Following President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) criticism of Beijing about the flood of illegal immigrants to Taiwan, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday severely condemned the Taiwanese human traffickers for their abuse of the smuggled Chinese women to make money.
Speaking at a conference for spas yesterday, Lu called the smugglers "the shame of mankind."
"One should act in a humane manner, instead of trying to destroy oneself or others. To do otherwise would be the greatest crime," Lu said.
"Decent men should start a self-awakening movement and refuse to fall, while decent women should help other women to raise themselves up and prevent their exploitation," she said.
Lu expressed her condolences to the families of the six illegals who were pushed into the sea on Tuesday. She also expressed concern for the women who came to Taiwan in an attempt to make a better life for their families, only to be controlled by the smugglers.
The vice president suggested that everybody attending the conference should follow the "4H-principle," which stands for health, happiness, hope and help.
"I hope this industry can help people maintain health, happiness and hope, and also do the same thing for the rest of society. Everyone should exercise their sympathy, help others and demonstrate the goodness of humanity."
Lu requested that the Presidential Office's human rights taskforce discuss how mechanisms can be created to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.
In other news, Chai Sung-lin (
Chai, who is also a national policy advisor to the president, was speaking at a public hearing titled yesterday.
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