Thu, Aug 30, 2001 page8

• Letters:

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  Wrong to cut migrants' wages

  The Economic Development Advisory Conference's resolution to deduct rent and food allowances from the pay of foreign workers employed in factory and construction jobs is to be condemned.

  The Council of Labor Affairs had proposed that such migrants be charged between NT$2,500 and NT$5,000 for room and board to ease the financial burden of Taiwanese businessmen. Even President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) inquired about the possibility of excluding the migrants from the Labor Standards Law to prevent them from getting the minimum wage.

  We call on the government of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo to protest this decision, which will further degrade the economic and living conditions of its citizens working in Taiwan.

  Migrant workers are already saddled by high brokerage and placement fees, monthly income taxes, insurance fees and pay deductions made by employers in the guise of savings. They receive the minimum monthly wage of NT$15,840 which, by Taiwanese standards, is small.

  Before this proposal, migrants had to work for one year or more just to pay the brokerage and placement fees. We cannot imagine the devas-tating effect the proposed additional monthly deduction will have on these workers.

  The council is proposing to lower the brokerage/placement fee by NT$56,000. There is, how-ever, no guarantee that recruitment agencies in Taiwan will not ask for more from the impoverished migrants. Recruitment agencies are known for circumventing the law in both Taiwan and the Philippines.

  On the other hand, the Philippine government is helpless to provide assistance to its nationals who are victimized by the brokers and placement agencies. It even kowtowed to the wishes of the recruitment agencies by issuing the first Governing Board Resolution of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration on March 5, supposedly to standardize the placement fees paid by migrant workers in Taiwan. This was fixed at 167,940 pesos (US$3,358).

  We do not wish the Philippine government to kowtow to the wishes of Taiwanese businessmen.We likewise call on the government of other countries to oppose the proposal.

  We also urge migrant workers and their advocates to continue their struggle against this unjust and exploitative pro-posal. They must unite with local workers whose jobs, wages and benefits are likewise threatened as a result of the conference.

  Asia Pacific mission for Migrant Filipinos (APMMF)

  Hong Kong

  Welcome the Olympic torch

  I wish to respond to an article on your opinion page ("Open letter to the people of Taiwan,"Aug 18, page 8).

  The Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece in 1896, after the French educator Pierre de Coubertin recommended that the Olympic Games of ancient Greece be re-established to promote a more peaceful world.

  The torch relay, in which the Olympic flame symbolizes the transmission of Olympic ideals from ancient Greece to the modern world, was introduced as part of the opening ceremony of the 1936 Games in Berlin.

  Although they were founded as part of a vision of world peace, the modern Olympic Games became a vehicle for furthering political goals.

  The most controversial Olympics were the 1936 Berlin Games. At first, the US demanded a boycott if the Nazi regime carried out its ban of German Jewish athletes. This was averted, however, when two Jewish athletes were included on the German team.

  The International Olympic Committee also had to deal with problems caused by divided nations, including the Chinese Olympic team, after the political division of China in 1949. In 1952 the committee decided to invite teams from both China and Taiwan, but this decision led to a decades-long boycott by China, which did not send a team to the Olympics until 1980.

  The formal political division of Germany into East and West Germany in 1949 was another problem. The committee originally insisted on a combined German team, but two teams were sent to the 1972 games, a practice which lasted until 1992 when Germany was reunited.

  Although I respect the views of the parties to the open letter, I do hope that they can rise above politics in respect to demanding a boycott of the Olympic torch passing through Taiwan.

  All Taiwanese should stand tall to show the world that they truly want to promote peace through sport and accept the passing of the Olympic torch through Taiwan as a symbolic gesture, which, whether rejected or accepted by Beijing, will be considered by the rest of the world as a definite sign of Taiwan's integrity and desire for a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.

  Evan Pavlakis

  Hsinchu
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