Human trafficking is on the rise in Taiwan, but public awareness of the issue is sadly lacking, a conference on combating human trafficking held in Taipei said yesterday.
Taiwan was placed on the "Tier 2 Watch List" in the US Department of State's 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report for "failure to show evidence of increasing efforts over the past year to address trafficking."
Human trafficking was defined by featured guest speaker Florrie Burke as a "crime or violation against a person," that "contains element of coercion" and leads to "subsequent exploitation or forced labor."
Burke is a senior director at Safe Horizon, a crime and abuse victim support group in New York.
Human-rights activist Reverend Peter Nguyen Van Hung, a 48-year-old priest, told the stories of some of the victims that he had worked with.
There was the case of a 19-year-old Vietnamese man who signed a contract to work in Tai-wan as a caretaker and promised to pay US$5,000 to the broker.
After arriving in Taiwan, however, the Vietnamese man was sent to work in a factory. The broker took his salary each month as payment for his debt. Seven months later, the Vietnamese died in an accident.
"He didn't even get a cent [from his salary]," Nguyen said.
Another girl approached Nguyen once, telling him that her employer had raped her repeatedly.
When Nguyen offered her help, she turned it down because she was afraid of retaliation from her employer.
"She went back, knowing she would be raped again that night," Nguyen said.
Nguyen has run a human trafficking victim shelter in Taoyuan County since 2004. Among the 80,000 Vietnamese migrant workers and 100,000 Vietnamese brides in Taiwan, an average of 8 to 10 of them went to Nguyen for help every month last year.
Participants at the conference sponsored by the Ministry of the Interior emphasized the need for social workers to help the victims.
"Victims deserved to be treated with dignity. They're not criminals," Nguyen said, referring to the fact that most victims are treated like criminals and with prejudice, as there is no law that clearly defines human trafficking in Taiwan.
Burke urged social workers to "be flexible" and "be willing to work in different ways," as international human trafficking usually involves people with different backgrounds.
The forum also discussed problems with work permits in Taiwan.
Most of the victims of human trafficking were people who needed a source of income, Burke said, adding that they would cooperate better if social workers or law enforcement agencies were willing to pursue traffickers.
Nguyen also raised the issue of how current laws in the nation prohibit victims from working while they wait through the long investigation and legal processing of their cases.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
DEFENDING FREEDOM: Taiwanese love peace and helping others, and hope to be a positive force in the world, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told ‘Weltspiegel’ Taiwan is making every effort to prevent war in the face of China’s hybrid coercion tactics and military threats, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD’s program Weltspiegel that aired on Monday. Taiwan is not seeking provocation or intending to disrupt international order, but “must possess the capacity for self-defense,” a news release issued by the Presidential Office yesterday quoted her as saying. Taiwan is closely watching not only the increasing scope and frequency of Chinese military exercises around the nation, but also Beijing’s hybrid and cognitive warfare tactics, including manipulating public opinion, fostering
RSS