Chinese labor ban vexes fishing industry

The Taiwan Provincial Fishery Association (台灣省漁會) will host a meeting of chief executives of city and county fishery groups today to hammer out a strategy to cope with a Chinese ban on exports of fishery workers to Taiwan.

The Tungkang Fishery Association (東港區漁會) in Pingtung County confirmed yesterday that China has indeed decided to ban its fishery workers from working aboard Taiwanese fishing boats after the Chinese New Year holiday.

"The ban will pose great troubles to our offshore fishing industry as many local ship owners rely heavily on mainland workers to operate their fishing vessels," said Chen Kun-yu (陳焜煜), secretary-general of the Tungkang Fishery Association.

According to Chen, Tungkang and the Suao Fishery Association (蘇澳區漁會) in Ilan County are the two local fishing groups whose members are most reliant on mainland Chinese fishery laborers.

At present, some 1,130 mainland fishermen are staying aboard special "floating hotels" off the Tungkang fishing port, Chen said.

Can't let go

"As most of them still have valid working permits, we'll try to persuade them to stay there for the time being," he said, adding that "we are afraid that they won't be able come to Taiwan again once they return to the mainland."

Most local ship owners prefer to hire Chinese fishery workers as they speak the same language and share a common cultural background, Chen said.

"Although there are some Indonesian, Philippine, Thai and Vietnamese fishery workers in the Tungkang area, they can't compete with their counterparts from China due to the language barrier and different living habits," Chen explained.

There have been reports about the mainland Chinese decision to ban its people from working aboard Taiwanese fishing boats since the beginning of this year.

With the assistance of mainland manpower agencies, the Tungkang association has come to know for certain that the mainland fishery labor export ban is for real, Chen said.

Previous press reports said the temporary export ban was mainly aimed at forcing Taiwanese ship owners to improve working terms and living conditions for mainland fishery workers.

Chen said the Fishery Administration under Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) has offered financial subsidies to major regional fishery associations to build new placement centers for mainland and foreign fishery workers.

For instance, Chen's association will hold an open tender in the near future to select a qualified contractor to build a new placement center near Tungkang fishing port with a view to offering a safe and comfortable living environment for mainland and foreign fishery workers. "The new center is expected to be completed by the end of this year," he added.

hopes for resolution

As most local ship owners have years of experience in cooperating with mainland fishery workers, they still hope that relevant government agencies can continue consultations with mainland authorities on gaining a lifting of the labor export ban or achieving mutually acceptable alternative measures.

Fishery sources said about 1,000 fishing boats at major Taiwan fishing ports have been affected by the mainland labor export ban, with the northern port of Keelung and the northeastern port of Nanfangao being hardest hit.

Many Nanfangao-based fishing ships are facing similar problems. A "floating hotel" operator said he managed to persuade 200-plus mainland fishery workers not to return to the mainland for family reunions before the Chinese New Year holiday. However, the Nanfangao area needs more than 2,000 fishery workers.