Electronics maker denies hiring illegal Chinese workers

Taipei, Nov. 17 (CNA) Touch panel manufacturer Young Fast Optoelectronics denied Wednesday allegations that it had illegally imported laborers from China, saying that the 28 Chinese workers discovered by prosecutors at its Taiwan plant a day earlier were there to receive training.

The company said the main purpose of the training is to allow the workers to become familiar with the manufacturing process for touch panel sensors so as to build a connection with the manufacturing process in China and enhance the workers' ability to identify inferior products.

Young Fast maintains operations in Taiwan, China and Vietnam. While the Taiwan operation focus on the manufacturing of touch panel sensors, the China facilities concentrate on touch panel modules, and the Vietnam operation is primarily responsible for the manufacture of resistive touch panels.

The controversy first emerged in October when labor rights groups accused the company of bringing in operators from its China plant in the guise of receiving training but actually allowing them to work in one of its plants in Taoyuan County. This resulted in the recent dismissal of 16 Taiwanese workers, according to the groups.

At the request of the National Immigration Agency (NIA) , prosecutors led a group of investigators on a raid of the plant a day earlier. The 28 Chinese workers discovered there and eight other Taiwanese staff were taken to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for questioning.

According to the NIA, employers who hire illegal Chinese workers can be sentenced to up to two years in jail and fined up to NT$300,000.

An investigation by the NIA shows that between Oct. 13, 2009 and Sept. 15, 2010, Young Fast filed eight applications for a total of 112 Chinese skilled people to make study trips to Taiwan, including the 28 people who are still in the country.

The duration of stay of the visitors ranged between 19 days and two months, and there are no records of any of them overstaying their visas, the NIA said.