Police have done a commendable job over the past few months cracking down on human smuggling rings, Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
Lee said that law enforcement agencies, including the National Police Agency, have cracked 80 human trafficking cases involving 626 "snakeheads" or smugglers, ring operators and illegal brokers in the first five months of this year.
This represented a 16-fold rise over the figure posted for the same period last year, Lee said.
In a written statement, Lee said that the Ministry of the Interior has coordinated efforts among the local governments of 24 cities and counties around the country to crack down on human trafficking.
So far, 11 foreigners who were victims of human trafficking have been given temporary accommodation in shelters operated by private organizations, with the assistance of local governments, Lee said.
He added that a total of 1,585 foreign workers -- victims of illegal labor brokers -- have been put up at 13 foreign workers' halfway homes across the nation.
Lee said the ministry has overseen the implementation of 52 measures to prevent human trafficking, track down traffickers and protect victims since Nov. 8 last year, when the administration announced a supra-ministerial anti-human trafficking plan.
He added that the US State Department's global human trafficking report in January confirmed that Taiwanese authorities had made some progress in efforts to address the problem.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS