Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday withdrew a proposal to reduce the pay of employees working during a probationary period, following opposition from youth and labor groups, while a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker criticized it as a copy of a Chinese law.
KMT lawmakers, led by Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭), sought to amend the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) to allow employers to cut to 80 percent the standard wage for new workers during their probationary period.
Critics said the measure would exacerbate the already low wages of young workers, while legitimizing an exploitative practice.
Photo: Chen Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said the KMT lawmakers intention with the bill was to duplicate China’s labor laws, to transform Taiwan’s social and legal framework to match that of China.
Niu’s proposal is a direct copy of Article 15 of the China’s Employment Contract Law, Wang said.
“It is laughable to copy from China, as its laws are restrictive and lag behind the rest of the world,” DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said, adding that when seeking ideas for bills, the KMT lawmakers should look at advanced countries and progressive legislation.
Wu questioned whether the KMT was receiving instruction from Beijing upon the return of a delegation of 17 lawmakers led by KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi from a visit to China last week.
Meanwhile, Fu used his authority as party caucus whip to force the alteration of the wording on a separate item to “mainland” instead of “China.”
During a session of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, DPP legislators raised a motion on government agencies evaluating requests for allowing Taiwanese tour groups to visit China while China continues to engage in acts of military intimidation.
At the direction of Fu, KMT legislators used their majority in the committee to change the word “China” to “mainland” in a sentence stating that Taiwan had not received a response from China. In another sentence that said China had moved the M503 flight path to be “closer to our nation’s restricted airspace,” the word “nation” was changed to “Taiwan.”
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS