TAIWAN TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CONFERENCE:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 004796

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV TW TIP
SUBJECT: TAIWAN TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CONFERENCE:
PRODUCTIVE TALK, HOPE FOR MORE ACTION


1. Summary: Taiwan recently hosted an international
conference on combating human trafficking which included
representatives from law enforcement, government, NGOs, and
academia. Taiwan, downgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in the
Department's 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report,
indicated that human trafficking is a relatively new yet
increasingly critical problem, and acknowledged that more
must be achieved, particularly with regard to implementing
legislation. Local participants in the U.S.
government-funded conference were appreciative of the
opportunity to discuss issues with their international
counterparts, and several emphasized that the unique
cross-Strait situation has complicated Taiwan's efforts to
eliminate trafficking of persons into Taiwan. End Summary.

Overview
--------------

2. On November 28-30, 2005, Taiwan NGO Garden of Hope
Foundation and Washington, D.C.-based NGO Vital Voices Global
Partnership hosted an international conference on "Strategies
for Combating Human Trafficking from Southeast Asia to
Taiwan." More than 100 people from Taiwan, the U.S.,
Australia and Southeast Asian countries attended the
AIT-funded conference and participated in workshops on
distinguishing and assisting trafficked victims, increasing
public awareness, and legal approaches to anti-trafficking.
Following are highlights of the conference.

AIT Welcoming Remarks
--------------


3. AIT Deputy Director laid out U.S. concerns to conference
participants in his welcoming remarks, noting the 2000 U.S.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Bush
administration's continued efforts to strengthen U.S.
anti-trafficking activities and legislation. He noted that
the Department's TIP Report has been a major channel through
which the U.S. has been able carry on useful dialogues with
countries around the world and has been the impetus for
serious action by the U.S. and other countries. He praised
Taiwan's progress and efforts in combating human trafficking,
particularly in intercepting criminal syndicates responsible
for trafficking from Mainland China, Thailand, Cambodia, and
Vietnam. Finally, the Deputy Director urged Taiwan to do
more by instituting a comprehensive trafficking law to ensure
greater preventive measures and victim protection, and he
reiterated the U.S. commitment to working with Taiwan on this
very serious issue.

Keynote Speech by Vice President Lu
--------------


4. In her keynote address, Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu
stated that human trafficking has become an increasingly
important problem in Taiwan, largely because of frequent
exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and loopholes in the
regulation of these exchanges which human traffickers
exploit. She cited Interior Ministry statistics reporting
over 8,000 arrests of illegal immigrants between 2001 and

2004. Some 5,000 of these were women, 44 percent of whom
were involved in the sex trade. Vice President Lu called for
greater efforts and cooperation to solve the problem of human
trafficking in the region.

Human Trafficking from Mainland China to Taiwan
-------------- --


5. Noting that the U.S. 2005 TIP report had downgraded
Taiwan from Tier 1 to Tier 2, Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council
Chairman Joseph Wu acknowledged that trafficking victims in
Taiwan do not have adequate protection. Wu, however, argued
that the 2005 TIP report failed to take into account national
differences, pointing out that many smaller countries, such
as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, are in Tier 2, while larger
countries like Canada and Australia are in Tier 1. Wu stated
that he thinks U.S. standards for the report are too high and
do not take into consideration the unique cross-straits
situation. Mainland China, he explained, has refused to work
with Taiwan on the human trafficking issue even though China
has cooperated with other countries on this issue. Taiwan,
thus, is itself "a victim of Mainland China," Wu argued. He
acknowledged that greater inter-agency cooperation is needed
in Taiwan, but pointed out that although Taiwan has no formal
anti-human trafficking laws yet, penalties for
trafficking-related activities have been increased.
Regarding the repatriation issue, Wu indicated that although
Taiwan signed the Jinmen Accords with Mainland China, China
has not been accepting victims back as had been agreed.
Taiwan, therefore, has been "stuck" because of Mainland
China's unwillingness to cooperate or negotiate.

Policy and Law in Countering Human Trafficking
-------------- -


6. G/TIP Senior Coordinator Mark Taylor discussed the
problems of defining trafficking in persons and the forms of
trafficking in Asia. He stressed that the definition of
trafficking does not depend on movement across borders since
many victims are exploited within their own home country.
Taylor indicated that Asia is the leading source of victims
brought to the U.S., particular with regards to forced labor
activity. He also discussed the issue of invisible coercion
and stressed the need for laws to address these subtle forms
of coercion.


7. Legislative Yuan (LY) member Bikhim Hsiao spoke at length
about her efforts to pass legislation to counter human
trafficking. She noted that the August 21 Thailand worker
revolt in Kaohsiung had forced the Taiwan authorities to
focus on foreign guest worker issues and brought about
modifications in Taiwan's immigration law. While the Thai
workers had garnered a lot of public sympathy, she noted, PRC
victims do not garner the same reaction due to Taiwan's
complicated and political relationship with the Mainland.
Hsiao described China's relationship with Taiwan as "hostile"
and lamented that Taiwan has no access to the Chinese legal
system, and no direct communication with the mainland that
could facilitate repatriating victims in a more timely
fashion. Beijing, she insinuated, is not in a hurry to
welcome its victims home from Taiwan. Legislator Hsiao also
mentioned Taiwan's isolation from the greater international
community, noting that Taiwan had been omitted from the 2000
UN Protocol on Human Trafficking. She expressed appreciation
to the U.S. for passing relevant information gathered at
international conferences to Taiwan and stressed that the
present conference was very important since it was being held
in Taiwan.


8. Regarding legislation, Legislator Hsiao said that in
terms of the "3 Ps" ( prosecution, protection and
prevention),prosecution is currently a lower priority in
Taiwan since it already has heavy penalties for sex crimes
against minors and servitude. She noted that she is
currently working on protection and has proposed an amendment
to Taiwan's Immigration Law. Prevention, Hsiao explained, is
a major challenge for Taiwan since it involves an
international cooperation and the majority of victims come
from the PRC. She noted that due to Taiwan's Special Laws,
victims from Mainland China encounter special "citizenship"
problems, since a mainland Chinese is treated somewhere
between a citizen and a foreigner. Hsiao said that although
there are 3 proposals currently under discussion on this
topic, there is no agreement with local NGOs on what an
anti-human trafficking bill should incorporate. Due to LY
"inefficiency and gridlock", she explained, an
anti-trafficking bill would be difficult to get passed.
Hsiao told the conference that she feels "alone" in the LY,
where human trafficking is not a top priority. Noting that
usually she does not appreciate "foreign pressure" on Taiwan,
Hsiao said in the area of human trafficking it is helpful,
and emphasized her pride that Taiwan has been responsive.

Identification of Probable Human Trafficking Victims
-------------- --------------


9. Explaining that most trafficking victims in Taiwan come
from the PRC, Taiwan National Police Administration
Director-General Hsieh Ing-dan outlined areas where Taiwan
needs to improve, including: strengthening government
relations with NGOs, providing humanitarian assistance to
victims, collaborating more closely with Southeast Asian
neighbors, improving local shelters by adding counseling and
recreational facilities, and improving differentiation
between victims and culprits. Hsieh indicated that Taiwan
has been strict regarding immigration laws but will focus on
the investigation phase of human trafficking cases and try to
obtain clearer details of the chain of events.

Comment
--------------

10. Conference participants agreed that human trafficking is
a global issue requiring NGO and local government cooperation
within Taiwan and within the Southeast Asia region. Taiwan
appears to be working to come to grips with its human
trafficking problem as both a source country and a receiving
country, particularly in terms of PRC victims. Local
authorities admitted that Taiwan is in need of concrete
anti-trafficking legislation. Local authorities and NGOs
both agreed that they should cooperate more closely,
particular on identifying victims. Local and international
NGO attendees, aware of and sensitive to the cross-Strait
issues, expressed their hope that the Taiwan authorities will
focus on short-term actions that will help address this
growing problem, including setting up an inter-ministerial
Anti-Human Trafficking Committee, and strengthening and
enforcing existing laws.
KEEGAN