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Politics as a human meat market

When Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) inspected the Chinglu Detention Center for illegal Chinese immigrants in Hsinchu on June 15, he called on China to improve its efforts to halt the flood of illegal immigrants and for the two sides to sign an agreement dealing with their return to China, in an attempt at eliminating the problem once and for all. Wu correctly pointed out that the problem cannot be resolved by Taiwan alone.

This is yet another sign of goodwill on Taiwan's part, yet a solution relies not only on political forces on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also on social forces.

Is is absolutely not a matter of what President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has called "the Chinese people voting with their feet." Rather, it is a problem of a black market and people-smuggling. It is based on an inhumane and immoral underground economy. Whether they come here of their own free will or because they have been cheated or kidnapped, the female illegal immigrants, mainly involved in Taiwan's sex industry, are being exploited.

Whether they come here of their own accord and the question of rights for sex workers are issues which simply do not arise, because this is not a free market, but a brutally controlled human meat market. Approximately 2,000 illegal immigrants are caught every year, but the actual number of people who are brought here illegally is much higher.

The existence of such a market shames both the Taiwanese and Chinese societies. Taiwan creates the demand, and China meets it. The underworld and corrupt forces in civil society in China and Taiwan run this market together. For political reasons, China's passivity in bringing these illegal immigrants home reveals the government's attitude toward its own people.

And what about Taiwan? As people are continually exposed to news reports about illegal immigrants being mistreated by boat crews and police using prostitutes to make an extra dollar, public curiosity in these Chinese women gradually abates and people begin to ignore the issue, telling themselves that these women belong to another, underground society, totally unrelated to their own lives.

China's reluctance to have these people returned adds to the misfortunes of the 1,000 to 2,000 people in Taiwanese detention centers. But shouldn't Taiwanese society also take the initiative to eliminate this inhumane market? The theory of supply and demand can only explain existing phenomena, but progressive social forces can actively change phenomena.

Tolerating the existence of such an exploitative, inhumane market further erodes the benevolent foundations of Taiwanese society. Maybe the human meat market will not enter your community, work place or social circles, but it exists in Taiwan, and it is expanding.

Not only does the political tension between China and Taiwan allow the two sides to ignore the responsibility of finding solutions to jointly created social problems, it has also become the force underlying the emergence of new problems. China allows Taiwanese gangsters to settle down in China, and during the recent presidential election, they were even allowed to organize. China's behavior will not only cost Taiwan and the cross-strait relationship dearly. These criminal forces will also erode Chinese society, leading to worsening bureaucratic rule and abuse of the public. Would a rational and responsible government try to destroy an opponent at the cost of throwing its own people into crisis?

Civil society on either side of the Taiwan Strait may have different views on the unification-independence issue, but based on a common belief in progress and a humane society, they should solve issues harmful to both societies together and share their common social values.

The exploitative human meat market and domineering criminal gangs should not be allowed, and the arms race's guarantee of mutual destruction is a price that must be paid by several generations of people. Progressive forces in both societies must take the initiative to suppress evil and create good conditions.

If they don't, a price will have to be paid by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Although the two sides have different political ideals, they should share the dream of progress.

Ku Er-teh is a freelance writer.

Translated by Perry Svensson
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