Motorbike industry groups rally for Tsai

                                                 President Tsai Ing-wen, at podium, participates in a campaign event in Taichung yesterday.

Several motorcycle industry groups and labor organizations in central Taiwan yesterday threw their support behind President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as she hit the campaign trail for the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11.

Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) donned a motorcycle helmet bearing a Taiwan logo and gave the thumbs-up alongside her supporters from the motorcycle manufacturing industry.

Her father used to own an auto repair shop, “so I have a special connection with mechanics and people working in the motorcycle and auto repair industries,” Tsai said.

“My father was like most of you here, who are working as mechanics or are owners of motorcycle or auto repair shops. You are closest to the voice of the grassroots. You are on the front line to engage with people and take the pulse of the prevailing public opinion,” she said.

Tsai outlined the government’s support programs, saying “there are subsidies for fuel-burning and electric motorcycles as long as they conform to standards for fuel efficiency and gas emissions to reduce air pollution.”

She called on mechanics and auto repair shop owners to enroll in government-sponsored classes to upgrade their skills and keep up with new developments.

Tsai also attended a rally organized by labor groups in Taichung, where she was joined by Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春), Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全).

Taiwan has bid farewell to the so-called “22K era,” when the average monthly wage was stuck at NT$22,000, Tsai said, adding that the starting wage has been raised to NT$23,100 and the average hourly wage to NT$155, which have benefited all workers.

“We have also enacted laws to better protect the rights of short-term contract workers. A deadline has been placed after which all government agencies would stop using short-term contracts and switch to hiring full-time employees. We call on all employers to take up responsibility for contract workers and to better protect their rights,” she said.

Separately, DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) stumped for the party’s legislative candidates in central Taiwan and touted the government’s accomplishments and policies for farmers and other sectors of society.