Burning incense and exploding firecrackers next to a table full of offerings appeared to be a regular commencement of work ceremony on the first day of work after the Lunar Near Year holidays, but the display was organized jointly by several activist groups — mainly the National Alliance for Workers of Closed Off Factories (NAWCF) — to pray for luck in rallies and protests this year.
Beginning yesterday morning, NAWCF members from Miaoli County, Taoyuan County, and New Taipei City (新北市) boarded a train bound for Taipei, after each group held a rally to explain the campaign’s purpose.
A group of laid-off workers, joined by members from other civic groups, were at Taipei Railway Station for a demonstration, followed by a traditional kaigong (開工, commencement of work) ceremony.
“Today is the sixth day of the first lunar month and traditionally, many businesses organize a kaigong ceremony to mark the end of the Lunar New Year holiday and the beginning of business in the new year,” NAWCF spokeswoman Chen Hsiu-lien (陳秀蓮) told people at the railway station. “We are holding the ceremony here to declare that we will continue to fight for justice for workers.”
During a wave of factory closures about 17 years ago, thousands of factory workers were laid off and did not receive welfare payouts after their employers fled, the groups said.
“We insist that what we were granted was not a loan, but something we’re entitled to. We urge the CLA [Council of Labor Affairs] to honor its promise made 17 years ago,” Chen said.
The council has asked the workers to repay loans it made to the workers.
Lin Tzu-wen (林子文), a laid-off worker and a unionist who was arrested last year for violating the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), said that the workers may resort to harsher action if the government fails to positively respond to their call.
“Last year, we jumped onto tracks to block railroad traffic at Taipei Railroad Station and many of us are still pending the prosecutor’s decision on whether to indict us,” Lin said. “If we dared to block trains, we will do something more if the CLA wouldn’t withdraw lawsuits against us, I’ve been to jail, I’m not afraid to be locked up again.”
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include