The US Department of State on Thursday listed Taiwan in tier 1 in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report for the 11th year in a row. Taiwan’s consistently high ranking in the report demonstrates that the nation’s authorities take trafficking seriously and have been effective in combating it.
However, major trafficking-related arrests occur annually, meaning that preventive measures must be improved. Perhaps punishments are too lenient or perpetrators feel that the financial rewards from their actions outweigh the risks. It could also be that victims are unaware of the danger when, for example, they approach recruiters in their home country as they seek to travel for work or study.
Ringleaders of an illegal operation arrested in Taipei in November last year had allegedly forced 11 Vietnamese women into prostitution by seizing their passports and threatening them. They were charged with contraventions of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例), which stipulates a minimum three-year prison term.
However, in a separate case in January last year, a suspect — whose cellphone allegedly contained explicit photographs of women he allegedly exploited — was charged with breaches of the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法), neither of which stipulate mandatory imprisonment, except in cases of organ harvesting.
There should be mandatory imprisonment in all cases of human trafficking, as it strips people of their liberty, subjecting them to physical and emotional abuse, and permanent psychological trauma.
The US report recommended that Taiwan improve systems for reporting trafficking, step up inspections and improve cooperation with victims’ home countries.
In the majority of sex trade cases investigated in Taiwan, the people who have been exploited are from Vietnam or Thailand, while those caught up in forced labor and abuse at sea are largely from Indonesia, as are prospective students who are forced into labor in Taiwanese factories.
A major trafficking case involving 152 Vietnamese nationals who went missing in December 2018 after arriving on tourist visas was cracked the following month through cooperation with Vietnamese officials and Taiwanese diplomats in Vietnam. This demonstrates that international cooperation can be effective in tackling trafficking cases.
However, rather than cooperating on a case-by-case basis, the government should establish a permanent network of countries in the region. This is especially important given that Taiwan is not a member of Interpol. Moreover, such a network would be in the interest of all governments in the region, not just Taipei.
Along with increasing punishments, the government should close loopholes, for example by outlawing the use of migrant labor on fishing vessels — or bolstering the approval process by improving vetting of people from high-risk countries who arrive on tourist visas — and by outlawing recruitment for educational institutions through private agencies.
The government should also ensure that victims of trafficking or sexual exploitation are given support and assistance, and that they are not penalized. Foreign nationals arrested for sex work are usually deported, and Taiwanese women arrested for sex work are usually charged under the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法). This further victimizes them. Instead, the government should help sex workers transition through counseling, housing assistance and job training, and in the case of foreign nations, help with residency applications if desired.
Successes in combating trafficking should be applauded, but more could be done on prevention and to help those affected. If foreign nationals have suffered at the hands of Taiwanese traffickers, the government should make reparations by helping them transition into Taiwanese society, should they wish to do so.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath