Pro-independence organizations yesterday rallied outside the Legislative Yuan building to support Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who was allegedly attacked by protesters outside the building on Friday last week. The rally condemned the violence and said that political forces are manipulating labor protests to cause social instability.
Accompanied by other pro-
independence campaigners, Chilly Chen (陳峻涵), office director of the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign, said they condemn violence against any legislator and thanked the police for protecting Ker from “life-threatening danger” during Friday’s scuffle.
Chen brought a bouquet of flowers to Ker, but he was conducting cross-party negotiations at the legislature and did not come outside to take the bouquet.
“We condemn the attack ... allegedly carried out by labor protesters. They have deliberately introduced violent tactics to obstruct the legislative process. Their action has damaged our society’s commitment to the rule of law,” he said.
Chen demanded that the judiciary conduct an investigation to find out if the attackers were political agitators pretending to be labor rights advocates to stir up chaos.
“We support our labor friends and protection of labor rights, but we are against hidden forces using agitators to instigate violence and cause division in society,” he said.
Taiwanese National Party
Secretary-General Chang Chun-jung (張春榮) said the ongoing labor protests are only supported by a small segment of society, because the organizations involved in them have questionable motives and are manipulated by political parties as a means to undermine the DPP government.
“It is known that some trade unions were not really fighting for workers’ rights, but were set up for token representation. For a long time, the top leaderships of these trade unions have been controlled and appointed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and these dark forces still pervade in Taiwan’s labor union movement,” Chang said.
Chang urged pro-independence organizations and civic groups to closely monitor the labor protests.
“It was obvious that the protesters channeled their hostility against the DPP, whereas the decision to cut seven national holidays and most of the current labor policies were made during past KMT administrations. Yet these protesters are colluding with KMT and pro-unification groups in an attempt to destabilize our society and create divisions among the public,” Chang said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS