On Oct. 21, 2016, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment, spearheaded by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) and Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴), to Article 52 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法). The two lawmakers assured everyone that, after the bill was passed, employers would no longer face a wait when hiring migrant workers, and migrant workers would no longer run away.
In reality, the result has been that the wait to hire foreign workers has increased, while the number of runaways has risen by more than 60 percent from more than 50,000 to more than 80,000.
Runaway foreign workers who are working illegally not only seriously affect the rights and interests of local workers, but also cause social security problems that cannot be ignored.
The 80,000-plus runaways account for more than 11 percent of the total number of foreign workers in Taiwan.
While lawmakers are avoiding the problem, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, has proposed a ridiculous policy of granting a “time-limited amnesty” for runaway foreign workers and letting them return to legal employment without being punished.
As a former director-general of the National Police Agency, Hou should be well aware that more than 80,000 illegal foreign workers roaming the nation can have a significant impact on social order and even cause a national security crisis, yet he is willing to put everyone at risk.
His proposed policy is ill-conceived and would be ineffective.
The social and national security problems arising from so many runaway workers, as well as nearly 100,000 stateless and unregistered children, should not be ignored.
However, the Ministry of Labor’s Workplace Development Agency, which is responsible for migrant labor policy, offers no effective solutions.
When questioned in the legislature, agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) was at a loss for words and could not put forward any solutions, instead shifting the responsibility onto employers, and domestic and foreign labor brokers, calling for severe penalties for brokers.
His response was disappointing.
When employers and labor brokers bring foreign workers to Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor demands that migrant workers’ rights and interests be protected. It says they should be treated like Taiwanese and not be discriminated against.
However, although the government’s employment service stations refer at least 1 million Taiwanese workers to employers each year, several hundred thousand leave their jobs after less than a month.
How many stations have been penalized for these workers “running away”? How many officials have been penalized?
Tsai’s remarks discriminate against brokers and are therefore unacceptable.
It would not be difficult to solve the problem of migrant workers running away. The examples of Singapore and Hong Kong show that this problem can be solved by cutting it off at the source.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) must solve the problem without delay. Chen should instruct the Ministry of Labor to amend the law to severely penalize illegal foreign workers, illegal employers and illegal brokers, thus cutting off options for illegal foreign workers.
This is the only way to curb the rise of runaway migrant workers and solve the national and social security problems.
Steve Kuan is a former chairman of the Taipei Employment Service Institute Association and the New Taipei City Employment Service Institute Association.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Somehow, US intelligence identified “the Houthis’ top missile guy” and pinpointed his exact location. At 1348 hours (Washington time), March 15, President Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz texted, “positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building.” The unsuspecting Romeo entered. High above, the drone monitoring the building registered a flash. When the smoke cleared, Mr. Waltz texted, “…And it’s now collapsed.” RIP. The star-crossed “top missile guy” had been target number one in the now uproarious US Navy bombing campaign on that Sunday against the Yemeni rebels who have been holding the Red Sea hostage since October 19,
Deflation in China is persisting, raising growing concerns domestically and internationally. Beijing’s stimulus policies introduced in September last year have largely been short-lived in financial markets and negligible in the real economy. Recent data showing disproportionately low bank loan growth relative to the expansion of the money supply suggest the limited effectiveness of the measures. Many have urged the government to take more decisive action, particularly through fiscal expansion, to avoid a deep deflationary spiral akin to Japan’s experience in the early 1990s. While Beijing’s policy choices remain uncertain, questions abound about the possible endgame for the Chinese economy if no decisive
Actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) on March 13 posted an Instagram caption after the opening of Tiffany’s Taipei flagship store two days earlier that read: “Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China.” We know that Yeoh knows Taipei is in Taiwan, not China, because the caption was posted following comments she made — in English — in which she said: “Thank you to Tiffany for bringing me to Taipei, because I do love this country very much.” Her remarks and the subsequent Instagram caption were reported in Taiwan, in Chinese and English- language media such as Radio Free Asia, and overseas,
China poses a dire threat to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry as it steps up efforts to poach Taiwan’s top chip talent, following the US’ implementation of stringent chip restrictions. Beijing is keen to develop its own semiconductor technologies, leveraging skilled engineers from Taiwan, Europe and other countries to circumvent US restrictions on providing China access to advanced US chips, particularly those used in artificial intelligence applications, as well as other chip technologies and manufacturing equipment. Taiwan has always contended with talent competition from China, but the situation is worsening. The Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday said that China’s ARK Semi and
RSS