Hundreds of people held flags and banners and danced to electronic music as they shouted out their demands on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday at the annual “autumn fight (秋鬥)” calling for workers and minority rights.
The event’s convener, National Federation of Independent Trade Unions honorary chairman Lin Tzu-wen (林子文), said the electronic music this year was meant to help attract young people to the cause, because many appear to be passive toward politics despite often being among the working poor, a result of the current unjust social structure.
More than 40 protest groups nationwide representing labor unions, gay rights, farmers’ rights, environmental concerns, the anti-nuclear movement and housing rights partook in the “autumn fight.”
The annual “autumn fight” began 23 years ago as an annual labor rights protest rally and in recent years has come to include minority rights.
Lin said the groups all have separate demands, but they collectively represent a broader fight against social injustice.
People from different walks of life are facing injustice from employers and discrimination, and only when minority groups come together can their voices be heard, he said.
“We ask for a society that -centers on humans and humanity, in which the value of labor can be recognized,” he said.
Co-convener Kuo Ming-chu (郭明珠) of Raging Citizens Act Now said their main demand was “political justice, a fair economy and social justice.”
“Political justice is not only about the right to vote, but also to participate in policymaking; a fair economy is not limited to free competition in the labor market, but also includes a fair distribution of profits,” she said, adding that workers are not getting basic respect or a share of the benefits from the nation’s economic development that they work hard to accomplish, and some have even been asked to take unpaid leave.
Taiwan International Workers Association member Meriam said a vast number of foreign household workers in Taiwan were not -protected by the law concerning appropriate working hours or the right to switch employers, urging the government to modify the laws to better protect their working rights under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
Chen Ping-hsuan (陳平軒), a member of Taiwan Rural Front, said farmers have joined hands with laborers to fight for their rights in view of recent controversial cases of farmland expropriation and water being used for industrial development over farmland.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated