A coalition of civic groups yesterday gathered at Taipei Main Station to raise awareness of abuses against female migrant workers and the fate of Palestinians in the ongoing war in Gaza.
The theme of the rally, held in support of the “One Billion Rising” global campaign launched in 2012 to end violence against women, was “unite for a world free from war, exploitation and displacement,” with female migrant workers’ rights a key focus of the event, the groups said in a news release.
Shouting slogans such as “migrant women, fight for equal workers’ rights,” dozens of migrant workers marched around Taipei Main Station to mark the end of International Women’s Month.
Photo: CNA
People later gathered in the concourse of the station to give short speeches.
National Domestic Workers’ Union chairwoman Balderama Francia from the Philippines said she had been severely beaten while working as a domestic caregiver in Taiwan.
When she worked as a factory worker and fell ill, her recruitment agency in Taiwan did not provide her with any assistance even though they took more than NT$1,000 from her monthly salary as “service fees,” Francia said.
Migrant workers are often indebted due to the fees charged by recruitment agencies, she said.
Live-in caregivers are not protected under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), she said, urging governments in Taiwan and the home countries of migrant workers to address such “injustices.”
Serve the People Foundation migrant worker policies director Lennon Wang (汪英達) said crews on fishing boats, who are also excluded from the Labor Standards Act, are treated unfairly.
In the more than 30 years since Taiwan first began recruiting migrant workers, non-governmental organizations have repeatedly petitioned the government to implement “fair recruitment principles” so migrants do not have to pay for work, but their demands have fallen on deaf ears every time, Wang said.
The situation in Gaza and the fate of Palestinians were also highlighted at the rally.
Amel Eid, a Palestinian working as a psychologist in Taiwan, said female migrant workers and Palestinian women share common daily struggles for survival and dignity.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS