UPHOLDING RIGHTS:Allison Lee has worked to help foreign fishermen working on Taiwanese boats for five years. She said the big problem is enforcing labor laws
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 29, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA, WASHINGTON
Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union secretary-general Allison Lee (李麗華) on Tuesday was recognized at a
A handout photo released by the US Department of State shows US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and White House adviser Ivanka Trump, right, posing for a photo with Allison Lee, a Taiwanese recipient of the department’s Hero Acting to End Modern Slavery Award at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: EPA
US Department of State ceremony in Washington for upholding the rights of foreign fishermen.
She was one of eight people awarded the department’s Hero Acting to End Modern Slavery Award, and is the first Taiwanese to receive the honor.
Lee was honored “in recognition of her unwavering advocacy on behalf of foreign fishermen on Taiwan-flagged vessels, her central role in forming the first labor union composed of and led by foreign workers, and her courage in demanding stronger protections for vulnerable workers through sustained engagement with authorities and the public,” the department said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump’s daughter, presented Lee with the award and asked her about her work. [FULL STORY]
