Chen Shui-bian’s Second Anniversary in Office Marked by Labor Protests

By Dong LIU, CND, 22 May 2002

[CND, 05/22/02] Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian’s second anniversary in office was marked on Monday by protests organized by labour unions over his government’s labour policy, AFP reported.

Protesters said they were unhappy that Chen did not fulfill his campaign promise to workers. Before the (2000 presidential) polls, Chen wrote at least 20 checks regarding the improvement of labour welfare, but only one quarter of them have been honoured, said a protest leader.

The leader added that the protests aim to show Chen that they would not vote for him again in the next election. The protesters believe that Chen has sacrificed labour’s interests to please the businesses that have close ties to Chen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).