More than 50 Aborigine workers from around the nation gathered in Taipei yesterday to complain about the discrimination they face at work, providing a contrast to the government's efforts to protect human rights.
The Aborigines claimed that their lives are even more painful and disadvantaged than foreign workers, local Chinese-language newspapers reported yesterday.
In a press conference held by Aborigine lawmaker May Chin (
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
A tearful man from the Amis tribe (阿美族) said that he worked extremely hard for more than 10 hours a day with a lunch break that was no longer than 30 minutes. But when he felt exhausted and unable to work more overtime, he was "scolded for being stupid and lazy."
Speaking in quivering and awkward Mandarin, another Amis man questioned why his employer, the BES Engineering Corp (
"We are unfairly treated by construction contractors, who forced us to work overtime without giving us appropriate wages. They even sneered at us, claiming without any evidence that `You Aborigines like to drink and don't work hard at all.'"
Taiwan now employs more than 380,000 foreign workers. In comparison, only 420,000 Aborigines are employed nationwide.
Sister Stephana Wei Wei (
The workers expressed their hopes that the government would spend more time investigating the plight Aborigines face, instead of spending a huge amount of money on propaganda promoting the government's performance.
Chin also suggested that the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples (原住民委員會) regularly make public the number of unemployed Aborigines and map out policies to boost employment.
To get the government's attention, in the middle of the press conference Chin sent a fax to the Presidential Office.
The fax contained what she said was relevant information that she hoped the president would use to ensure the working rights of indigenous people.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS