The sometimes blurry line between organized crime and electoral politics, particularly in rural parts of Taiwan, can be observed in the recent sentencing of former DPP county councilor Yan Xumao for amphetamine smuggling. In the first instance, Yan was sentenced to life imprisonment, though he can appeal...
Earlier this month, on November 3rd, President Tsai Ing-wen called for an end to “black gold” politics in an appeal to voters to place their votes for the DPP’s county magistrate candidates in Yilan, Miaoli, and Nantou. This is significant, in that this reflects that the DPP has chosen an angle of attack that will focus on the KMT over issues of corruption...
In perhaps one of the most unusual events in local politics in the present race, independent Chung Tung-chin, who is running for Miaoli county magistrate, has been called on by the DPP, KMT, and NPP alike to drop out of the race...
Miaoli county Labor and Youth Development deputy head Tu Jung-hui was questioned by police earlier this month in connection with Ugandan students at the Chung Chou University in Changhua forced to work in factories. The investigation was carried out by the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Taichung Office...
If level three advisory alert has shown us anything, it is that Taiwan has made clear its two-tier, bilateral approach to its foreign residents: one composed of lack of labor, discrimination, and equity protection. Notably, the majority of Miaoli’s Han residents were able to shop for groceries out and about while “second-tier” and “lesser” Southeast Asian migrant workers remained locked inside of their home quarantines after being blamed and scrutinized for the outbreak of COVID in the area...
There has been increased international attention to the plight of migrant workers in Taiwan, after clusters broke out among migrant workers at eight electronics factories in Miaoli over the last month. The Miaoli clusters consisted of a total of 471 individuals, of which 400 were migrant workers, and of which 71 were Taiwanese...
It is clear that Taiwan is at the very early beginning of what Singapore saw in April 2020, when a spike in COVID-19 infections amongst its migrant workers population led the government to order a lockdown of all migrant dormitories...
COVID-19 clusters broke out among migrant workers at electronics factories in Miaoli over the weekend, with 243 workers at three factories testing positive. This has, unfortunately, led to the rollout of discriminatory policies against migrant workers...
