Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday apologized for a statement she made on Friday that Taiwanese have too many holidays, which triggered harsh criticism from the public.
“When visiting factories and meeting with operators of small and medium-sized businesses in Changhua County on Friday, I was unable to completely express my views when responding [to questions raised by business owners], because there was not sufficient time,” Tsai said in a post on Facebook. “I would like to sincerely express my apologies for the misunderstanding and controversies [my remarks] have caused.”
One business owner expressed his concerns over the proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that would limit weekly work hours to 40, while restricting overtime hours, saying that such legislation would have a serious impact on smaller businesses.
Responding to the comment, Tsai said that she thinks that there are too many holidays in Taiwan, promising that she would use “self-constraint” to avoid using such issues for election gains, a video clip of the conversation showed.
Speaking on the 40-hour working week amendment proposals, Tsai said that “it is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that took the initiative,” adding that the DPP has a backup proposal which allows more flexibility, but that the “backup proposal” was ignored, the video showed.
Tsai went on to say that, amid the current election campaigning, such issues cannot be discussed “rationally,” and vowed to have them “well taken care of” when the election is over, while stressing again that she thinks the issues of working hours and holidays have come to a head and they “cannot go up any more,” the video showed.
The remarks drew fire from the public, with Social Democratic Party (SDP) convener Fan Yun (范雲) on Saturday blasting Tsai for “carelessly chiming in with business conglomerates,” adding that Tsai’s comments might risk losing voters’ trust for “abandoning workers” because of her apparent attempts to secure support from business leaders.
In view of the public outcry, the DPP immediately issued a statement, saying that Tsai’s point was to stress that the issue of working hours should not become a tool of election manipulation, and that it should be discussed rationally.
However, after a video clip of the full conversation surfaced, Tsai eventually issued her apology on Facebook yesterday, reiterating her support for a 40-hour working week, and adding that she is sincere about solving problems for workers and business owners at the same time, and that the interests of the two groups are not necessarily polarized.
Human rights lawyer Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) yesterday said that Tsai’s gaffe signaled the importance of a “progressive opposition party” to monitor the actions of a potential future DPP administration.
“Obviously, we are unable to expect the KMT to assume the role of a progressive opposition party; Taiwan’s system of party politics needs to be restructured,” Lai said.
He said that the nation’s political arena should not be solely dominated by relations between China and Taiwan, adding that emerging political forces, such as the SDP or the Green Party, should voice the concerns of the “salaried classes” in the legislature on issues such as labor policies, taxation reform and environmental issues.
Additional reporting by Lii Wen
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS