Fishing boat repair industry in crisis as repairmen dwindle in number

2022-08-01

Repair work is a highly skilled industry. Repairing fishing boats is a very specialized skill, keeping Taiwan’s fishing industry running. But the profession is in crisis, as master repairmen retire with no one to follow in their footsteps. Today we take a trip to Yong’an harbor in Taoyuan, where just six repairmen care for 450 boats.

This repairman has arm protectors and gloves pulled over his wrists. He’s working hard with a sander, dust flying into the air.

Kuo Cheng-tien
Fishing boat repair expert
You need experience. You have to get it right the first time, that’s what they call trustworthiness. If there are boats in the harbor, people will always be coming to the experts for repairs.

Master repairman Kuo Cheng-tien is 70 years old. He’s spent most of his life down here at the harbor repairing and inspecting fishing boats. When the fishing season takes a pause in late June, fishermen rush to get their boats looked at. But as the master repairmen retire, there are few young people entering the profession. This is a tough job and a shortage of experts is brewing.

Mr. Fan
Fishing boat repair expert
It gives me a sense of achievement. Of course I feel very happy when I do it well.

Repairing this boat is Mr. Fan, 40 years old. He’s a youngster in this profession. He has another career too, and just comes here for the busy season. There are 450 boats that moor at Yong’an Fishing Harbor in Taoyuan, but only five or six master boat repairmen. Boatmasters were already booking their services in advance a month ago. But there are still lots of boats waiting around to be seen. Making matters worse is that one of the two repair decks at the harbor has broken, and only one deck is in service.

Mr. Chang
Boatmaster
There’s just the one deck here at the harbor. All the repairs are done here on the deck, of course. You have to get professionals to manage the repairs. Like the way he’s sanding it – the dust flies up and irritates your skin. It’s not something just anybody can do.

With safety at sea on the line, the city government already moved to get a new deck built last year. They hope a new deck will minimize the time boats spend waiting for attention. But the shortage of people entering the industry is a much more intractable problem. Creative government intervention may be needed.

永安漁港船隻檢修"塞船" 老師傅凋零現缺工危機

2022-08-01

桃園永安漁港共有450艘船隻，每年6月中後休漁期，總是有不少船隻排隊等檢修。需求量大，卻因為保修船隻工作繁複、困難，在老師傅漸漸凋零後，缺工危機逐漸浮上檯面。再加上漁港內船架被壓毀一座，目前僅剩一座在服役，讓縱使提早一個月預定檢修的船主，還是得乖乖等候，形成塞船的窘境。

師傅雙手套上袖套、戴上棉布手套，握著打磨機在船板上來回操作，瞬間灰塵碎屑飛揚。

[[漁船保修師傅郭承畑]]
“經驗要有，(維修)一次要做好，這個叫信用。只要港內有船，一定會有人要請師傅來幫忙維修。”

今年70歲的老師傅郭承畑，人生大半輩子的時間都在漁港，幫人檢修船隻。漁港每年6月中後，進入休漁期，總有大批漁船趕著進廠保養，但隨著老師父凋零，年輕人不願意投入辛苦產業，讓缺工危機漸漸浮上檯面。

[[漁船保修師傅范先生]]
“(把船修好)這是一個成就感，做好當然就很高興。”

今年40歲的范師傅，在修船師傅中，算是比較年輕的，但平時他也有其他工作，只在旺季時回來幫忙。桃園永安漁港共有450艘船隻，如今保修師傅卻只剩5、6位，船主們雖然早在一個月前就搶先預定檢修，卻還是難免塞船的命運。更雪上加霜的是，漁港原本有兩座上架場，卻因為經年累月重壓毀損，只剩一座還在服役。

[[船主張先生]]
“這漁港只有這個上架場，那當然整修都是在這架上這邊在處理。要找這些專業的人來處理，像它磨，粉塵都會(造成皮膚)癢，也不是一般人能夠做的(工作)。”

事關漁民出海安全，眼下之急，市府已經在去年發包製作新的上架場，希望完工後盡量減少船舶等待的時間，但面對修船產業的龐大需求，卻沒人投入，如何解決缺工危機，恐怕還有賴相關單位想想辦法。

Coach drivers turn to truck driving as industry struggles after COVID

The coach industry has had a tough pandemic. Many coach drivers are out of work as the domestic tourism industry struggles. We spent a day with coach company owner Cheng Kuo-chih to find out how he’s adapted to the crisis. He’s taken up truck driving to avoid firing staff. Though his employees are grateful, he says that COVID’s impact on his colleagues is “tragic.”

In 2000, Cheng Kuo-chih took up coach driving. Now the 46-year-old has been doing it for 22 years. The business was booming when he began, and he could earn NT$200,000 or more every month. He started his own coach company in his twenties.

Cheng Kuo-chih
Coach company owner
In the first few years when I was really earning money, I was doing airlines, carrying flight attendants, and sometimes doing coach tours at weekends. I could earn NT$300,000 in one month.

Before setting off, Cheng checks his tires, fuel tank and engine. After finishing a trip, he cleans the seats, tidies the curtains and seatbelts, disinfects everything and calls it a day. He’s still as meticulous as when he began. But the pandemic wreaked havoc on domestic tourism as everyone stayed at home. Cheng’s coaches sat idle.

Cheng Kuo-chih
Coach company owner
Students were off school, too. All we had left was factory workers going to work. One factory commute is no more than NT$2,000. You just do two trips a day. You’ve got less than NT$3,000 a day to pay the driver – it’s nowhere near enough. The fuel costs money. You have to pay for your vehicle license, fuel tax, insurance – you pay all of them even if you don’t put the coach on the road.

Cheng says just his loan repayments are NT$300,000 a month, before any other costs of running the business. With vehicle maintenance, fuel, and eight salaries to pay, Cheng has lost a lot of sleep. He couldn’t pay it all off even if he liquidated his assets.

But not to be defeated, Cheng watched online videos to prepare and pass the test to become a big rig driver. Now he drives aggregate trucks and concrete mixers, heading to the construction site each day. This tough side job allows him to keep his employees on the payroll.

Cheng Kuo-chih
Coach company owner
I think it’s really tragic. When I go to the construction site, I see people and think “How come he’s here?” I meet friends and acquaintances there, people I studied with, who were also in the coach industry. Now they’re driving aggregate trucks because of the pandemic. Everyone needs to make a living.

Driving trucks is hard work, but the construction industry needs workers. Lots of out-of-work drivers are taking on temporary work in construction, making sites like this a veritable coach drivers’ reunion party. If they take on enough work, they can earn at least NT$50,000 a month. Many, like Cheng, are getting behind the wheel.

2022-08-01

President Tsai attends forum celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Aug. 1 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Taiwan. The day marks the anniversary of the Taiwan government changing its language to refer to Taiwan’s original inhabitants as “yuanzhumin” or “Indigenous people.” To celebrate the day, the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the National Human Rights Commission on Monday held a forum on the matter. The event was attended by President Tsai Ing-wen and Su Tseng-chang, who vowed to ensure the rights of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples

It’s time to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which in Taiwan is on Aug. 1. President Tsai Ing-wen attended a forum held to commemorate the occasion, and show her respects to Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples. It’s the seventh time that she attends such an event.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Every year we look forward to Aug. 1. It’s not just a day for Taiwan’s Indigenous people. The Indigenous Peoples’ Day is for all Taiwanese.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
In 2016, the budget assigned to the Council of Indigenous Peoples was just over NT$7 billion. Now it’s more than NT$12.4 billion. It shows the goodwill of the government.

Tsai and Su called for protecting the rights of Taiwan’s Indigenous people. The road to the present situation has been a long one. In 1984, the Aboriginal Rights Association demanded that the government stop referring to Taiwan’s indigenous people as “shanbao,” meaning “mountain compatriots,” and replace the term with “yuanzhumin,” meaning “Indigenous inhabitants.” After 10 years of fighting for the change, in 1994, the National Assembly approved a change for the Constitution, which took effect in 1997, making “yuanzhuminzu,” meaning “Indigenous peoples,” the official term. In 2005, then-President Chen Shui-bian declared the day of the change, Aug. 1, Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Since Taking office in 2016, Tsai has also taken action to show her respect for Taiwan’s Indigenous population.

Icyang Parod
Council of Indigenous Peoples
Over the past six years, there have been new laws and amendments. They include five important acts including the Indigenous Language Development Act and the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples. Then there is also compensation for prohibiting logging in Indigenous reservations, with a budget of NT$2.1 billion every year and benefiting more than 42,000 people. There has been huge progress on the front of ensuring the rights of Indigenous people.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples minister listed out the measures that the government had adopted to protect the rights of Taiwan’s Indigenous inhabitants. He said that, through substantive action, the government was trying to seek justice for the original owners of the land.

2022-08-01

Industry group releases 2022 white paper

A leading Taiwanese industry group, the Chinese National Federation of Industries, has released its latest annual white paper. The document features 208 suggestions from business for the government. They include suggestions on how to address labor shortages, inflation and even cross-strait ties. One key component in the white paper is electricity prices. The chair of the group says another rate hike for industrial users could give rise to complaints.

The CNFI has released its first white paper under the leadership of Matthew Miao. The paper offers 208 policy suggestions to the government. Miao says that although the economy is posting good figures, it is not yet time for Taiwan to let down its guard.

Matthew Miao
CNFI chair
Do not be misled by this. Taiwan is still an export-oriented economy. If there is a rebound, its impact will be quite heavy, not light. These past few years, supply chains have been lacking. If all of a sudden the shortage ends, there will be big problems with inventory backlogs.

Back in July, the electricity rates went up 15% for large industrial users. With fuel prices on the rise and the cost of electricity generation mounting, Taipower could see more than NT$100 billion in losses. The economics ministry will meet again in September to decide whether to hike rates again. Miao says another rise could hurt Taiwan’s industry.

Matthew Miao
CNFI chair
If the rates go up again, people will really complain. If Taipower and CPC don’t make any price adjustments, they might have to shut down this year. Merely changing the rates won’t solve the problem. They should let us see what is going on behind the scenes. Raising the rates would of course cause huge harm to Taiwan’s industry.

The industry group says Taiwan should strengthen the resilience of its power grid and to enact legislation to require a reserve margin of at least 20%. According to the group chair, Taiwan industry leaders are not just concerned about how international incidents such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have affected fuel prices. They also have their eyes on the tensions between Taiwan, the U.S. and China. They say a Taiwan visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have repercussions on cross-strait tensions.

Matthew Miao
CNFI chair
We think that Pelosi is standing on our side. But this could be a very sensitive time for a visit. Will it be beneficial or harmful to Taiwan? If they want to express their friendship with Taiwan, they should do so regularly. It’s fine if they want to keep their strategic ambiguity. We have very solid communication channels.

The white paper lists out five major challenges for Taiwan: industrial imbalance, demographic crisis, inflation and supply chains, geopolitics, and energy. Industry leaders call on the government to improve Taiwan’s business environment so that the economy can grow to new heights.

2022-08-01

Chinese invasion would lead to collapse of world rules-based order: TSMC chair

2022-08-01

Plant-based meats grow in popularity as the vegan

2022-08-01

CECC reports 16,352 local COVID cases, confirms two local cases of BA.5 in Taipei

2022-08-01

A group of tour operators arrive from Japan to feel out the market and make plans

After two years away from Taiwan, a group of Japanese tour operators arrived in the country on Sunday. Their trip is aimed at developing tour packages for Taiwan that can go on sale as soon as the borders are open again. The guests were not required to undergo quarantine, but have taken PCR tests, and are avoiding large crowds to prevent the risk of spreading COVID.

A group of Japanese tour operators arrived on Sunday at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

It’s been more than two years since tour operators have set foot on Taiwan, and their excitement shows. Officials from the Tourism Bureau were on hand to greet the arrivals in person. The 25-member group took PCR tests before passing through customs, but they weren’t required to undergo quarantine. Their itinerary will have them avoid rush-hour crowds, and they will have their hotel floor all to themselves.

Huang Shih-fang
Tourism Bureau
Epidemic prevention measures are still a priority, and we are following all the relevant procedures -- we are implementing them all. That includes during today’s arrival, when the group used a separate corridor, and took their PCR tests separately from others.

At the hotel, the group is also using a separate elevator, which is sanitized after every use.

From their rooms, the arrivals have a great view of Taoyuan’s night sky, and their meals include Taiwanese favorites like fried chicken and soup dumplings.

Hsu Chun-cheng
Hotel manager
For the dumplings we use locally reared black-haired pigs. We also buy our cabbage from small local farms on Lala Mountain. For breakfast, we prepared fried rice made with duck for the guests, and presented it with Qishan’s famous bananas. These bananas are also highly popular with our Japanese guests.

The group will not be interacting with the general public and even their bathroom visits will follow preplanned routing. However, one member of the public still expressed concerns.

Member of the public
Of course I’m worried. Things still aren’t that stable. How many people are dying every day? What a joke!

Member of the public
I’ve already had COVID, and the symptoms weren’t that bad. I’m not that worried about it.

Seeing great opportunity in post-pandemic tours to Taiwan, the Japanese tour operators hope to be well-prepared for when the borders reopen.

2022-08-01

US holds separate joint drills in the Pacific with allies, while China releases PLA video

2022-08-01

Rumors that House Speaker Pelosi will visit Taiwan continue despite no confirmation

As U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started the first leg of her Asia trip on Monday, speculations emerged in international media that she could still make a stop in Taiwan on her way to South Korea. Taiwan’s government would not make specific comments about Pelosi’s itinerary, but said she would be “warmly welcomed” if she made the trip. Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Pelosi over the rumored trip, but former State Secretary Mike Pompeo, who is a staunch Taiwan supporter, urged her to visit Taipei, saying that it would be detrimental to the U.S. not to do so.

As President Tsai Ing-wen arrived at an event in Taipei on Monday, she was immediately met with questions from the sidelines about whether U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan. The issue has people around the world watching developments closely.

Michael Mullen
Former United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I would expect that it is very possible that she could still make a surprise visit, as controversial and as important as this has become. I wasn’t surprised at all that it wasn’t part of the released schedule. And she’s in that area of the world, she’s been there many, many times, in that area of the world. She feels strongly about supporting the kinds of values that we stand for, and about working with our friends – and Taiwan has been a friend for a long time, and particularly in a bipartisan way. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if she went.

Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin also speculated that a Taiwan stop may be in the plans for Pelosi and her delegation, following their visit to Malaysia, and said she could arrive in Taipei Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Pelosi flew from Guam to Singapore early Monday, before transferring to Malaysia. Reports say that Pelosi may arrive in Taipei Tuesday and stay the night, and meet with Tsai and others before leaving. Pelosi is scheduled to be in South Korea on Wednesday to meet with the speaker of the Korean National Assembly, and in Japan on Thursday, to sit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. Meanwhile on social media, former U.S. President Donald Trump said, “the China mess is the last thing she should be involved in — She will only make it worse.” That’s in contrast to his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has publicly supported Pelosi, and has offered to make the trip to Taiwan with her. Pompeo has said that if Pelosi fails to visit Taiwan it would make the U.S. vulnerable, and that the visit only concerns the two sovereign states of the U.S. and Taiwan.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
When it comes to honored guests visiting our country, we always warmly welcome them. We will make the most appropriate arrangements, and of course will respect the guest’s plans when working out the schedule.

Whether Pelosi will continue with a rumored visit to Taiwan or not remains to be seen, but should she make the stop, she will receive a warm welcome, officials say. In the mean time, all eyes are on the Taiwan Strait, and on the relationships between Taiwan, China and the U.S.

2022-08-01