The Control Yuan has approved a motion to proceed with the impeachment of four Miaoli County officials in connection with a case in which Ugandan students who traveled to Taiwan to study were allegedly compelled to work in factories for low wages, Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), a member of the top government watchdog, said on Wednesday.
The situation was first reported in January last year, when 16 Ugandan students who enrolled at Chung Chou University of Science and Technology in Changhua County in 2019 said they were sent to factories to work as “interns” for long hours with low pay.
The students said at that time they were unable to refuse the jobs because the school had burdened them with unmanageable tuition loans.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan on Tuesday approved an investigation report and a motion filed by Wang and two other members to impeach Miaoli County Labor and Youth Development Department deputy head Tu Jung-hui (涂榮輝) on suspicion of corruption or being involved in covering up the case, Wang said on Wednesday.
The Control Yuan members also approved the impeachment of labor and youth director Peng Te-chun (彭德俊) for alleged failure to fulfill his supervisory responsibilities, along with two department section chiefs, Wang said.
The impeachments are to be referred to the Disciplinary Court, she said.
After the initial reports, the Miaoli County Government was asked by several agencies to launch an investigation into four enterprises involved in the case and under its jurisdiction for alleged breaches of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) and the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), Wang said.
Tu reportedly compelled his subordinates to minimize the matter by limiting the scope of their investigation into business entities involved in the case, she said.
Tu allegedly prevented the company at which the students worked from being fined, and helped cover up several labor violations by a Miaoli-based foreign worker brokerage firm that worked with the school on the scheme, Wang said.
Even after the county government began its investigation, Tu allegedly accepted gifts from the brokerage firm, adding a conflict of interest, Wang said.
Peng is accused of professional negligence and delivering core business to his deputy, and should be held responsible for ineffective supervision, she said.
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