TAIWAN
Military Exports from Canada (1990-1999)
Year
Military Value of
Equipment Military
Types
Exports
1999
9,10,11,15 732,443
1998 9,10,11,14,15
3,202,336
1997
6,9,10,11,15 960,718
1996
6,9,10,11,14 9,631,889
1995
10,11
3,593,026
1994
9,10,11,13 961,206
1993
-
0
1992
13
16,950
1991
-
0
1990
-
0
Total
$19,098,568
Sources: Export of Military Goods from Canada, Annual Reports 1990-1999.
Published by the Export Controls Division, Export and Import Controls
Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Government
of Canada. Web site: <www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/~eicb/>
-----------------------------------
Examples of Canadian Military Exports (1990s)
Bell Helicopter Textron
. 30 TH-67 military training helicopters.
$30 million (Jan. 1996-June 1997)
Ploughshares Monitor, Sept. 1997
CAE Electronics Ltd.
. AN/SSQ-504(V) magnetic anomaly detectors for S-2T Tracker upgrades.
Value unknown (1991)
Project Ploughshares' Canadian Military Industry Database (CMID)
Canadian Marconi Co.
. Counterinterference radio system for marines corps.
2.8 million (1994)
Ploughshares Monitor, Sept. 1995
. AN/GRC-512(V) tactical radio.
Value unknown (1996)
Computing Devices Canada Ltd.
. System to control firing of M48H main battle tank weapon.
Value unknown (1991)
Project Ploughshares' CMID.
-----------------------------------
Canadian Government Promotes Military Exports
"Taiwan's demand for aerospace products and services is substantial and
growing. Opportunities extend beyond Taiwan, as the country establishes
itself as the Asia-Pacific regional operations centre. Canadian companies
will be poised to take advantage of regional opportunities, most notably in
Japan, China, Indonesia and Korea.
Opportunities are particularly robust for maintenance, repair and overhaul
facilities and services.... Taiwan has one of the largest military aircraft
fleets in Asia.... Currently, 80% of AIDC [Aerospace Industry Development
Corp.] business volume involves production of the IDF [Indigenous Defence
Fighter].
Canada is Taiwan's third largest market supplier of powered aircraft.
Canadian companies are encouraged to pursue trade leads through the
Canadian government's WIN Export Program and the Program for Export Market
Development (PEMD). PEMD is a funding program administered by DFAIT to
help Canadian companies develop export markets through financial risk
sharing. PEMD has four elements: capital projects bidding, trade
association activities, market development strategies, and new-to-exporting
companies.
Source: "The Aerospace Market in Taiwan" DFAIT
<http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/geo/html_documents/47236-e.pdf>
---
Military Trade Shows
The Taipai Aerospace Technology Exhibition (TATE), was promoted by Industry
Canada and the Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in
1999.
Source: "The Aerospace Market in Taiwan," May 1999. By Team Canada
Market
Research Centre and the Cdn. Trade Commissioner Service. Published by DFAIT.
General Motors of Canada had four display booths at TATE '99 and will
exhibit again at TATE this August.
Source: <http://www.taipeitradeshows.com>
-----------------------------------
Human Rights Violations (1999)
Authorities continued to seek international recognition, a policy that
perpetuated hostile relations with China. Taiwan's application for UN
membership was unsuccessful.
At least 24 were executed in 1999. There was widespread concern that three
people sentenced to death in 1992 were convicted solely on the basis of
confessions extracted under torture.
Legal and military reforms
In January, the authorities repealed legislation that was used to control
the media during martial law (1947-1987).
In April, the National Police Administration submitted an amended version
of the Assembly and Parade Law to decriminalize advocacy for a communist
government or formal independence from China.
It was announced in January that men reporting for compulsory two years of
national service could apply to serve outside the military. From January
2000, conscripts would have the option of applying to spend two years in
the police, fire service, environmental projects, or as care givers to
elderly and handicapped. Exemption from national service on religious
grounds was still under consideration by the Ministry of National Defence
(MND). In March, the MND established a military human rights protection
commission in response to the demands of the families of conscripts who
died in military accidents. The MND agreed to form a special military
accident investigation committee to investigate the causes of the accidents.
Amendments to the Military Tribunal Law were proposed to the legislature
in May. If approved, officers and servicemen would have the right to be
tried not only in a military court but in the Supreme Court. Capital
cases, or cases of life imprisonment, would be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Source: Amnesty International Report 2000.
<http://www.amnesty-usa.org/ailib/>
-----------------------------------
Labour Rights Violations (1999)
The labour law is still restrictive. It allows one national union centre
to exist. The CFL has demanded a revision of the Labour Union Act to
include better protection against anti-union discrimination and a
relaxation of trade union organisational structures.
Restrictions in law
The law does not permit more than one union in any given geographical area.
Only one national union federation is allowed to exist. The authorities
refused to register a second federation in 1994, and disallowed an appeal.
Public servants, teachers and workers in the defence industry are not
allowed to form and join unions, despite the fact that a 1995 court ruling
said that the right to organise was protected by the constitution.
The labour law requires union rules and constitutions to be submitted to
authorities for review. The authorities can dissolve unions if they do not
meet certification requirements or if their activities "disturb public
order."
There are many restrictions on the right to strike making it difficult to
hold a legal strike, and which weaken collective bargaining. The
authorities can impose mediation or arbitration during which workers cannot
strike.
Taiwan's assembly law forbids demonstrations that have not been approved
by the authorities. Workers can be sued and jailed if they stage protests
arising from labour disputes without permission.
Inadequate protection
Protection against anti-union discrimination is inadequate, as there is no
provision in the law to punish violators.
Workers demand revision of the Labour Union Act.
In April, scores of workers demonstrated for the Labour Union Act to be
amended to allow them to establish a new confederation. In July, unions at
18 state-owned enterprises set up an alliance to protect their rights
during privatisation. The government's Council of Labour Affairs refused to
recognise it because it contravened the Labour Union Act.
The CFL national union centre held a rally in Taipei on July 29 to call
for eight main demands. These included revision of the Labour Union Act to
include better protection against anti-union discrimination and a
relaxation of trade union organisational structures, privatisation,
healthcare and pension reform etc.
Source: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (2000),
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
-----------------------------------
Child Labour Violations
Prostitution and Trafficking
* There are 30,000 minors in prostitution in Taiwan according to the
government estimates. (CATW Fact Book on Global Sexual Exploitation, 1999,
citing government estimates)
* Child prostitution is a problem in the wider community and involves
40,000-60,000 children. Most are aged 12-16. (EI Barometer, 1998)
* Child prostitution is a serious problem among Aborigine
Malayo-Polynesians children. (U.S. Dept. of State, Human Rights Report, 1998)
* About 40 Indonesian females are sent to Taiwan and Hong Kong every
month. (UNICEF Indonesia, M. Farid, "Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Indonesia," Child Workers in Asia, Jan.-Mar. 2000)
* Girls are lured from Burma, Cambodia, Laos and South China for the sex
markets in Taiwan. ("Human Trafficking: Gangs make Thailand a regional
hub," Bangkok Post, Sept.6, 2000, cited in Stop Trafficking Archive, Sept.
2000)
* The sale of Aboriginal girls into prostitution by their parents is a
serious social problem. (EI Barometer, 1998)
Source: <http://www.globalmarch.org/worstformsreport/world/china-taiwan.html>
-----------------------------------
TAKE ACTION!
Taiwan Labor Front (TLF)
Born on May Day, 1984, under the threat of martial law, TLF is the first
labor activist organization in Taiwan. It provided free legal consultation
for workers and played an important role in awakening labor consciousness.
After the lifting of martial law, TLF helped organize the first postwar
strikes in 1988 and focused on labor education and union organizing. TLF
started political campaigns helped ignite national debates on plant closing
(1992), health care (1995) and industrial democracy (1996). Two TLF members
were elected to Parliament in 1996 and pushed to revise the Labor Law to
cover over two million workers in the service sector.
Contact: 7F-B, #273 Section 3, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan. Tel:
886-2-23654704, 886-2-23655705; Email: <labornet@tpts1.seed.net.tw>
Web:
<labor.ngo.org.tw>
---
Taiwan Assoc. for Human Rights (TAHR)
Created in 1984, TAHR originally operated in an environment of repression
and fear. Chiang Kai-shek imposed martial law in 1949, suspended the
constitution and subjected thousands to illegal arrests, torture,
imprisonment and extrajudicial executions. The first real opposition party
was formed in 1986 and martial law was lifted in 1987. Rule of law,
independence of the judiciary and accountability of police and military
authorities remain elusive.
Contact: Hsin-Sheng South Road, Section 3, Lane 25, No. 3, 9th Floor,
Taipei, Taiwan. Email: <tahr@tpts8.seed.
net.tw> Web: <Website:
http://tahr.yam.org.tw>
---
Taiwanese Canadian Association of Canada
Contact: Robert Wen-Long Chen, 1714 Autumn Ridge Dr., Ottawa ON K1C 6Y6.
Tel.: (613) 837-2167; Email: <relchen@aol.com>