Constitution day hasn’t been a holiday for anybody for a long time. You must be confused on that point.
Didn’t it get de-holidayed when the Deepers got in???
I guess it depends what one considers a “long time”. 
Didn’t it get de-holidayed when the Deepers got in???
I guess it depends what one considers a “long time”. [/quote]
I’d say 16 years is enough to be considered a “long time”. 
Didn’t it get de-holidayed when the Deepers got in???
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2002/12/21/0000188083
I guess it depends what one considers a “long time”. [/quote]
I’d say 16 years is enough to be considered a “long time”. [/quote]
Yeah, I wasn’t trying to be a dick to brother honcho, I really meant it.
Doesn’t seem like that long ago to me, but I can certainly see how one’s MMV.
Didn’t it get de-holidayed when the Deepers got in???
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2002/12/21/0000188083
I guess it depends what one considers a “long time”. [/quote]
I’d say 16 years is enough to be considered a “long time”. [/quote]
Yeah, I wasn’t trying to be a dick to brother honcho, I really meant it.
Doesn’t seem like that long ago to me, but I can certainly see how one’s MMV.[/quote]
No worries. Nor was I accusing you of being a dick. Was just throwin’ my 2 cents down. 
I don’t know Chinese, but I got the impression from Google Translate that this Ministry of Labor article makes mention of a distinction between 紀念 (commemorative?) and 放假 (holiday?); however, because of my ignorance of Chinese, I can’t tell whether the distinction mentioned in the article makes any difference in the discussion taking place in this thread:
Yep. Observance days and days off, basically.
Yeah, earlier you mentioned commemorative days, so I keyed on that when I saw it in Google Translate.
The problem with Article 23 of the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act, which yyy cited earlier in the thread, is that the first eight dates in the article seem to be covered by these words:
law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawSingl … 02&FLNO=23
The above text contains both 放假 (holiday? leave?) and 紀念日 (memorial? commemorative?) separated only by 之. From looking up 之 in Wiktionary, I guess 之 puts 放假 in the predominant place or makes it a modifier, but whatever 之 does to one or both of those two words, the text still looks ambiguous, because it seems to be referring to “holiday commemorative days.”
But if I Google “只紀念不放假” in quotes, which I interpret as “only to commemorate, not a holiday” (regardless of how Google Translate interprets it), I get lots of results, among them 228.
And here’s something that I find a little strange, if I understand it correctly (and it’s entirely possible that I don’t):
Does the December 2013 Hsinchu City Government article linked below say on the one hand that Constitution Day is only to commemorate and is not a holiday, but on the other hand that because of the Labor Standards Act, the workers (presumably Hsinchu City workers) are entitled to double wages if they work on that day?
http://www.hccg.gov.tw/mobile/content/message-01-01.jsp?postId=253266
Or did I completely misunderstand the article?
Wow, I seriously thought the next excuse would be something like, “It’s not a holiday for foreigners!” Instead we get an article from “16 years ago” aka 2002 
that says one thing on page 1 and another on page 2:
There is no 紀念日及節日實施條例 (memorial day & festival implementation regulations) in the Ministry of Justice’s database, but there is a 紀念日及節日實施辦法 (same thing but with a different word for “regulations”), which I already mentioned re Oct 31. The current version is from 2014-06-11 and still lists Dec 25 in Article 2, so if they abolished it in 2002 (or 1999), they obviously brought it back later.
Translation: “11, Constitution Memorial Day: Dec 25.”
BUT it doesn’t matter what that regulation says when talking about labor law unless you’re among the few who aren’t covered by the Labor Standards Act. The current version of the LSA (quoted above) includes three categories of holidays in Article 37, plus weekly days off and paid annual (“special”) leave. Here it is again:
[quote=“系統訊息-全國法規資料庫”]第 37 條
紀念日、勞動節日及其他由中央主管機關規定應放假之日，均應休假。
第 39 條
第三十六條所定之例假、第三十七條所定之休假及第三十八條所定之特別
休假，工資應由雇主照給。雇主經徵得勞工同意於休假日工作者，工資應
加倍發給。因季節性關係有趕工必要，經勞工或工會同意照常工作者，亦
同。[/quote]
[quote=“Labor Standards Act - Article Content - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)”]Article 37
A worker shall be granted recess on all holidays, the Labor Day and other days prescribed by the Central Competent Authority.
Article 39
Wages shall be paid by an employer to a worker for taking a regular day off under Article 36, a holiday under Article 37 and an annual paid leave under Article 38. When an employer has obtained the consent of a worker to work on a holiday, he/ she shall pay the worker at double the regular rate for such work. This shall also apply where, with the consent of the worker or the labor union, the worker is required to work to meet urgent, seasonal requirements.[/quote]
The “紀念日” in Article 37 means memorial/commemorative day. So a more literal translation would be, “On memorial days, Labor Day and other days prescribed by the Central Competent Authority as days on which leave should occur, leave shall be granted.” IOW, all three categories are treated as holidays, along with weekly days off and annual leave.
A more literal translation of Article 39 would be, “For all days off of Article 36, all leave of Article 37, and all special leave of Article 38, wages should be paid by the employer. In the event that the employer has the worker’s consent for working on a day of leave, double wages should be paid. In the event that seasonal factors require urgent work, with the worker’s or labor union’s consent to work as usual, the same [applies].”
The “leave” or “rest” here is 放假 fangjia or 休假 xiujia. That’s the same 休 (person leaning against a tree) as in 休息, xiuxi, rest. 放 implies you’re being released from captivity, but the result is the same: you have the day off. These are not days you need to request – that would be 請假 qingjia, “please holiday”, for things like marriage leave, sick leave, etc. What’s accurately described as “annual paid leave” in Article 39 actually says “special leave” in Chinese, so if you see another document with “special leave” in English, that’s what it’s likely to mean.
The current version in both languages is from 2015-07-01. (The Chinese version includes a note that some amended articles won’t come into effect until 2016-01-01, but not including 37 or 39.)
[quote=“Charlie Jack”]I don’t know Chinese, but I got the impression from Google Translate that this Ministry of Labor article makes mention of a distinction between 紀念 (commemorative?) and 放假 (holiday?); however, because of my ignorance of Chinese, I can’t tell whether the distinction mentioned in the article makes any difference in the discussion taking place in this thread:
mol.gov.tw/announcement/2099/23689/[/quote]
You’re absolutely right – that’s exactly what they’re talking about. Now all you need to do is wait until 105年1月1日, and if all goes well or badly depending upon your point of view, the new system will come into effect, and memorial days will no longer be days off. Until then, Dec 25 is a holiday for both labor (employment) purposes and official commemorative activity purposes (as stated in the Chinese-only regulation).
(For those who don’t know, Chinese dates are always year-month-day, and in Taiwan the government usually but not always uses the ROC calendar i.e. year 1 is 1912, so 105 is 2016.)
Note that the 40 hour work week (starting Jan 1) is confirmed, but the changes to holidays have actually not yet been confirmed (if they have, please provide a link). That announcement is an explanation of why they think it’s a good idea, not an announcement that they’ve already done it.
[quote=“Charlie Jack”]The problem with Article 23 of the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act, which yyy cited earlier in the thread, is that the first eight dates in the article seem to be covered by these words:
law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawSingl … 02&FLNO=23
The above text contains both 放假 (holiday? leave?) and 紀念日 (memorial? commemorative?) separated only by 之. From looking up 之 in Wiktionary, I guess 之 puts 放假 in the predominant place, but the text still looks ambiguous because it seems to be referring to “holiday commemorative days.”
But if I Google “只紀念不放假” in quotes, which I interpret as “only to commemorate, not a holiday” (regardless of how Google Translate interprets it), I get lots of results, among them 228.[/quote]
放假 = holiday or leave depending on context and desired flavor
紀念日 = memorial day (but “holidays” in the official translation of Article 37)
之 = basically a fancy version of 的
Article 23 has three “paragraphs” or 項, with all subordinate parts (that look like paragraphs) being “subparagraphs” or 款.
Paragraph 1:
本法第三十七條規定應放假之紀念日如左： = “The memorial days on which leave should occur [in accordance with] the provisions of Article 37 of this Act [the Labor Standards Act] are the following:”
Subparagraphs 1 to 8 list memorial days.
Paragraph 2:
本法第三十七條所稱勞動節日，係指五月一日勞動節。 = “What is called Labor Day in Article 37 of this Act refers to the May 5 Labor Day [not September].”
Paragraph 3:
本法第三十七條所稱其他由中央主管機關規定應放假之日如左： = “The days in Article 37 of this Act called days on which leave should occur as prescribed by the Central Competent Authority [Ministry of Labor, formerly Council of Labor Affairs of the Executive Yuan] are the following:”
Subparagraphs 1 to 8 list other holidays. Subparagraph 9 gives the MOL the right to designate other days as holidays without an amendment.
[quote=“Charlie Jack”]And here’s something that I find a little strange, if I understand it correctly (and it’s entirely possible that I don’t):
Does the December 2013 Hsinchu City Government article linked below say on the one hand that Constitution Day is only to commemorate and is not a holiday, but on the other hand that because of the Labor Standards Act, the workers (presumably Hsinchu City workers) are entitled to double wages if they work on that day?
hccg.gov.tw/mobile/content/m … tId=253266
Or did I completely misunderstand the article?[/quote]
Thanks for the link. Maybe the cure for the “repeat a lie long enough” phenomenon is “repeat the truth long enough” 
12月25日行憲紀念日為國定假日，各事業單位應依勞基法規定給予勞工休假 = “Dec 25 Constitution Memorial Day is a national holiday, every business entity should give workers [employees] a holiday in accordance with the provisions of the LSA.”
While we’re at it, let’s see what the whole article says.
雇主對於人事行政總處公布行憲紀念日只紀念不放假，與勞動基準法放假規範不同多有疑義，勞工處指出適用勞動基準法之事業單位，雇主應依勞動基準法第37、39條規定於行憲紀念日(12月25日)給予勞工1日之休假，並照給工資。 勞工處表示，雇主如確有使勞工於行憲紀念日加班之必要，可徵得勞工同意後使其出勤，並發給加倍工資；或經勞資雙方協商同意與其他工作日對調，調移後之原休假日(國定假日當天)已成為工作日，勞工於該日出勤工作，則不生加倍發給工資之問題。 勞工處強調，由於各事業單位之營運方式有別，勞工出勤模式多元，工時制度個案上均有差異，假日工資計算等相關事宜，仍應依個別事實詳予釐清。勞工朋友或雇主如有疑義，可洽新竹市政府勞工處，諮詢電話：03－5324900分機17；地址：新竹市國華街69號5樓，由專人提供進一步服務。
Employers have many doubts about the discrepancy between the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration’s announcement that Constitution Memorial Day is not a day of leave and the Labor Standards Act’s holiday provisions. The Labor Department [of Hsinchu] points out that for business entities to whom the Labor Standards Act applies, employers should give workers 1 day of rest for Constitution Memorial Day (Dec 25) in accordance with Articles 37 and 39 of the Labor Standards Act, and wages should be paid as usual. The Labor Department indicates that if employers confirm there is a need to have workers work overtime [i.e. any amount of time] on Constitution Memorial Day, they can have the workers attend [work] after requesting [obtaining] their consent, and they shall pay double wages; or, through a Labor-Management agreement, another work day may be substituted for Constitution Memorial Day, in which case the original day of rest (the national holiday) becomes a work day, and there is no issue of double pay for workers who work on that day. The Labor Department emphasizes that as various business entities have different ways of doing business, and as there are different types of work schedules, the working hour systems can have discrepancies, so matters relating to holiday pay calculation etc. should still be clarified in accordance with specific facts. If worker friends [workers] or employers have any doubts, they can consult the Labor Department of the Hsinchu City Government by calling 03-5324900 ext. 17; address: 5/F, 69 Guohua St., Hsinchu City, specialists can provide further service.
That’s from 2013-12-20. If you look through the Taipei Labor Dept’s website you can find the same information, maybe not the whole explanation specifically for Constitution Day, but for holidays in general and sometimes for specific holidays because they want to emphasize it. And as I said before, their 2015 list of holidays also includes Constitution Day. (I’m not aware of discrepancies in the local government holiday lists, but there may be extra holidays in some places e.g. with high aboriginal populations.)
Update: