The national budget seems set to be a continued issue of tension between the DPP and KMT in the upcoming year. Notably, the review of the budget has been stalled, affecting financial planning for the year. Normally, the budget would have long since been reviewed and passed by now...
Efforts by the KMT to establish “free trade zones” in offshore islands of Taiwan continue. Such proposals have primarily been advanced by KMT legislator Chen Yu-chen...
A proposal advanced by the DPP legislative caucus to rid the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area of the long-enshrined distinction between the “Mainland Area” and “Free Area” is unlikely to advance. The KMT and its ally, the TPP, currently hold the majority in the legislature together and are unlikely to support such a bill...
The Highway Bureau is reportedly considering recruiting international students and students of ethnic Han descent to fill positions as bus drivers, provided they speak intermediate-level Chinese. This continues the pattern of Taiwan opening up migrant worker categories for the so-called “3D”–“dirty, dangerous, and demeaning”–jobs that Taiwanese no longer want to take up themselves...
Food delivery workers have hailed new legislation passed by the Legislative Yuan as a victory. The new laws will require delivery workers to be paid at least 45 NT per order. The delivery time of orders will also be used to provide a minimum wage no less than 1.25 times the minimum hourly wage. The Ministry of Labor will be the competent authority for the labor rights of migrant workers and will be required to draw up provisions for pay calculation, contract termination, and etc. The Taiwan Delivery Industry Union Alliance and National Delivery Industrial Union have hailed the bill as a victory after six-and-a-half years of campaigning, then...
The Ministry of Labor has rolled out new regulations for internships in the hospitality industry. The regulations are framed as strengthening the labor rights for students, as well as ensuring that internships do not become de facto forms of employment...
In somewhat of a surprise, the Legislative Yuan has passed the Youth Basic Law. The law, which defines youth as between the ages of 18 and 35, provides for the creation of the Youth Affairs Development Council and the establishment of a 10 billion NT fund meant for youth...
The US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has led to warnings that the unprecedented action could allow for further actions by China directed at Taiwan. That is, the US has now normalized the extrajudicial capture of a standing president, shortly after opening hostilities with Venezuela, without any declaration of war...
Wind farm development in Changhua was again in the news, with an offshore wind farm in Fangyuan Township coming under scrutiny in August last year over the potential impact on aquaculture. Clam and oyster farming is a prominent industry in Fangyuan Township...
