Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles
from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Taiwan.htm
Taiwan is primarily
a destination for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. To a far lesser extent, it
is a source of women trafficked to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States for sexual exploitation and forced labor, as well as a
transit area for People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizens seeking to enter
the United States illegally, some of whom may become victims of debt bondage
and forced prostitution. Most trafficking victims are workers from rural
areas of Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, employed through
recruitment agencies and brokers to perform low-skilled work in Taiwan’s
construction, fishing, and manufacturing industries, or to work as domestic
workers. NGOs continued to report an
increase in the number of boys rescued from prostitution, mainly discovered
during police investigations of online social networking sites suspected of
fronting for prostitution rings. - U.S.
State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June,
2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
|
|||||||||||
|
CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you
like to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims Ministry of Interior ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Editorial: The
human cost of cheap labor www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/07/08/2003368658/1 [accessed 28
December 2010] The trafficking
scene in Many foreigners
take up legal employment, but leave their jobs for various reasons, including
mistreatment by employers who ignore contracts and labor rights, the promise
of earning better wages, and trickery by criminal rings. As a result, many foreign workers end up in
deplorable and inhuman working conditions, of which forced prostitution is
perhaps the most widely known and condemned. But it would be
unfair to discuss trafficking without mentioning the disturbing context that
allows it to flourish. The tragic reality of poverty abroad, combined with
the vast market here for cheap labor and prostitution, is what drives human
trafficking. Each and everyone in a privileged land
who for his or her own comfort and economic benefit takes advantage of cheap
labor at the cost of human rights, contributes to the victimization of
workers not protected by the same rights we take for granted. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (German Press Agency) DPA, [accessed 29 August
2014] 16. According to
police, the ring arranged for the Indonesian women to come to Taiwan in arranged
marriages, but turned them into slaves after they had arrived on the
island. 'They would confiscate the
Indonesian women's passports and force them to work in factories, sometimes
for up to 18 hours a day, and hand over part of the salary to the human
traffickers,' Lai Ching- tzung, spokesman for the
Keelung Police Bureau, told reporters Luciana, one of the
victims, said she did not know it was a trick because she had a bona fide
wedding with her Taiwanese husband in The Plight Of
Vietnamese Women Nguoi Viet , Commentary, New news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=645a2f7fb0e2cede54e7d5eb73925ac6 [accessed
28 August 2011] www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/05/the-plight-of-vietnams-mail-order-brides/257814/ [accessed
26 February 2019] There are, at
present, around 200,000 Vietnamese women in Taiwan. Most of them are
17- and 18-year-old girls trying to escape poverty by agreeing to marry
Taiwanese men of various shapes and sizes. These grooms may be old and
crippled. Even when the girls’ families end up with only $500 most of
the brides said that they would still do it again despite their black years
in ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Taiwan U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/taiwan/
[accessed 28 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Forced labor
occurred primarily in sectors reliant on migrant workers including domestic
services, fishing, farming, manufacturing, meat processing, and construction.
Some labor brokers charged foreign workers exorbitant recruitment fees and
used debts incurred from these fees in the source country as tools of
coercion to subject the workers to debt bondage (see section 7.e.). Migrant fishermen
reported senior crewmembers employ coercive tactics such as threats of
physical violence, beatings, withholding of food and water, retention of
identity documents, wage deductions, and noncontractual
compulsory sharing of vessel operational costs to retain their labor. These
abuses were particularly prevalent in Taiwan’s large distant-waters fishing
fleet, which operated without adequate oversight (see section 7.e.). PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT County and city
labor bureaus effectively enforced minimum age laws by ensuring the
implementation of compulsory education. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/taiwan/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 7 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Over 600,000
foreign migrants work in Taiwan, with many employed as domestic workers and
fishermen who are not covered by the Labor Standards Act, excluding them from
minimum wage, overtime, and paid leave protections. Foreign migrant workers
are consequently at substantial risk of exploitation, as indicated by
widespread accounts of unpaid wages, poor working conditions, physical and
sexual abuse, and extortion and fraud by recruitment and brokerage agencies.
To address the problem, the legislature passed amendments to the Employment
Services Act in 2018, requiring employment agencies to swiftly report abuses
against migrant workers or face severe fines. Legislation to impose
stricter worker protections on fishing companies took effect in 2017.
However, labor advocates report poor implementation, citing ongoing
mistreatment and abuse of foreign fishermen on Taiwanese vessels. Officials crack
down on human trafficking ring Staff writer, with
Central News Agency CNA, Taipei Times, 10 Oct 2008 www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/10/2003425457 [accessed 28
December 2010] The National
Immigration Agency (NIA) recently cracked down on a Taiwanese human
trafficking ring that was smuggling children from In its
investigation, the agency discovered that the crime ring had bought the
identity of Taiwanese children from parents who were in financial difficulty. The parents sold
their children’s IDs for NT$90,000 each, the agency said. The investigators had discovered that the
crime ring employed the strategy seven times in the first half of this year,
smuggling 18 children to the Human trafficking
still a problem in Taiwan Staff writer, with
Central News Agency CNA, Taipei Times, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/03/13/2003405274 [accessed 28
December 2010] On human
trafficking, On abuse of foreign
workers, brokers and employers regularly impose high brokerage fees and other
charges on foreign workers, frequently using the debt as a tool for
involuntary servitude, the report said. Victims to get job
skills training Loa Iok-sin, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/12/08/2003391627 [accessed 28
December 2010] Zhang cited a case
she had worked on recently as an example.
"Six Vietnamese women came to Tonya Graham, Gender
Links Opinion and Commentary Service, 29 November 2007 www.genderlinks.org.za/article/human-trafficking-concern-for-2010-2007-11-29 [accessed 28
December 2010] www.pambazuka.org/human-security/human-trafficking-concern-2010 [accessed 28
December 2010] Human trafficking
is a pervasive global problem, and strong laws are vital to preventing and
prosecuting it, as well as caring for survivors. Take the case of Mary Jiang*
who left her home in Bill to combat
human trafficking Staff writer, with
Central News Agency CNA, Taipei Times, 22 Jul 2007 www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/07/22/2003370735 [accessed 28
December 2010] NEW APPROACH - To stop the sale
of human beings, academics said that criminal law is important but not
enough. Rescuing victims must also be part of the plan. Holiday project
focuses on sex crimes, trafficking Loa Iok-sin, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/07/12/2003369175 [accessed 28
December 2010] Sun, who is one of
these prosecutors, spoke about two cases that she has worked on. In one case, a young woman from Human trafficking
likely to worsen, experts claim Max Hirsch, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/04/13/2003356410/1 [accessed 28
December 2010] But the charities
helping exploited foreign laborers and prostitutes say that treating
trafficked foreigners with care is exactly what Le My-nga, policy and planning director at the Vietnamese
Migrant Workers and Brides Office in "They're still
in damage control mode," she said, referring to the attitude of
immigration officials since 2005, when the Trafficking victims
detained for protection The www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/taiwan/2007324/105390.htm [accessed 28
December 2010] Police rescued 35
Indonesian girls, who were arranged by the human smuggling ring to work in
small restaurants and as caregivers for families who could not hire legal
foreign caregivers. The girls said
that they had to work 18 hours a day with no days off, and said that they
were beaten when they did not obey orders from the ring leaders. Group urges aid for
trafficking victims Loa Iok-sin, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/03/02/2003350636 [accessed 28
December 2010] Some labor
trafficking victims enter Public awareness of
rise in human trafficking is low Loa Iok-sin, www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/01/23/2003345956 [accessed 28
December 2010] Human-rights
activist Reverend Peter Nguyen Van Hung, a 48-year-old priest, told the
stories of some of the victims that he had worked with. There was the case
of a 19-year-old Vietnamese man who signed a contract to work in Tai-wan as a
caretaker and promised to pay US$5,000 to the broker. After arriving in Another girl
approached Nguyen once, telling him that her employer had raped her
repeatedly. When Nguyen offered her
help, she turned it down because she was afraid of retaliation from her
employer. "She went back, knowing
she would be raped again that night," Nguyen said. Nguyen has run a
human trafficking victim shelter in Taiwan's human
trafficking issue Editorial by Sandy Yeh, President of the www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/11/26/2003337971/1 [accessed 28
December 2010] Police in Taoyuan
recently announced they had busted a smuggling ring run by a former national
taekwondo athlete who had brought young women into Some victims are
forced to become sex workers without receiving any compensation. Instead they
must deal with strict supervision and the threat of violence. Foreign
laborers are conscripted into long-term commitments, swapped between
employers without warning, never receive any pay and are always at risk of
being turned into sex workers At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] For
example, the number of women from Southeast Asian, especially Vietnam and
Cambodia, who are brought to Taiwan as "brides" but rapidly forced
into prostitution shortly after "marriage" has surged sharply in
the past two years. In addition, many
women from the PRC are smuggled into Stopping an
'Epidemic' -- Vietnamese Priest Reaches Out to Sex Trafficking Victims Pacific
News Service, by the Rev. Nguyen Van Hung, as told to Andrew Lam, Posted: Aug
02, 2005 news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=2d5ce7724e7cbe84db0c10e07c85f3a4 [accessed
26 August 2011] www.vietamericanvets.com/Page-Diaspora-StoppingAnEpidemic.htm [accessed
19 February 2018] Vietnam
signed a labor treaty with Taiwan in 1999, and that opened up a new route for
desperate Vietnamese looking for work. But it also exacerbated the
exploitation problem. Currently we are providing shelter for overseas female
workers from NGOs key players in
stamping out trafficking At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] Taiwan has the dubious distinction of being a major importer of
women for sexual exploitation, with a recently released report by the U.S.
Department of State downgrading Taiwan from "tier one" to
"tier two," signaling that the island has not even met the lowest
requirements for protecting victims of trafficking. 2005 World of
Children Awards Winners Announced World of Children,
Nov 10, 2005 yubanet.com/life/2005_World_of_Children_Awards_Winners_Announced_27611_printer.php [accessed 21 June
2113] www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2005-world-of-children-awards-winners-announced-55529282.html [accessed 5 October
2016] www.finanzen.ch/nachrichten/aktien/2005-world-of-children-awards-winners-announced-162430 [accessed 26
February 2019] Hui-jung Chi of Taiwan, China, received the $100,000
Kellogg's Child Development Award for her lifetime contributions toward
helping children learn and grow. Chi, a former journalist, has worked
tirelessly for the past 13 years as a child advocate and devotee to social reform
in Taiwan. Boldly addressing issues such as child prostitution, domestic
violence and sexual abuse, Chi's voice has compelled the government of Taiwan
to take action. As a result, the anti child-prostitution
law was passed, helping keep an estimated 13,000 children out of the sex
industry since 1992. Chi also initiated the revitalization of the Garden of
Hope Foundation in 1992, transforming one shelter into a network of
counseling centers, short-term emergency shelters, and long-term halfway
houses that provide outreach and job programs, and advocacy services. Chi's
work has directly benefited the lives of 100,000 children in Taiwan and has
spread to New York City where a Garden of Hope has been established. Online auctions the
new frontier for human trafficking Radio www.ncvaonline.org/D_1-5_2-113_4-186_15-2_5-15_6-1_17-67_14-2/ [accessed 28 August
2011] www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/444528 [accessed 19
February 2018] It's been billed as
the world's biggest marketplace...eBay, where if you're on-line, all you need
is a credit-card and you can buy almost anything. But there are questions now
about the merits of trading this way....after eBay was forced to halt an
auction and pull details from its site, when it emerged that the goods for
sale were in fact alive and human. Rights Group Sues E-Bay, Taipei Chef over
Vietnamese Women Radio Free At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] A In The Press --
Crime/Organized Crime Agence At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12
September 2011] [scroll down to
AUGUST 27, 2004 - TAIWAN CAPTAIN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR PUSHING CHINESE
WOMEN OFF BOAT
- Taiwan's supreme court upheld a death sentence for Wang Chung-hsiung, the boat captain convicted of drowning six
mainland Chinese women. Wang and Ko
Ching-sung, a crew member, pushed the women into the sea in August 2003 when
their smuggling boat was spotted by a Potential for
Trafficking by Marriage Brokers Called Serious iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2004/07/200407141701572xrnus0.088772.html#axzz3BnNYBYXY [accessed 29 August
2014] CORRUPTION AS A
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
- NGOs and other sources provide anecdotal evidence of this connection.
Recent reports reveal trafficking of women from Precursors and
pathways to adolescent prostitution in Taiwan Shu-Ling Hwang &
Olwen Bedford, Journal of Sex Research, Vol 40, No 2 (May, 2003) pp 201-210 [accessed 4
September 2012] Indentured juvenile
prostitution is a cultural legacy for Taiwanese lower-class families dating
back to early immigrants from Dossier childhood
and preadolescence's condition - CHAPTER 2 - the difficulties and the abuse Rai Social Action
Department, 2002 www.segretariatosociale.rai.it/INGLESE/atelier/studi_ricerche/dossier_inf_2002/inf_cap2_2002.html [accessed 28
December 2010] POINT 12 - ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/taiwan/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 7 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Over 600,000
foreign migrants work in Taiwan, with a substantial number working as
domestic helpers and fishermen; most come from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand,
and the Philippines. Foreign domestic workers and fishermen are not covered
by Taiwan’s Labour Standards Act, meaning they are
excluded from its minimum wage, overtime, and paid leave protections. As a
result, foreign workers in these and other fields are at substantial risk of
exploitation, with widespread accounts of unpaid wages, poor working
conditions, and physical and sexual abuse, as well as extortion and fraud at
the hands of recruitment and brokerage agencies. A 2016 law eliminated a
requirement that foreign workers leave the country between employment
contracts, and in September 2017 the government announced draft amendments to
the Employment Services Act that would help combat employer abuses against
migrant workers. Legislation adopted
in 2016 to establish stricter rules and stronger punishments regarding worker
exploitation by Taiwanese fishing companies took effect in early 2017.
However, labor advocates and international monitors have accused government
agencies of poor implementation, citing ongoing mistreatment and abuse of
foreign fishermen on Taiwanese vessels. The government has said that it
remains committed to addressing the situation. In September, for instance,
officials filed charges against 19 people for human trafficking and
deprivations of personal liberty involving the alleged abuse of 81 foreign
fishermen. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61606.htm [accessed 11
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– NGOs reported that fraudulent marriages were
increasingly used as a vehicle for human trafficking, in part because the
penalties for the fake husbands were lenient. Foreign brides, mainly from the
PRC, but also increasing numbers of women from Labor
trafficking was a problem. NGOs reported that families hired female foreign
workers to care for elderly persons (for which the government provides
subsidies to families) but that when the workers arrived they were forced to
do other tasks, including: childcare, working in family shops or businesses,
cleaning houses, and helping other family members with domestic work. In other
cases, foreign laborers were hired overseas as domestic workers but then sent
to work in factories when they arrived and paid only a fraction of the local
prevailing wage. Penalties for such violations were light. In one case, an
inspector discovered a domestic caretaker was working in the employer's flour
factory. The inspector returned the foreign worker to the employer's family
and fined the employer $1 thousand (NT$30 thousand). The employer was allowed
to continue using the foreign worker as a housekeeper. Labor authorities
remove an employer's right to hire domestic caretakers only after a third
offense. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
||||||||||||
