The US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report placed Taiwan on Tier 1 in this year’s publication, which shows that the National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) strategy to curb human trafficking works, the agency said.
This is the seventh consecutive year that Taiwan has been placed on Tier 1 in the three-tier system. Tier 1 indicates the highest performance, it said.
However, although Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country has no human trafficking. A Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking and has made efforts to address the problem.
The report, released on Thursday, said the international community is concerned about Taiwan’s long-haul fishing expeditions that might exploit foreign fishermen, as well as forced labor for home caregivers, domestic workers and migrants working in the manufacturing sector, the agency said.
Each year, governments need to demonstrate appreciable progress in combating trafficking to maintain a Tier 1 ranking.
The agency said that Taiwan has practiced the “4-P strategies” — prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership — in conducting cross-border cooperation and cracking down on human trafficking.
Taiwanese authorities “fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” the report said.
The agency operates three shelters dedicated to victims of trafficking, and the Ministry of Labor subsidizes an additional 20 shelters and a 24-hour hotline that they can access, the report said.
Authorities also sustained efforts to prevent trafficking through numerous awareness campaigns, workshops and conferences, it said.
Taiwan’s Human Trafficking Prevention and Control Act (人口販運防制法) prohibits sex and labor trafficking, and prescribes penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent, the report said.
The agency said it would continue to maintain relationships with civic groups and international organizations for cooperation and experience sharing, increasing protection for victims and rooting out human traffickers.
China was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, meaning that the country deserves special scrutiny, while countries placed on Tier 3 fail to fully comply with the minimum US standards and are not making significant efforts to do so, the report said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
RSS