Scuffles broke out in Taipei yesterday as protesters alleging labor abuses by IT giant Foxconn Technology Group tried to enter a venue where President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was opening Asia's biggest technology fair.
Shouting “Save workers, President Ma!” about 60 people from several labor groups accused the high-tech company of making profit by setting up “sweatshops” around the world and clashed with police when they tried to approach Ma in front of the Nangang Exhibition Hall.
They were protesting the death of 10 workers at a Foxconn plant in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in apparent suicides this year.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
An 11th worker died at a factory run by the firm in northern China.
Ma ignored the protest and entered the hall, while the police stopped the protesters at the door.
Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony of Computex Taipei 2010 at Taipei World Trade Center, the president touted the rapid development of the nation’s high-tech industry and wireless technology.
“Taiwan and mainland China will sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), which will help us connect with the world, and we expect the computer industry to serve as a vanguard in the process of seeking closer economic ties with the international community,” Ma said at the ceremony.
The fair has attracted more than 1,700 companies around the world, including 106 Chinese firms.
Ma lauded the development of WiMAX technology as he watched a demonstration of how WiMAX’s high-speed connectivity could facilitate medical services, including transmitting test results and exchanging medical information between sites.
The president said he expected a further expansion of the use of WiMAX in disaster and rescue work, such as sending geological information on local rivers and hills to disaster prevention centers during the typhoon season to better monitor the situation and protect local residents.
“Technology deployment is still relatively new in disaster prevention work. Hopefully, by taking advantage of WiMAX technology in conducting flood and mudslide prevention work, we can reach out to the people and protect more lives,” he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to