The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday issued a statement warning about employment scams in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries, saying that more than 40 cases had been reported since February.
Taiwanese responding to job ads promising high salaries had been held against their will by employers after arriving, and forced to engage in telephone fraud or other illegal activities, the ministry said. Some were reportedly beaten or forced to pay exorbitant sums of money before they could leave.
The ministry issued a similar warning on Jan. 25, and that more than 40 cases have occurred since then shows that young people have not gotten the message or are not heeding the ministry’s advice. The issue is of serious concern, as large numbers of Taiwanese being held captive in a foreign country — especially one in which Taiwan has no representative office — could turn into a diplomatic crisis.
The government should investigate what drives Taiwanese to respond to such ads, and devise ways to help them meet their needs. It is unclear whether the victims knew that they would be engaging in illegal activities, but numerous reports of Taiwanese being deported to China from Southeast Asian countries and elsewhere in the past few years should have provided some indication of what such work involved. Promises of highly paid, unskilled employment in a foreign country, in jobs that require no knowledge of English or the local language, should be alarming.
Taiwanese are not the only targets of such fraudulent activity. Reuters in September last year reported that foreigners in Cambodia were being targeted on social media for jobs that turned out to involve investment fraud, and that victims from Asia and Africa responding to such ads were being trafficked and abused by Chinese captors.
The government must communicate to young Taiwanese the risks of responding to such employment ads. This could be done through posting its own notices on social media platforms, or through information campaigns on school campuses or at airports where Taiwanese bound for high-risk countries would receive information before their departure.
Those motivated by promises of high salaries should be informed of how unrealistic such promises are. For those simply interested in experience working abroad, the ministry should let them know about safe, legitimate options. Taiwan has working-holiday agreements with 17 countries, including Japan and South Korea. For those worried about language requirements, the government could offer free or subsidized language courses. The ministry could also cooperate with its overseas representative offices to help Taiwanese find legitimate employment, accommodations and language classes on working holidays.
Taiwanese who accept illegal work in foreign countries should understand that deportation to China is among the worst outcomes. They would have no access to a fair trial, and could be imprisoned in inhumane conditions with no way to communicate with friends and family in Taiwan. Such a scenario would not only be traumatizing, but would also be a political headache for Taipei, which would find itself locked in a losing battle to get access to its nationals.
The Ministry of Labor on Tuesday said it expects demand for workers to grow by 87,000 during the summer, with most new jobs being in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail sectors. The government should ensure that those seeking work overseas in high-risk countries have first considered work opportunities at home. It could take stock of openings and help connect those seeking work with employers, even offering to subsidize training if necessary.
Working in a dangerous environment where there is a risk of being held captive and abused should never be considered an option for young people seeking employment. The government must tackle this problem before it grows.
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