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...
A group of scholars and civil society organizations released a statement earlier this month about the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office’s decision not to prosecute the vessel owners of the You-fu. Specifically, the statement criticizes the failure of Pingtung prosecutors to charge the vessel owners on charges of human trafficking. The signatory organizations were the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taiwan Labour Front. Serve the People Association, International Center of Cultural Studies, and Work Better Innovations...
In its quest to diversify its political and economic engagements with the world, Taiwan keeps looking south. At the recent Yushan Forum, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation Chairman Michael Hsiao proudly announced the launch of six new strategic corridors under the framework of the New Southbound Policy (NSP). This includes government-led initiatives to facilitate cooperation on technology, health, and resilience, as well as think tank, NGO, and youth corridors led by civil society...
Reports that 40 exchange students from Eswatini studying in Taiwan were forced to work in a refrigerated factory skinning chickens should be highly concerning. Namely, there have been a number of similar incidents in past years involving students from non-western countries forced to work in factories for low wages by their universities under the auspices of work-study programs or internships...
Under the grand diplomatic strategy of successive administrations in Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, and Tsai-Ing wen have all attempted to craft a Southbound Policy with attributes pertinent to the time-space of its given historical context...
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen recently made use of a Lunar New Year gala held with prominent Taiwanese business leaders normally based in China to declare that Taiwanese businesses should return their manufacturing and production to Taiwan from China. But how likely is this to actually take place?...
Following a five-day state visit to Swaziland by Tsai Ing-Wen last week, Tsai has called for creation of an “Africa plan” to develop stronger economic and political ties between Taiwan and Africa. One suspects that, much like the Tsai administration’s “New Southbound Policy”, this would also be with the aim of weaning Taiwan off of economic dependency on China. But one generally suspects that this would encounter many of the same challenges that the New Southbound Policy has. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that, like many of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Swaziland is a country whose government has a questionable human rights record...
Debates have broken out in Taiwan following the death of a “runaway” migrant worker from Vietnam after he was shot to death by Taiwanese police on August 31st. Yet too much of this has focused on whether police actions were justified, rather than considering broader questions of the labor conditions facing migrant workers in Taiwan...
