US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized the catch of a Taiwanese fishing vessel that was flying a “flag of convenience” and using forced labor, the agency said on Friday.
The CBP said in a statement that the Vanuatu-flagged vessel Da Wang (大旺) is owned and operated by the Taiwanese firm Yong Feng Fishery.
The company is one of two recently found by the CBP suspected of using forced labor. The other is a Malaysian company, Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (Sime Darby), whose palm oil and related merchandise was also seized.
“CBP’s investigations found evidence of all 11 of the International Labour Organization’s forced labor indicators on the Da Wang vessel and Sime Darby Plantation’s palm oil plantations,” the statement said.
“CBP determined that Sime Darby and [Yong Feng] use forced labor in their operations, and that both companies’ goods are being, or are likely to be, imported into the United States,” the CBP said.
The CBP in July 2020 issued a Withhold Release Order against seafood caught with what it said was reasonable suspicion of forced labor, physical violence, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and abusive living conditions on the Da Wang.
A Greenpeace Southeast Asia report titled Seabound: The Journey to Modern Slavery on the High Seas in May last year said that the Da Wang was involved in forced labor.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) also said that a migrant worker on the Da Wang was a victim of a human trafficking scheme.
The Control Yuan in May called on the Cabinet and several government agencies, including the NIA, Ocean Affairs Council and the Fisheries Agency, to address human rights abuses on Taiwanese fishing vessels flying flags of convenience.
Flying such flags is a common practice in which merchant ship owners register their vessels in a country other than their own to reduce costs, avoid taxes and bypass legal requirements that protect the wages and working conditions of their crews.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS