Computex Protesters: Steve Jobs is a Bloodsucker!
Protesters camping outside the Nangang Exhibition Center was calling Steve Jobs a "bloodsucker."
While Computex 2010 attendees are currently bathing in hardware goodness inside the Nangang Exhibition Center, labor unions and environmental groups are using the trade show as a platform for protesting against a number of companies with booths at Computex. Though it's unfortunate for the companies involved, it's also quite expected given recent reports of inhumane working conditions at many Chinese manufacturing plants used by Microsoft, Foxconn, Apple and more.
"A few minutes after I arrived at the venue, a few people started gathering near the pre-registration booth beside the main entrance of Nangang Exhibition Center," said Tom's Rico Mossesgeld. "Some of them took turns on the megaphone, while others held up placards with pictures of Steve Jobs and what looks like other Taiwanese officials, declaring them Wanted. Clearly, they were protesting about worker conditions in China, related to Apple and recent high-profile factory worker suicides. Unfortunately, as I'm not fluent with Chinese, I only had a general idea of the grievances they aired."
The local police eventually came in and rounded up the protestors, clearing a safe passage to the convention hall entrance for Computex 2010 attendees. The scene heated up upon the arrival of Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou, as at least one protestor tried to approach the President. The police immediately moved in to restrain him, however not without a fight. The resistance continued until the protestor was removed from the convention center grounds.
"Clearly, the police just wanted to keep him away from the President," Rico said. "All while this happened, a bunch of booth babes and Computex staff lined the main entrance, screaming enthusiastic welcomes to visitors."
Another report claims that one protestor held up a sign calling Steve Jobs a "bloodsucker." Although local police tried to keep the protest at bay, eventually it was allowed to continue and fizzle out, ending about an hour after it originally began. However Lennon Ying-Dah Wong, general secretary of the First Commercial Bank Industrial Union, offered his opinion before moving on.
“They are at the peak of this industry," he said, referring to the companies residing within the convention center. "They have earned a tremendous amount of money, but they don’t care about the social responsibility, they don’t care about the working condition of the workers. In many of their plants it’s a sweatshop, and we are very sad to see modern sweatshops."

I'm with you, cottonball, I hate protesters. Worthless hypocrites. Go disturb the peace somewhere else...
BTW, Tom's, you misspelled Taiwan. Taiwan is in pretty much every spelling dictionary... except the iPad one...
True of 90% of corporate American business.
And this is newsworthy because... ?
You do realize that the freefoms that some countries enjoy today came about because there were people willing to protest? The war for the independence of the United States of America was one massive protest. The barons forcing Magna Carta on King John was a major protest. The elimination of segregation came about because of protest.
That doesn't mean you have to agree with someone else's protest, but do respect that positive social change comes about because of protest. Yes, some protests cause short lived inconveniences or problems, but if the cause is able to capture the popular will of people, it will live on and it will produce change.
It will take protests to eliminate sweatshops, just as protests produced safer working conditions at mines or factories in the developed countries. While it may not be particularly fair to single out Steve Jobs and Apple, they have substantial influence in the computer world and could be motivated to bring about change. I believe Jobs, like most people, wants to be seen as a good person - probably more so when one makes that much money, as they are already painted as being bad guys.
Just my simplistic thoughts on protests.
“They are at the peak of this industry," he said, referring to the companies residing within the convention center. "They have earned a tremendous amount of money, but they don’t care about the social responsibility, they don’t care about the working condition of the workers. In many of their plants it’s a sweatshop, and we are very sad to see modern sweatshops."
Since he is head of a LABOR UNION, why doesn't he just organize the workers?
Oh, that's right, they are happy to have those jobs because it is better than squatting in a farm field every day for barely enough to eat! They would refuse those unions because they are smarter than their American counterparts... they realize that FoxConn would just relocate and take the jobs with them.
100 year ago, unions were effective because travel and shipping and global communication/coordination was much harder. You HAD to use localized labor. What a difference 100 years has made...
I don't think this is true. A century ago America imported extremely cheap European and Chinese labour whilst Britain was happy to draw on its colonies. Now capitalists simply install their factories where labour is cheapest. We westerners have our civil rights only because others are denied theirs. The US depends on South Americans for cheap, non-unionised, casual labour and Britain relies on non-unionised Eastern Europeans. As Reagan and Thatcher demonstrated whilst callously dismantling trades unions, predacious capitalists don't change their spots, just their hunting ground.