Taiwan remains a destination for the smuggling of women and children for prostitution or forced labor from several Asian countries, despite robust efforts by Taiwanese authorities to prevent the practices and prosecute traffickers, a US State Department report released on Monday said.
Last year, traffickers managed to smuggle women and children to Taiwan from China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia and Malaysia, said the report, which details trafficking trends in 140 countries.
"Some women are lured to Taiwan by fraudulent offers of employment or marriage to a Taiwanese man," the report said. They are then forced into the sex trade or into forced commercial or domestic labor.
Taiwan was also cited as a transit point for illegal immigrants to the US, mainly from China, while women from Taiwan were also being smuggled into Japan, the annual report said. In addition, some Taiwanese women had been smuggled into Indonesia, and the report noted one case in which Paraguayan police in February arrested two Taiwanese traffickers operating on the border of Argentina and Brazil.
While the department did not give overall figures, it cited statistics from Taiwan's government which listed 195 trafficking-related arrests and 32 convictions last year.
"Taiwan authorities are concerned about the growing number of Vietnamese women lured to Taiwan as brides and then forced into prostitution," the department says, noting that the government has issued stricter regulations in a bid to cut the number of fraudulent marriages between Taiwanese and foreigners.
But Taiwan's authorities "fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking," the State Department survey said.
"Taiwan has made concerted efforts to prevent the exploitation of minors and to investigate trafficking cases. The government supports prevention programs, has comprehensive laws that criminalize trafficking, and provides access to protective services for trafficking victims," it said.
With regard to efforts at prevention, the department praised Taiwan for "its robust support of NGO [non-governmental organizations] trafficking prevention programs. Authorities in Taiwan have provided funding for public awareness programs targeting minors.
"Taiwan officials have also raised public awareness of the danger of pornography, and the use of the Internet to lure children into the sex trade. Tourism officials in Taiwan collaborate with NGOs, hotels and travel agents to discourage sex tourism," the report said.
The State Department also cited efforts by Taiwan to protect and treat victims of the smuggling trade, including local centers that provide services such as temporary shelter, medical assistance and counseling before they are repatriated.
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