The Ministry of Labor yesterday said that it would launch a joint investigation with the National Immigration Agency into allegations that migrant workers were mobilized to attend a rally against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) organized the protest in Taipei under the theme “against green communists and dictatorship.”
A video that surfaced online the same day appeared to show foreigners participating in the rally. In the footage, a woman interviews one “protester” in Mandarin, asking why he decided to join the demonstration. The participant did not understand the question, and after another participant translated it into Vietnamese, said: “An older man brought me here.”
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
The two participants were part of a group wearing blue caps bearing the name and slogan of KMT Legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐), who represents Hsinchu City.
Caroline Lin (林志潔), a professor of technology law at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and the former DPP legislative candidate for Hsinchu City, shared the video online along with a photograph showing a group of people wearing the same blue caps on Hsinchu City’s Nanda Road.
Lin credited the photo to a private contributor, who said the group was later seen boarding a tour bus heading north.
Cheng’s office has denied mobilizing migrant workers to attend the rally.
Cheng’s office said in statement on Saturday night that because it was raining that day, a group of Cheng’s supporters asked staff at the rally for hats. The office said it provided the hats without conducting background checks on all participants.
The office said it later confirmed that some of the participants were foreign-born spouses of Taiwanese citizens, who also held Taiwanese citizenship.
Others were children of Taiwanese citizens and their foreign spouses, Cheng’s office said, adding that none were migrant workers.
The ministry said in a statement on Saturday night that it would launch an investigation with the immigration agency to clarify the situation and take action if any laws were found to have been breached.
Under the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), employers are prohibited from assigning foreign workers to tasks outside the scope of their permitted work, the ministry said.
Employers found to have breached this regulation face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 and could have their authorization to hire foreign workers revoked, it added.
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