were arrested yesterday after a demonstration outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei to protest against their Taiwanese employers.
For the past 10 days, nearly a dozen South Korean union representatives have camped outside the personal residence of Yuen Foong Yu (YFY) Group chairperson Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川).
On the front steps of Ho’s residence, the workers set up a memorial shrine to former Hydis union leader Bae Jae-hyoung, who committed suicide last month after reportedly receiving legal threats from Hydis management.
Photo: CNA
Dressed in a black robe, Bae’s widow, Lee Mi-ra, carried a portrait of her husband as she marched toward the Presidential Office Building during yesterday’s demonstration.
She was accompanied by dozens of Taiwanese labor activists and students, who came to express their support.
Hydis was acquired in 2008 by Taiwanese e-paper manufacturer E-Ink Holdings, a member of the YFY Group.
Despite a series of protests in Taipei earlier this year, E-Ink stood by its decision to cease production in South Korea and dismissed more than 300 employees as planned in April.
During the demonstration, the workers demanded that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration facilitate talks between the union and YFY Group, saying that the company has repeatedly refused to engage in talks with them in Taiwan.
They also demanded that Ma dismiss Ho from his position among the president’s panel of national policy advisers and called for talks on a free-trade agreement between Taiwan and South Korea to be halted before the issue is resolved.
“Do workers still enjoy any dignity at all? After so much time and effort, we have not received any kind of response,” a senior Hydis employee, surnamed Kim, said through an interpreter.
“Under such circumstances, we no longer know whether it is meaningful to live on like this,” Kim said.
Lee Mi-ra and the other union representatives were denied entry to the Presidential Office Building, which refused to accept their petition.
Violent scuffles broke out, resulting in the arrest of two South Koreans and one Taiwanese labor activist.
Two other Taiwanese were arrested outside Ho’s residence when police officers moved in to remove tents erected by labor activists.
Another South Korean activist was placed under medical care after receiving injuries during conflict with police officers.
The workers have vowed to continue their protests outside Ho’s residence until talks with YFY Group take place.
“We will not leave Taiwan until we have a meeting with Yuen Foong Yu,” Korean Confederation of Trade Unions regional branch leader Lee Sang-aun said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS