Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday said that a strike by China Airlines (CAL) pilots might have been avoided if airline chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) had followed his advice.
CAL pilots belonging to the Taoyuan Union of Pilots went on strike from early on Friday morning, causing at least 20 flights to be canceled as of press time last night and affecting thousands of passengers.
However, claims that the strike was the result of a fallout between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) factions was a fabrication, Cheng said.
The strike resulted from controversy between former DPP factions, Taipei City Councilor Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇), of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), wrote on Facebook on Friday.
In 2006, the DPP dissolved its factions, but many continue to exist unofficially.
Wang said that Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is “second man” in the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association — also known as the “Yu faction” due to the leadership of former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) — while Ho is a “guardian” in the former New Tide faction.
Lin and Ho have been unable to solve problems, Wang said, adding that they are only good at spats and shirking responsibility.
Shortly after the strike began, pundits claimed that Ho despised Lin and would only take advice from Cheng, reportedly a leading figure in the New Tide faction.
“CAL chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan is not in any faction and was designated chairman because he had served in several posts at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications [MOTC],” Cheng said.
“If he had listened to my suggestion, the strike might have been avoided,” he added.
The union in August last year reached a preliminary agreement with China Airlines and EVA Airways, Cheng said, but added that China Airlines did not reach a consensus with its employees as EVA Airways did.
Cheng said that Ho and the union should have made some concessions to employees and preferred dialogue over confrontation.
“Ho could have accepted suggestions made by CAL executives, especially the managers, and ignored calls from outside the company for arriving at a consensus,” he said.
The MOTC, the Ministry of Labor and the Taoyuan City Government are monitoring the situation and working together to resolve the problem, Cheng said.
Cheng said the he sees eye to eye with Lin over the strike and spoke with Lin by telephone on Friday and yesterday.
The local and central governments are on the same boat in confronting the strike, which is a national issue that has affected the rights of many passengers, as well as the nation’s reputation, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS