Tens of thousands of teachers took to the streets in downtown Taipei yesterday to voice their indignation over a government regulation that deprives them from the right to form a labor union.
The march, which fell on National Teachers' Day, was the first ever to be organized by teachers in Taiwan's history.
According to the National Teachers' Association (NTA, 全國教師會), the event organizer, more than 60,000 participants from all over the country took part in the demonstration, which also included teachers' families and supporters.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Other groups had different estimates of the crowd size, but they were all in the tens of thousands.
Waving sunflowers in the air to symbolize a walk toward a brighter future, demonstrators chanted slogans such as "uphold dignity" and "the right to form a union."
They progressed peacefully from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to the square in front of the Presidential Office, where a vigil was held.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
On the way to the Presidential Office, demonstrators stopped at the Legislative Yuan to hang up a banner that read "Give me back my three rights."
The "three rights" refers to rights stated in the nation's labor laws that empower labor unions to launch a strike, organize employees and negotiate with employers.
Under the Teachers' Law, teachers may form professional associations that focus on services and research educational topics, but are banned from forming unions as teachers are classified as public employees.
"We are out here to express our determination to uphold teachers' solidarity and dignity, as well as to call for our right to form a teachers' union to safeguard teachers' welfare," said NTA Secretary-General Wu Chung-tai (吳忠泰).
The NTA's calls for a teachers' union were triggered by a Cabinet's decision last month to abolish a policy that made junior high and elementary school teachers exempt from taxes. The policy was put in place in 1955.
Wu also said that the march was also meant to serve as a dialogue with the public to make the plight of teachers understood.
Sam Huang (黃詩清), a teacher at Taoyuan County's Fufeng Junior High School, said that teachers need a union because they have been forced into a passive position for too long, in which the government makes all the decisions for them.
"Outsiders often paint a rosy picture of the teaching profession. They criticize teachers for being paid during their long summer and winter recesses. But they miss the tremendous emotional and psychological efforts that teachers put into their students, which can't be measured in paychecks," he said.
"For a long time, teachers have been stereotyped as being ineloquent when it comes to expressing themselves," he said "The demonstration served as a good opportunity to let others know what teachers have to say."
Another teacher agreed.
"It was the first time that teachers have gotten together and let their voice be heard," said Lin Yu-tzer (
"Teachers' manners throughout the demonstration successfully delivered the messages that we wanted to communicate."
Minister of Education Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) and Vice Minister Fang Shiun-lui (范巽綠) made an appearance at the vigil.
Stressing that the ministry is on the side of the teachers, Huang added that the demonstration served as a good opportunity for teachers' voices to be heard.
"The demonstration resembles a new beginning and opens an opportunity that is the best time for the ministry and the teachers to work together and unite in order to bring out the best in the country's next generation."
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military