A one-day strike on Friday by the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union did not only achieve victory: Combined with the positive reactions of the public, the strike has set a milestone for workers’ rights in the nation.
The labor dispute started when China Airlines (CAL) management changed a company rule to require flight attendants to clock in to work at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport — previously, those living in Taipei were allowed to report to work in the city — and attempted to force them to sign an agreement to extend their working hours.
After several failed negotiations and demonstrations, 99.5 percent of CAL flight attendants in the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union voted in favor of a strike, which began at midnight on Thursday.
In the beginning, most of the striking flight attendants said they were not sure about what they might achieve and some expressed concerns that they might fail and face reprisals from CAL management.
However, within 24 hours, the tide turned and CAL management — led by newly appointed CAL chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) — decided to make concessions and reached an agreement with the union to end the strike.
In the history of workers’ rights movements, it is rare that almost 100 percent of the members of a union would vote in favor of a strike and it was the first time unionized employees of a Taiwanese company displayed such solidarity, forcing the nation’s flag carrier to cancel all flights for the day — except President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) charter flight — affecting more than 20,000 passengers.
There are two keys to the strike’s success: the solidarity among flight attendants and public support.
In 2013, a group of laid-off workers ran onto the tracks at Taipei Railway Station to block railroad traffic in protest, but the move upset passengers waiting on the platform, some of whom went so far as to urge train drivers to run over the protesters.
There have also been protests by laid-off freeway toll collectors and factory workers. The public’s reactions to the protests were highly polarized, with some people supporting their cause and others condemning them for causing inconvenience.
However, the flight attendants’ strike on Friday was different. A majority of the public seemed to side with the flight attendants. Although a few passengers whose flights were canceled yelled at CAL staff and complained about the strike, most of the affected passengers interviewed by the media were understanding of the flight attendants’ plight.
Some people said it is the physical attractiveness of the flight attendants that turned the tide in public opinion, but it cannot be that simple.
One thing that might have changed is that the public, over the years, has started to understand that protests and strikes are not something “evil,” as former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government often pushed through — or tried to push through — policies not supported by a majority of the public.
After the 2014 Sunflower movement that stopped the legislature approving the cross-strait trade in services agreement, people gradually realized that they must take action if they want to achieve something or prevent it from happening. They have also realized that, sometimes, people on the streets are not “troublemakers,” but are fighting for the sake of the general public.
Before the strike, the company’s union opposed it, but now that the flight attendants have achieved their goals, it issued a statement demanding more benefits for other CAL employees and threatened to strike again if the company does not agree to its terms.
Perhaps — and hopefully — the flight attendants’ strike has turned a new page in the local workers’ rights movement.
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Victory in conflict requires mastery of two “balances”: First, the balance of power, and second, the balance of error, or making sure that you do not make the most mistakes, thus helping your enemy’s victory. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made a decisive and potentially fatal error by making an enemy of the Jewish Nation, centered today in the State of Israel but historically one of the great civilizations extending back at least 3,000 years. Mind you, no Israeli leader has ever publicly declared that “China is our enemy,” but on October 28, 2025, self-described Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) propaganda
For years, Europe’s discussion of Taiwan has been a diplomatic afterthought, folded into broader debates about China and strategic autonomy. That habit no longer matches reality. What happens in the Taiwan Strait is going to shape Europe’s economy, its security assumptions and its credibility as a community of democracies. The choice is not between war and neutrality. It is between treating Taiwan as a polite footnote or addressing it as a strategic priority. Taiwan is not a distant symbol. It is woven into Europe’s daily life. The nation anchors the global semiconductor supply chain, producing more than 60 percent of the
RSS