The Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency on Sunday reiterated its commitment to protecting the rights of migrant workers on distant-water fishing boats, following reports of alleged labor abuse and deaths.
CNN reported on Saturday that an Indonesian migrant fisher, Silwanus Tangkotta, had his fingers crushed by a metal door last year while working on a Taiwanese fishing boat that was in a remote area in the Pacific.
His captain allegedly denied his request to return to port for medical help, as he was unsatisfied with the fish catch, CNN reported.
Photo: CNA
Tangkotta had to use toothpicks to pull out bone fragments himself to prevent infection, it said, adding that he was hospitalized a month later and had permanently lost some phalanges.
He was fired immediately and was denied compensation, “because his position had ended,” CNN said.
Another former Indonesian migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo Basar, had a similar experience.
CNN cited Basar as saying that one of his friends died while on Vanuatuan boat Long Bow No.7, the operations of which were funded by Taiwanese, out in the Pacific in 2023, after their captain allegedly refused to return to port despite his friend being seriously ill.
“When I started protesting, I was not given any food,” Basar was quoted as saying.
Overwork and delayed wages were also part of what CNN described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry.
Ten Indonesian migrant fishers working on the vessel You Fu (銪富號) were owed 15 months of wages in 2023, CNN said.
It also cited Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union secretary-general Allison Lee (李麗華) as saying that some migrant workers were told they would be working in a crew of 10 people, but only four were on board, so they had to work extremely long hours.
“The government responded with rhetoric, but very little was changed,” she was quoted as saying.
The agency on Sunday said that Taiwan had a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of labor exploitation, as it is a country that values freedom, democracy and human rights.
Regarding Tangkotta’s case, the agency said his captain had immediately administered emergency treatment, including bandaging his fingers and giving him anti-inflammatory painkillers, and allowed him to rest while their vessel was out at sea.
The captain reported Tangkotta’s condition to the agency for evaluation by an onshore doctor, who said that there was no immediate danger to the fisher’s life, it said.
The captain continued to care for Tangkotta based on the doctor’s recommendations until another boat to take the fisher back to port was dispatched by the shipowner, the agency said, adding that he was immediately brought to a hospital upon his arrival.
“Unfortunately, the insurance company determined that his injury was not eligible for compensation, as it did not result in a disability,” it said.
The agency added that it would investigate the insurance company’s decision and whether the employer improperly terminated Tangkotta’s contract.
Regarding the death of Basar’s friend, the agency said the captain had reported the issue to Vanuatuan authorities and informed the fisher’s family of his death immediately after he passed away.
His compensation application and body repatriation were handled by the labor intermediary and the Fijian agency, it said.
A Fijian medical institution said the fisher had died from acute pulmonary edema, the agency said, adding that his body has been returned to his family in Indonesia.
As for the delayed wages for migrant fishers on the You Fu, the agency said that when they found out about the situation on July 22 last year, they immediately took action.
It said it coordinated with the business operator, the labor intermediary and other parties involved, and referred the cases of alleged abuse to law enforcement authorities for further investigation.
All the crew members received their wages by Aug. 8 last year, the agency said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS