Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

‘Free’ local press has limitations: report

Taipei Times

Political polarization, self-censorship and indirect Chinese influence limit the diversity of opinions represented in Taiwan’s mainstream media, according to a new report from the US-based watchdog Freedom House.

The report, Freedom of the Press 2013, was released in Washington on Wednesday and generally gave Taiwan a high rating, but said that the legal environment had become slightly more restrictive over the past year.

Lin court ruling puzzles the public

Taipei Times Editorial

“The Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] owns the courts,” former Examination Yuan president Hsu Shui-teh (許水德) once said.

Though some may still have their doubts about the validity of this statement, many more were probably convinced of its veracity after the Taipei District Court on Tuesday acquitted former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) of bribery charges.

Workers unite to demand their rights

Taipei Times

Protesters from labor unions use ropes as they attempt to pull down barricades during a Labor Day protest in front of the Executive Yuan building in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: REUTERS

Tens of thousands of workers took to the streets of Taipei yesterday in Workers’ Day protests, calling on the government to protect their rights.

The protesters called on the government to retain the current labor insurance annuity payment, systematically raise the minimum wage, establish a system of collective bargaining, allocate a budget to supplement the Labor Insurance Fund if it fails to provide the basic guaranteed payments and amend Article 28 of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) to include doctors.

Medical and legal professions called to protect Chen Shui-bian’s rights

Michael Richardson

Chen Shui-bian in happier days visiting the United States

The recent pre-dawn transfer of ailing Chen Shui-bian from a locked psychiatric unit at Veteran’s Hospital in Taipei to Taichung Prison against the medical advice of all of Chen’s doctors has led to calls on April 23 for the Taiwanese medical community and international legal community to denounce the conditions of Chen’s imprisonment. The forced move caused the depressed Chen to attempt suicide by hanging from a doorknob with a shirt around his neck.

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