Human rights organizations yesterday presented their demands to safeguard the rights of immigrants and migrant workers.
More than 10 groups demonstrated in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei, including the TransAsia Sisters Association Taiwan, the Taiwan Immigration Youth Alliance and the Serve the People Association.
The groups demanded that a draft bill proposed by the Executive Yuan include blue-collar migrant workers in its definition of new residents.
Photo Courtesy of TransAsia Sisters Association Taiwan
They also called for a system to train interpreters in relevant fields, provisions for combating discrimination against migrant workers and a second-level government unit within the Executive Yuan to take charge of immigration policy and the rights and interests of new residents.
“It is gratifying that the Legislative Yuan passes a draft bill on the protection of new residents’ rights,” one group said. “However, the two most critical provisions have not yet been finalized, namely, the definition of new residents, and the level and responsibilities of the competent authority for new resident affairs.”
“The National Immigration Agency, which is the current unit responsible for migrant workers’ affairs, is a third-level unit, and there is no overall immigration policy,” TransAsia Sisters Association Taiwan chairwoman Hung Man-chih (洪滿枝) said. “If there is no second-level agency handling these things, then nothing will change in terms of policy.”
The groups said that only white-collar migrant workers and foreign professionals were included in seven separate bills proposed by lawmakers, they said.
“Migrant workers have made significant contributions to Taiwan’s economy and society. There is no reason to exclude blue-collar migrant workers from this bill,” the groups said. “This is obvious discrimination.”
Immigrant rights activist Liu Chun-liang (劉俊良) said that during a preliminary review of the draft bills by the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday last week, one of the articles that legislators across party lines agreed on was that the government should provide new resident families with consultation services covering family, marriage and childcare.
“However, the government still has not provided substantive protections regarding immigrants’ rights, including access to legal counsel, psychological services and social welfare benefits,” he said.
The establishment of an interpreter training system and services, which would be the basis for the effective implementation of many policies and services for immigrants, was also ignored in the committee discussions, he said.
“This makes us seriously doubt the forward-looking nature of this draft law for new residents,” he said.
The groups would consult with committee members involved in the proposal’s discussion next week, hoping to express concerns and ask that the bill not be passed hastily, he said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS