Labor protection should be extended to the 170,000 foreign caregivers and the unknown number of domestic workers in Taiwan to prevent the problem of human trafficking, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, head of the US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said yesterday.
“These workers are among the most vulnerable in Taiwan society, toiling long hours without basic labor protection as simple as a minimum wage or a mandatory day off each week,” CdeBaca said.
The situations that confront these workers and force them into social isolation or to run away from their employers, thus losing their legal status, makes them even more vulnerable to the predation of human traffickers, he said.
CdeBaca met the press before wrapping up his four-day visit to Taiwan, which is part of his fact-finding trip to Asia that also included stops in China, Malaysia and Singapore.
When asked which urgent policies Taiwan should implement to address human trafficking, -CdeBaca pointed to the fact that caregivers and housekeepers remain outside the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
In addition to extending legal protections to these foreign workers, CdeBaca said it was also necessary to prosecute employers who abuse domestic employees.
“When somebody deprives another person of their freedom by treating them like a slave, that boss should lose their freedom. So we call upon Taiwanese officials to continue to intensify their -prosecution efforts so that the people who enslave another will face the prison time they deserve,” he said.
Taiwan obtained the highest possible ranking in the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 published in June.
CdeBaca said Taiwan earned this ranking in recognition of its commitment to improving anti--trafficking in a number of areas, adding that the US sought to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan and other countries in fighting the crime.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be