PART ONE - 2008 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TAIPEI 000401 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/RSP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TW SUBJECT: PART ONE - 2008 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN REF: STATE 2731 ¶1. (SBU) This is part one of AIT/T's three-part 2007-8 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The report is presented according to reftel sections, beginning with paragraph 27 A. Part one contains Paragraphs 27 A-B. Paragraphs 27 A through 29 D are contained in part two. Paragraphs 29 E through 30 I are contained in part three. Overview -------------- 27 A. Overview of Taiwan's Activities to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons Taiwan is a source country for a limited number of women trafficked to Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. According to the International Criminal Affairs Division of the National Police Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), local "employment agencies" place newspaper advertisements seeking women willing to work overseas as "public relations" personnel. According to CIB, many if not all applicants understand this job description to be a euphemism for prostitution. The "employment agencies" are front companies for small-scale brokerage operations, some with connections to criminal groups in the destination countries. Applicants are required to pay a small fee, usually less than US$750, for the broker's help in obtaining a visa and making travel and employment arrangements. Most applicants prefer to go to Japan because Taiwan citizens do not need visas to enter Japan and brokerage fees are therefore lower. Brokers charge higher service fees to send women to Australia, the U.K., or the United States, where some form of visa is required. Prostitution is legal in Australia. Brokers encourage women under thirty to use Australia's "working holiday" visa to enter. Brokers encourage older women to go to Japan, because they are ineligible for Australia's "working holiday" visa, and cannot easily obtain American or British tourist or student visas. CIB confirmed that upon arrival in Japan some women were forced into prostitution or were subjected to exploitative working conditions to which they did not consent, including forced confinement or relocation, confiscation of travel documents, debt bondage, and withholding of pay. Others were threatened with bodily harm to prevent them from going to the local authorities, or denied permission to return to Taiwan. The CIB officer assigned to the Taiwan Representative Office in Tokyo is charged with cooperating with Japanese authorities to identify Taiwanese trafficking victims and return them to Taiwan. CIB reported that 8 female trafficking victims were returned to Taiwan in 2007. This is a decrease over the total 59 women returned to Taiwan during in 2006. CIB and NIA were unable to provide an official estimate of the total number of Taiwanese women trafficked to Japan in recent years. Taiwan appears to be a source country for a limited number of women trafficked to the United States. In 2007, AIT's consular section fraud prevention unit identified more than 100 Taiwanese women (and one man) who traveled to the U.S. in 2006 to work as prostitutes. All were between 23 and 40 years of age. Investigations during 2007-8 by State Department Diplomatic Security, U.S. local law enforcement, and the International Criminal Affairs division of Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau suggest that most of the participants knew they would be working as prostitutes and were willing to be transported to the U.S. for that purpose. However, evidence and testimony collected during these TAIPEI 00000401 002 OF 012 investigations also suggest some participants were subjected to exploitative working conditions in the U.S. to which they did not consent, including forced confinement or relocation, confiscation of travel documents, debt bondage, and withholding of pay. Others were lured to the U.S. by promises of work in nightclubs, legitimate massage parlors, or restaurants, where sexual services would be optional, not required. Upon arrival in the U.S., however, the women were immediately confined to residential brothels and forced to service clients. According to CIB estimates, 25 Taiwan women were trafficked to the U.S. in 2007. Taiwan is not a transit point for a significant number of internationally trafficked persons. Taiwan is a transit point for a small number of PRC citizens seeking to illegally enter the United States. Taiwan criminal gangs use fraudulent Taiwan travel documents and Taiwan-operated vessels to smuggle these illegal PRC immigrants into Taiwan. Although these illegal aliens are voluntary migrants, some of them may become trafficking victims as a result of debt bondage, forced prostitution, or other schemes upon reaching Taiwan or the United States. Taiwan is principally a destination country for Southeast Asian and PRC men and women seeking economic opportunities. Some of these men and women are trafficked into forced labor or sexual exploitation. Traffickers also lure women (mostly from the PRC and Vietnam) to Taiwan with promises of marriage to Taiwanese men. Sometimes these marriage arrangements are fraudulent, and the foreign spouses are trafficked into forced labor or sexual exploitation. Taiwan's geographic proximity to the PRC and Southeast Asia, large demand for foreign workers, and lucrative sex industry provide opportunities for traffickers to exploit victims. Many female trafficking victims are forced into prostitution. Both men and women are subjected to forced labor or involuntary servitude. In many cases, the trafficking victim's passport will be seized, and he or she may be subjected to physical abuse or other forms of coercion to prevent him or her from attempting escape or seeking assistance from the authorities. Nearly 360,000 foreign workers and 400,000 foreign spouses live in Taiwan. These large numbers make it difficult to obtain reliable estimates of the number of persons being trafficked within Taiwan. There is a consensus among government officials and NGOs that trafficking of minors for prostitution has declined dramatically since the passage of the 1995 Child and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA). According to women's rights groups involved in rehabilitating girls and women rescued from Taiwan's sex industry, the number of trafficking victims under 18 years of age is low. MOI statistics from 2006 indicate fewer than 650 children were rescued from prostitution that year; however, NGOs suggest the actual number of children involved in prostitution is probably significantly higher. NGOs reported in 2007 a sharp increase in the number of boys rescued from prostitution. Many were caught during police investigations of on-line "social networking" sites suspected of being front operations for prostitution rings. The Ministry of Interior (MOI),Ministry of Justice (MOJ), National Immigration Agency (NIA) (formerly the Immigration Bureau of the National Police Agency),National Police Administration (NPA),Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), academics, human rights groups, women's rights groups and advocacy groups for foreign labor and foreign spouses are the TAIPEI 00000401 003 OF 012 primary sources for information about trafficking in persons. These sources are all generally reliable and often cooperate with each other to combat trafficking. These sources agree that it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of trafficked persons in Taiwan. 27 B. General Overview and Changes The majority of Taiwan's population of economic migrants come from the PRC or from Southeast Asian countries neighboring Taiwan, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. PRC citizens can only legally enter Taiwan to conduct tourism or business, or to become the spouse of a Taiwan citizen. PRC citizens are not permitted to work legally in Taiwan, except in the fishing industry. Taiwan fishing companies are permitted to hire male PRC nationals to work on Taiwan fishing boats; however, the PRC workers are not permitted to enter Taiwan, and must be housed in off-shore accommodations or in gated dormitories located near their assigned fishing port. According to the Council of Agriculture Fisheries Administration, as of late September 2007, 337 PRC fishermen had fled their legal employment aboard Taiwan fishing boats to seek more lucrative, but illegal, employment in Taiwan's construction and manufacturing industries. Ninety percent of illegal PRC immigrants, male and female, come from Fujian province, situated only 90 miles across the Taiwan Strait. Human smuggling groups in Fujian and Sichuan provinces actively recruit men, women, and girls willing to work in Taiwan. PRC citizens seeking economic opportunities may themselves initiate contact with smugglers in furtherance of finding work in Taiwan. Chinese fishing boats are used to transport passengers to certain locations in the Taiwan Strait, where they are transferred to Taiwanese fishing boats. Smugglers often force their passengers to discard luggage before boarding, in order to be able to fit more people into the boats. After landing in Taiwan, most of the men and some of the women will seek illegal work on the Taiwan economy. Some women will be delivered to secret locations, where auctions arranged by sex traffickers will take place. Brothel operators and others from Taiwan's commercial sex industry attend the auctions, where they "buy" women for their illegal operations. After a woman has been sold, she is transported to a designated workplace, or to an apartment near the area where she will work. According to the NIA, of those illegal PRC immigrants apprehended on Taiwan soil in 2006, 75 percent were found in northern Taiwan. Seventy-three percent of PRC illegal immigrants arrested in Taiwan were found after living in Taiwan six months or less. Almost half of those detained admitted to performing some kind of temporary labor while in Taiwan. According to CGA, 409 illegal PRC immigrants, 338 men and 39 women, were arrested in 2007. The number of female illegal PRC immigrants smuggled by boat continues to drop, CGA officials say, because smugglers connected to Taiwan's sex industry are using other channels, including fraudulent marriages, to circumvent increased coastal patrols. The Taiwan government acknowledges that fraudulent marriages are commonly used by traffickers to introduce foreign women into Taiwan for labor or sexual exploitation. Many women from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other Southeast Asian countries are willing to marry Taiwan men in hopes of enjoying Taiwan's higher standard of living, and earning money to assist relatives back home. Traffickers disguised TAIPEI 00000401 004 OF 012 as marriage brokers exploit such motivations, luring many women to Taiwan with promises of marriage, only to force them into prostitution or exploitative labor upon their arrival. Trafficking syndicates in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries also use fake marriages to circumvent restrictions on certain types of laborers or laborers from certain countries. For example, while a ban on Indonesian caregivers was in effect, traffickers used fraudulent marriages to facilitate the entry of Indonesian women into Taiwan. The "brides" were promised jobs as caregivers or domestic helpers and knowingly entered into false marriages in hopes of securing gainful employment. Some of them were forced into exploitative labor, while others were coerced into Taiwan's sex industry. Taiwan recorded 24,700 marriages to foreign-born spouses in 2007 -- a 3 percent increase over the 2006 total. Eighty-seven percent of the spousal visas issued in 2007 were issued to women, and thirteen percent to men. Sixty-one percent of all spousal visas were issued to citizens of Hong Kong, Macau, or the PRC. Nineteen percent were issued to citizens of Vietnam. NIA and CIB sources report that of the 5,321 Vietnam citizens who applied for spousal visas in 2007, only 3,345 (63 percent) were approved, following the implementation of more stringent interview and documentation requirements. In some cases, women, particularly from the PRC, knowingly enter into false marriages in order to work in Taiwan's sex industry. These women too are often subjected to exploitative working conditions to which they did not consent, including forced confinement or relocation, physical or mental abuse, and unfair withholding of pay. Some Taiwan men are willing to serve as bogus husbands because the financial rewards are significant and the risks relatively minor. Many traffickers solicit mentally or physically disabled or destitute men to serve as husbands. Courts often punish such men with fines or sentences of less than one year. In facilitating a "bride's" residence in Taiwan, a typical "husband" can receive a free round trip to the bride's home country and as much as US $1,000 per month for up to one year, deducted from the bride's earnings as a prostitute. NGOs told AIT that women who are smuggled to Taiwan must pay between US $3,500-6,500 in fees to smugglers, and that local sex or labor traffickers can sell each woman for between US $5,000-6,000. Non-PRC citizen foreign spouses can apply for residency immediately, which entitles them to work legally in Taiwan. They cannot apply for full citizenship until they have resided in Taiwan for three consecutive years, and usually do not obtain citizenship until their fourth year of residence in Taiwan. PRC spouses are eligible to apply for dependent resident status after two years, but cannot apply for permanent residence or permission to work until after six years in Taiwan. Any foreign spouse without citizenship risks deportation if he or she divorces or does not live with his or her Taiwanese spouse. Traffickers use the threat of deportation to coerce and control women brought into Taiwan under the guise of marriage. According to MOI, at the end of 2007 there were nearly 360,000 legal foreign workers in Taiwan, primarily from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Fifty percent of these workers are employed in the manufacturing industry, and 45 percent are employed as nursing caregivers or domestic helpers. TAIPEI 00000401 005 OF 012 The Taiwan government grants commercial and private employers the right to employ a certain number of foreign workers per year. Larger employers, usually construction and manufacturing companies, sell these "quotas" to the highest-bidding brokerage firm, which then recruits foreign workers to fill the quota, often charging each worker unlawfully high job placement and brokerage fees. In order to preserve lucrative relationships with employers, brokers often help to control troublesome employees through threats, physical abuse, and other forms of punishment. Brokers also often help employers to forcibly deport foreign workers -- the employer uses the broker to get rid of the problematic employee, and the broker benefits by filling the empty quota with a new foreign worker, who must pay the broker's fees. The higher the turnover rate for foreign workers, the more money brokerage firms can make, since each new cycle of workers can be charged new placement and brokerage fees. Foreign workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, including construction workers, fishermen, and caregivers employed by hospitals or other commercial institutions are covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Law (LSL). The LSL prohibits forced labor, establishes limits on premature contract termination, ensures basic minimum wage and overtime rates, sets limits on the work-day and work-week, and mandates daily breaks and minimum time off. The protections offered by the LSL do not extend to the 160,000 foreign workers employed as private nursing caregivers or domestic helpers. They are covered instead by the Employment Services Act (ESA),which does guarantee the minimum wage but not overtime pay, does not set limits on the work-day or work-week, and does not provide for minimum breaks or vacation time. NGOs report many cases of foreign domestic helpers and nursing caregivers working 16-18 hours per day, and being given only one day or less per month of free time. Some employers forbid their employees from leaving the employer's residence, except on days off. In this forced isolation, foreign domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are extremely vulnerable to labor exploitation, physical and mental abuse, and sexual assault. The ESA does not afford foreign workers any protection against the employer's arbitrary termination of their contract. The CLA in early 2007 imposed a requirement that any early termination of a contract must be reviewed and approved by a local Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) official before the termination will be enforced and the worker deported (see below). High brokerage fees and other charges frequently turn foreign workers into virtual indentured servants. According to a 2006 NGO report, foreign workers must pay placement fees, service fees, and food and boarding charges totaling between NT $254,000-$433,000 (US $8,200-$14,000) for a three-year factory or construction job contract. Factory and construction workers are covered by the LSL and are guaranteed a minimum monthly salary of NT $17,280 (US $557), plus overtime. Regular overtime must be paid at 1.33 times the regular hourly rate for the first two hours of overtime per day, and for every hour thereafter, special overtime must be paid at 1.66 times the hourly rate. The average factory worker earning the minimum monthly salary plus 10 hours of regular overtime and 10 hours of special overtime per month would need 11.4 months to pay off average fixed debts of NT $343,500, leaving no money for himself. Domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are entitled to NT $17,280 monthly minimum salary (see below),but typically are not paid overtime wages, since they are not covered by the LSL. The same 2006 NGO report indicated that foreign workers TAIPEI 00000401 006 OF 012 must pay combined placement, service fees, and food and boarding charges of between NT $104,000-$293,000 (US $3,400-$9,500) to secure a three-year domestic helper or nursing caregiver job. With no prospect of overtime wages, the average domestic helper or nursing caregiver would need 11.5 months to pay off average fixed debts of NT $198,500, leaving no money left over for other expenses. Taiwan regulations allow an employer, with the foreign worker's consent, to deduct up to 30 percent of the foreign worker's monthly salary to be placed in a bank account in the worker's name. The employer holds the bank book and the worker has no access to this account. The money, which typically amounts to around NT $3,000 per month, is only returned to the worker at the completion of his or her contract. If the company goes bankrupt, the worker loses the money. This practice is called "forced savings" because if the worker does not consent to the arrangement, the worker is often sent home. Because the debts owed to brokers and employers are so great, most workers expect to save little or nothing during the first two years of their contracts. In many cases, the financial pressure prompts workers to run away from their broker and employer in order to seek more profitable employment elsewhere. Workers also flee to escape difficult or dangerous work, or to escape abuse by the broker or employer. As of December 2007, a total of 22,533 foreign workers (16 percent) were reported "missing." Of this number, 18,610 missing workers were from Vietnam, 7,174 from Indonesia, 2,855 from the Philippines, 1,658 from Thailand, 4 from Mongolia, and 1 from Malaysia. From April 1, 2007 to February 20, 2008, Taiwan authorities arrested and detained 13,075 foreigners in some form of illegal work status. Citizens from Vietnam (2,872) and Indonesia (2,313) comprised the majority of those arrested, followed by the PRC (1,089),Thailand (634),and the Philippines (460). Of those arrested, 7,523 were sent to formal detention centers to await repatriation. The remaining 5,552 were detained in local-level temporary detention facilities before being deported. Foreign workers in Taiwan do not have the right to transfer to a new employer at will. The ESA authorizes foreign workers to transfer to a new employer only under certain conditions: (1) the employer or person to be cared for dies or departs Taiwan; (2) the vessel on which the worker is employed sinks, is under repair, or has been seized; (3) the factory or other work location is shut down, has suspended busness, or is unable to pay the worker's salary; (4) the worker can prove he has suffered physical, sexual, or severe verbal abuse from the employer; (5) the worker reports that he has been forced by his legal employer to work for an illegal employer; and (6) after a previous warning from the government, the employer has forced the worker to again perform work outside the scope of his work permit or employment contract, or to work in an unauthorized workplace ("illegal work"). Under new employment transfer rules implemented in February 2008 (see below),if the losing and gaining employer agree, a worker can transfer to the new employer without satisfying the foregoing conditions. If the worker's legal employer does not consent, however, the foregoing restrictions may still apply. Before January 2002, an employee was entitled to an immediate transfer upon proving that his employer had forced him to do illegal work. In 2002, Article 72 of the ESA was revised to TAIPEI 00000401 007 OF 012 give an employer a chance to correct the illegal work situation within a specified period. Now, a worker is only entitled to a transfer (and his employer will only be punished) after the employer's second illegal work violation. This puts the foreign worker in a catch-22: a worker reporting a first violation risks damaging his relationship with the employer, who can retaliate by canceling the worker's contract and deporting him. If the worker chooses not to report the illegal work, he risks being caught by the police and deported for working illegally (see further discussion at para. 29 (C),below). If a foreign worker leaves his or her legal employer for any reason not authorized by the ESA, the worker automatically enters "illegal status" and can be subject to immediate deportation. According to Taiwan officials, foreign workers in illegal status can earn higher wages from illegal employers willing to hire them (US $800 per month versus US $557). By hiring foreign workers in illegal status, illegal employers can circumvent the foreign worker quota system, taxes, and other financial burdens the government imposes on legal employers of foreign workers. Although they may be able to earn more money, foreign workers in illegal status do not have a contract, are not protected by the LSL or ESA, and are not covered by health or labor insurance. Because they fear deportation, foreign workers in illegal status rarely report employer misconduct to law enforcement or other government officials. This makes them extremely vulnerable to employer abuse, including but not limited to physical or mental abuse and sexual assault. Some illegal status foreign workers, desperate for any type of gainful employment, end up trafficked into forced labor or Taiwan's sex industry. NGOs reported that foreign workers often fell victim to labor trafficking -- having contracted to perform one type of work but forced to perform another type of work upon arrival in Taiwan. Employers use this tactic to circumvent hiring limits on certain classes of workers, or workers from certain countries. Employers and brokers both profit from it: brokers charge workers more to secure high-wage-plus-overtime factory jobs than they do for low-wage domestic caretaker jobs. Employers can pay foreign workers bound by domestic helper contracts less than those who signed factory worker contracts. Since they are performing work outside the scope of their work permits and original contracts, foreign workers often believe they are in illegal status. Many of these workers do not report labor trafficking violations to authorities because they do not know their rights and are fearful of deportation. Other workers, in debt to brokers and possibly to the employer, do not wish to lose what gainful employment they have. In any event, the ESA grants employers one chance to "cure" certain violations, including forcing an employee to perform unauthorized work or to work at an unauthorized location, without penalty (see above). If the foreign worker reports the violation, he risks retaliation from the employer, who will likely not be punished. Taiwan has no law to protect foreign workers from being forcibly repatriated. Under current laws, an employer can repatriate foreign workers at any time. NGOs report that foreign workers who raise concerns or seek legal help are regularly deported without due process. CLA changed its regulations to address this problem. Beginning November 1, 2006, employers who wish to terminate a foreign worker's contract before its expiration date must request and obtain approval from an appropriate local government labor official. If the labor official discovers a labor-management dispute, or that the worker is being forcibly repatriated, the employer will not be able to recruit a new worker to fill the TAIPEI 00000401 008 OF 012 vacancy until the dispute is resolved. NGOs complain that the government is using the wrong policy to solve the problem of runaway workers; for example, issuing a reward of NT$2,000 (US $60) to police officers for the arrest of each foreign worker found in illegal status. NGOs contend the NIA, NPA, and local law enforcement continue to view illegal workers as criminals, without trying to understand the abusive and exploitative circumstances which cause many workers to flee their legal employers. Significant Changes Dedicated Anti-TIP Budget In July 2007, the Executive Yuan approved the "Human Trafficking Prevention Implementation Plan,8 setting aside NT$390 million (US$12.6 million) for the 2008-2010 period for the construction and improvement of shelter facilities, education and training for government officials, and the expansion of international cooperation to combat trafficking. From March 2007 to February 2008, the multi-agency task force charged with overseeing anti-TIP efforts has convened six times. In late 2007, the task force recommended increasing funding for the Implementation Plan to NT$690 million (US$22.3 million) to meet anticipated budget needs. Standard Form Contract In July 2007 the CLA announced plans to introduce in early 2008 a standard form for all foreign labor contracts, aimed at preventing brokers from charging excessive brokerage fees. The form contract will list in detail the types of fees that can be collected from foreign workers, as well as the working terms. According to CLA, fees or loans not included in the form contract would be unenforceable. NGOs contend that Taiwan courts, following the standard form contract guidelines, have enforced fraudulent contract terms against foreign workers. According to NGO sources, after a foreign worker has paid his or her brokerage fee, the broker will often refuse to find the worker a job until the worker agrees to sign a contract which obligates the worker to repay "loans" which the broker never made. Increased Minimum Wage On July 1, 2007, Taiwan raised the monthly minimum wage from NT$15,840 (US$511) to NT$17,280 (US$557). At the same time, CLA raised the ceiling on meal and lodging fees that employers can charge foreign workers from NT$4,000 (US$129) to NT$5,000 (US$161). CLA asserted foreign workers could negotiate meal and lodging fees with their employers. Because foreign workers have no individual or collective bargaining power, NGOs countered, every employer will impose the higher fees, reducing the net benefit of the minimum wage increase by half. NGO and press reports confirm that many foreign workers have seen the minimum wage increase offset by increased meal and lodging fees. According to NGOs, it is difficult for foreign workers to negotiate the terms of a contract before they arrive in Taiwan. Moreover, NGOs allege, many foreign workers are on probation during the first 40 days of their employment. Few are willing to risk provoking the employer by pushing for better contract terms, for fear of being summarily deported within the probationary period. Under Taiwan law, foreign workers can only join existing unions and cannot form new ones. Foreign workers are also precluded from holding union office. Therefore, NGOs contend, in addition to lacking TAIPEI 00000401 009 OF 012 individual bargaining power, foreign workers also have little or no collective bargaining power to demand more favorable contract terms or working conditions. Increased Maximum Work Period On July 13, 2007 CLA increased the maximum time a foreign worker may work in Taiwan from six to nine years. Draft TIP Statute Under Review In October 2007, NIA and MOJ submitted the first draft of a comprehensive anti-TIP statute to the MOI for review. MOI is expected to complete its review and amendment process by April 2008, at which time the draft will go to the Executive Yuan for review and approval. The Executive Yuan could approve the statute by June 2008. The draft statute would then go the LY for consideration. AIT has offered to send the draft statute to US DOJ's Civil Rights Division for review and suggestions, but MOJ and NIA have not responded to this offer. A coalition of NGOs has been working on its own draft TIP statute. The NGO version reportedly includes a broader definition of trafficking, a more complete list of penalties and punishments, and would require more services to be provided to trafficking victims. Labor Standards Law Coverage In November 2007, CLA announced plans to have all laborers covered by Taiwan's Labor Standards Law (LSL) by 2009, including the estimated 163,000 foreign workers employed as domestic helpers or caregivers. Once covered by the LSL, domestic helpers and caregivers would be entitled to overtime pay, mandatory minimum leave, and other benefits. Elder-care interest groups continue to block efforts to extend LSL coverage to domestic helpers and caregivers. CLA acknowledged that extending LSL coverage to these workers would impose an additional economic burden on their employers, many of whom were already struggling with the cost of caring for elderly or infirm family members. NGOs expressed deep skepticism about the CLA plan, citing CLA's failure to honor several earlier promises to extend LSL coverage to domestic helpers and caregivers. Amended Immigration Law On November 30, 2007 the Legislative Yuan amended Taiwan's immigration law to provide additional protections for trafficking victims. The amendment requires local police and prosecutors to establish dedicated anti-trafficking units. Law enforcement agencies must protect trafficking victims' identities and personal information from public disclosure. Government agencies must also ensure trafficking victims' personal safety, and provide them with appropriate housing, medical and psychiatric care, counseling services, translation assistance and legal counseling services. If the victim is a minor, a social worker must be assigned to his or her case, and must be present during police questioning, all legal proceedings, and trial. If a trafficking victim cooperates with prosecutors by providing testimony or other assistance, the victim shall be entitled to the protections afforded by Taiwan's Witness Protection Law. Additionally, such cooperation shall be considered by prosecutors and judges to reduce or eliminate the victim's liability for any criminal or administrative violations. Victims who cooperate with prosecutors are entitled to receive temporary visas to remain in Taiwan up to TAIPEI 00000401 010 OF 012 six months, and can request extensions. However, once the prosecutor closes the case, the trafficking victim will be repatriated to his or her home country. According to the MOI, the amended Immigration Act was approved by the Executive Yuan (EY) on December 26, 2007. According to NIA, 37 other laws and regulations need to be amended before the amended Immigration Act can go into effect. The EY is scheduled to complete this work by June ¶2008. At that time, the EY will also decide the date the amended Immigration Act will go into effect. For-Profit Marriage Brokerages Banned The revised immigration law also bans for-profit marriage brokerage agencies. When the amended Immigration Act goes into effect, it will prohibit marriage agencies from advertising their services or asking for fees. The law provides a one-year period for existing marriage agencies to wind up their operations. Violators will face fines between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million (US$6,250-$31,250) for failure to comply. Non-profit groups will be allowed to arrange marriages between foreigners and Taiwan residents. NGOs criticize the new immigration law as providing inadequate protections for childless foreign spouses who are victims of domestic violence, who will only be afforded an extended stay to handle the divorce, not permanent residency. Direct Hiring Service Center On January 1, 2008, the CLA opened its first Direct Hiring Service Center (DHSC) in Taipei. Foreign caregivers working for local employers can apply to the DHSC to renew their existing contracts, without paying a broker. If all documents are in order, the foreign caregiver can depart Taiwan for his or her home country, obtain a re-entry visa there, and return to Taiwan to resume work within days. The simplified procedure replaces a process which typically required three to eight weeks to complete, plus additional broker placement fees of NT$30,000-$100,000. CLA intends to gradually extend the service to factory workers and other categories of foreign workers. See http://dhsc.evta.gov.tw/eng/home-eng.html Ban On Service Fees Deduction On January 3, 2008, CLA announced that employers were no longer permitted to deduct "service fees" payable to labor brokerage firms from foreign workers' monthly pay. Violators faced maximum fines of NT$300,000 (US$9,279) and be barred from hiring foreign workers for two years. Under previous regulations, labor brokers were barred from collecting brokerage fees from foreign workers, but were permitted to collect a "service fee" of NT$1,800 per month for the first year of the contract, NT$1,700 per month during the second year, and NT$1,500 per month during the third. Brokerage firms relied on the employers to deduct and transfer these fees. On January 28, labor brokerage firms from around Taiwan protested the change, claiming it threatened their livelihood. CLA issued a press release stating that labor brokerages should abide by the law and charge a single, reasonable brokerage fee to be paid directly by the foreign worker upon his or her entry to Taiwan. Brokers should not charge a service fee, the CLA press release added, unless a service has actually been performed. Dormitory Safety Requirements On January 3, 2008, CLA also amended its regulations intended TAIPEI 00000401 011 OF 012 to ensure that dormitories provided by employers are safe. The new regulation stipulates that employers who hire foreign workers for construction, manufacturing, or caretaking work must submit documents to local government authorities within three days of the worker's arrival in Taiwan proving that the worker's lodgings are legally permitted structures. Simplified Employment Transfer Rules On February 29, 2008, the CLA simplified the process for foreign workers seeking to change employers. Under the new regulations, if the losing and gaining employer and the foreign worker all agree, the foreign worker can apply directly to CLA for the transfer to the new employer, without consulting his or her broker or registering with the local employment agency. Moreover, in cases where the employer's misconduct was the basis for terminating the foreign worker's original contract, only the worker and gaining employer need agree. Under the old system, foreign workers seeking to change employers had to first apply to a local employment center to find a new employer. The worker's broker would be contacted to locate a new employer. The foreign worker would be charged additional fees for the broker's services. The old process would often take 4-8 weeks. In order to increase hiring opportunities for foreign workers transferring to new employers, the CLA on February 29 also lifted restrictions which had prevented workers from shifting from one industry or geographic region to another. Transferring workers now also have up to sixty days to find a new employer before having to depart Taiwan, two weeks longer than before. NGOs and academics assert that the government should lift all remaining restrictions on employment transfers, enabling foreign workers to leave employers who mistreat them or do not pay well. NGOs contend that many foreign workers flee their employers, in violation of immigration and labor laws, because they cannot bargain for better pay or working conditions. NIA Shelters Approved Under Taiwan's National Action Plan to combat trafficking, the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) is responsible for providing shelter services to those trafficking victims who entered Taiwan pursuant to a legal work visa. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) is responsible for providing shelter services to those trafficking victims who entered Taiwan via other legal or illegal means, including but not limited to: foreign spouses, tourist and business visa overstays, and illegal immigrants smuggled into Taiwan. In December 2007, the NIA solicited NGO bids to operate a shelter for trafficking victims. NIA's solicitation attracted no bids, NGOs contend, because the budget allocated by NIA was insufficient to cover expected operating expenses. Because the NIA did not find an acceptable bidder, the Legislative Yuan cut shelter funding from the NIA's 2008 budget during the final legislative session of 2007. NGOs have further criticized the NIA for proposing to locate the NGO-operated shelter in a refurbished detention facility. Under the NIA plan, NGOs allege, trafficking victims at the shelter would be under constant NIA supervision, and denied privacy or freedom of movement, making the shelter environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a detention center. Paragraphs 27 A-E are contained in Part One. Paragraphs 28 A through 29 D are contained in Part Two. Paragraphs 29 E TAIPEI 00000401 012 OF 012 through 30 I are contained in Part Three. YOUNG