Hundreds of protesters yesterday took to the streets of Hong Kong to denounce Cathay Pacific Airways (國泰航空) for dismissing crew taking part in or supporting pro-democracy rallies that have swept the territory for weeks.
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) switched the protest venue, originally planned to be outside the airline’s airport headquarters, Cathay City, to the Central financial district after police refused permission.
The airport was forced to close two weeks ago after protesters thronged the arrivals hall for days, grounding about 1,000 flights and occasionally clashing with police.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Cathay was targeted for its sacking of 20 pilots and cabin crew and what employees have described as “white terror,” a phrase used in Hong Kong and elsewhere to describe anonymous acts that create a climate of fear.
“Revoke termination, stop terrorizing CX staff” and “Uphold our freedom of speech” proclaimed banners at the protest site, where at least 1,000 gathered before offices closed.
CX is the International Air Transport Association airline code for Cathay.
The airline has been caught in the crosswind between authorities in Beijing and the protesters.
China has denounced the protests, and accused the US and Britain of interfering in its affairs in Hong Kong. It has sent a clear warning that forceful intervention is possible.
Rebecca Sy (施安娜), former head of Cathay Dragon’s (國泰港龍) Airlines Flight Attendants’ Association, said she was fired without explanation after managers saw her Facebook account.
“We never faced any disciplinary action from the company before. How come now they just terminate me without any valid reason? By simply showing me those printouts of my own private Facebook account?” Sy said.
Cathay CEO Augustus Tang (鄧健榮), who replaced Rupert Hogg after his shock resignation this month, told staff there was “zero tolerance for illegal activities” or policy breaches.
“Right now, we are one of the most watched companies in Hong Kong and indeed the world,” Tang said in a company memo. “The way every single one of us acts, not only at work serving our customers, but also outside work — on social media and in everyday life — impacts how we are perceived as a company.”
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS