Labor advocates yesterday condemned Chinese National Federation of Industries executive director Sam Ho (何語) for allegedly making threats during a meeting of the Presidential Office’s pension reform commission, and threatened legal action if Ho fails to apologize at today’s meeting of the committee.
“I do not know what his intent was, but his words were not the kind you would use to hold a discussion,” said Liou You-syue (劉侑學), a director of the Taiwan Higher Education Union, who is also a doctoral candidate at National Chung Cheng University’s Department of Social Welfare.
The union last week held a news conference accusing Ho of trying to “fish in troubled water” (趁火打劫) for proposing a reduction in the percentage of workers’ labor insurance premiums paid by corporations.
Ho fired back during last week’s meeting of the commission, which is charged with finding a consensus on pension reform.
“You have to give me an explanation, or I will not rule out the possibility of mobilizing farmers from five villages around National Chung Cheng University to protest and ‘headhunt’ (出草),” Ho said, adding that many children of the university’s faculty have benefited from a scholarship he had established at a local elementary school.
Liou’s “fishing” remark was an unfair attack on his character, Ho said, adding that he had no intention of threatening Liou and was willing to send him tea and coffee.
Union secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳正亮) said that while the exact meaning of Liou’s comment was unclear, Ho clearly demonstrated an intent to threaten and intimidate.
“When I first saw the broadcast [of the meeting] I thought it was kind of funny, because Ho seemed unable to accurately express himself, but let us be clear: His intent was to threaten,” Chen said.
He demanded that Ho withdraw his remarks and apologize at today’s meeting.
Liou said Ho had taken his picture prior to last week’s meeting and threatened to send it to professors at the university.
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