2008-2009 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 24 TAIPEI 000222



SENSITIVE



SIPDIS



DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRIM, EUR/PGI, WHA/PPC, AF/RSA,

EAP/RSP, NEA/RA

TAGS: KTIP, KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB

SUBJECT: 2008-2009 Tip Report - Taiwan



REF: A) STATE 2731 B) STATE 5577



TAIPEI 00000222 001.2 OF 024





1. (SBU) Following is AIT/T's 2008-2009 TIP Report Submission.

23. Taiwan's TIP Situation:

-- A. Sources of Available Information on Trafficking in Persons

(TIP):

The Ministry of Interior (MOI),Ministry of Justice (MOJ),National

Immigration Agency (NIA),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 primary sources for information on

trafficking in persons. These sources are all generally reliable.

-- B. General Overview and Changes

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. Anecdotal

evidence suggests an increase in the number of sex workers despite a

ban on prostitution in 1999. Although prostitution is illegal, there

are well-established bars where prostitution occurs. Some girls

admit to having worked for several years at one bar. Locals say they

can earn NT $40,000 each month for 30 hours of work per week just to

talk to clients. Nearly 365,000 foreign workers and 407,800 foreign

spouses live in Taiwan. These large numbers make it difficult to

obtain reliable estimates of the number of persons being trafficked

within Taiwan.

Taiwan is a source country for a limited number of women trafficked

to Japan, Australia, the United States, 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 $750,

for the broker's help in obtaining a visa and making travel and

employment arrangements.

Many 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,

although in February the U.K. added Taiwan to their visa-waiver

program, which will allow visa-free stays for up to six months.

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. 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.

Taiwan also appears to be a source country for 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. Investigations during 2007-08 by State Department

Diplomatic Security, U.S. local law enforcement, and the

International Criminal Affairs Division of Taiwan's Criminal

Investigation Bureau (CIB) led to the arrest and indictment of six

people on charges of forgery and offenses against public morals. NT

$20 million in assets were frozen by the court of the first

instance, which is expected to deliver its verdict in May or June.

(Note: In Taiwan's judicial system, there are three successive

trials at three different courts, each trying the merits of the case

and delivering its own verdict.)

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 or fraudulently-obtained

legitimate travel documents and Taiwan-operated vessels to smuggle



TAIPEI 00000222 002.2 OF 024





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.

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. One NGO estimated

200-300 minors were rescued from prostitution in 2008. MOI

statistics from 2006 indicate fewer than 650 minors were rescued

from prostitution that year. NGOs reported an increase in recent

years in the number of boys rescued from prostitution, many caught

during police investigations of on-line "social networking" sites

suspected of being front operations for prostitution rings. The

Ministry of Justice (MOJ),however, has no record of any minor boys

being identified as trafficking victims.

Significant changes:

Comprehensive Trafficking Law Passed

On January 13, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (LY) passed a comprehensive

trafficking law which criminalizes sex, labor, and organ

trafficking. NIA expects the law will take effect mid-year, after

all corresponding statutes and regulations have been amended to fall

in line with the new law. NGOs have lauded the passage of the TIP

law, but complain that there are no provisions for punishing the

recruiting, transportation, and brokerage of trafficking victims.

Some NGOs, which drafted their own trafficking bill, also complain

that sentences for offenders are too light. For example, the NGO

draft called for a minimum three-year prison term for labor

trafficking while the new law allows for a maximum jail term of

seven years for the same offense.

Extension of Labor Standard Law Coverage Unlikely

Following its announcement in November 2007 of plans to extend Labor

Standard Law (LSL) protections to all classes of workers by 2009,

the CLA held several expert meetings and open forums in 2008 and

2009. According to CLA, these meetings highlighted the many

difficulties in regulating the domestic service industry, such as

distinguishing between working, standby, and off hours; the

appropriateness of labor inspections in private homes; and the

adverse financial impact on families of the elderly or disabled. An

estimated 169,000 foreign workers are currently employed as domestic

helpers or caregivers. CLA was unable to provide numbers for local

workers similarly employed. If covered by the LSL, they would be

entitled to a minimum wage, overtime pay, mandatory minimum leave,

and other benefits. When asked about their previous commitment, CLA

officials raised the possibility of extending specific protections

currently offered under the LSL, such as one mandatory day off per

week and minimum wage provisions, to these classes of workers with

the support of experts and labor groups. Elder-care interest groups

have lobbied against efforts to extend LSL coverage to domestic

helpers and caregivers. NGOs continued to express deep skepticism

about CLA's commitment to fighting human trafficking on Taiwan.

Amended Immigration Law

On November 30, 2007 the Legislative Yuan amended Taiwan's

immigration law to provide additional protections for trafficking

victims. The amended Act went into force August 1, 2008. NGOs

complained that, despite provisions under Chapter 7 of the Act which

allow TIP victims to apply for temporary residency and work permits,

none had been issued. They also pointed out the difficulty in

obtaining clear and consistent information on procedural

requirements for various protection measures legally available to

trafficking victims. According to NIA officials, a TIP victim must

first be issued a Witness Certificate by prosecutors. This

certificate would allow a victim to apply for a temporary residency



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permit with the NIA and subsequently a temporary work permit from

the CLA. Officials noted, however, that prosecutors had issued no

Witness Certificates. The renewable maximum period of validity

would be six months for as long as the prosecutor's case against the

traffickers is being tried. Once a verdict is reached, the victim

would be repatriated. The new trafficking law, however, eliminates

the Witness Certificate requirement. Some NGOs alleged that their

ability to effectively advocate on behalf of foreign trafficking

victims was hindered by authorities' failure to communicate in a

broad-based and transparent manner with the NGO community and more

broadly, with the public. The 2009-10 Executive Yuan

Anti-Trafficking Project Plan includes items on reviewing problems

related to the issuance of temporary residency and work permits.

MOJ Regulations on Anti-Trafficking

The Ministry of Justice issued Regulations Governing the Prevention

of Transnational Trafficking in Persons and Victim Protection, which

took effect on November 6, 2008. These regulations outline victim

protections and services, as well as mandate coordination between

law enforcement and district prosecutors on the investigation of

human trafficking cases. Article 14 of the regulations outlines

requirements governing victim applications for temporary residency

and work permits. The regulations do not mention a Witness

Certificate requirement, although the current application procedure

still requires judicial identification of the victim as a witness

under Article 44 of the amended Immigration Act. Article 16 lists

the circumstances under which the CLA may revoke or deny a victim's

application for a temporary work permit (e.g., the temporary

residency permit expires within 30 days, the victim provides false

information on his/her application, the victim's temporary residency

permit has been revoked or cancelled). Counseling services and

occupational training are included in the list of services offered

to victims, though some NGOs allege that counseling services are not

and have not been offered to victims. (Post is waiting for a

response from authorities on the number of victims who have received

such services.) NIA officials note that counselors are available at

all detention centers to provide victims with necessary assistance.

NIA Opens New Shelter in Yilan

During the year, NIA renovated an existing building at the Yilan

Detention Facility, which houses foreigners guilty of criminal or

administrative offenses or those awaiting repatriation, and

contracted with the NGO End Child Prostitution and Trafficking

(ECPAT). ECPAT opened the shelter for operation in August and

received a total of 12 victims in 2008, ten victims of labor

trafficking and two victims of sex trafficking. Six of these

victims were repatriated at the end of 2008. Many NGOs criticized

the NIA for proposing to locate the 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 of freedom of movement, making the shelter

environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a detention

center. ECPAT, however, said that victims are free to come and go,

though the area in which the facility is located is inconvenient for

public transportation. ECPAT representatives acknowledged this

difficulty and noted plans to purchase bicycles for use by shelter

victims. In the meantime, they said, shelter workers provided

transportation to and from the nearby town.

-- C. Conditions Victims are Trafficked Into (See also 23 B & E)

The Taiwan government acknowledges that fraudulent marriages are

commonly used by traffickers to introduce foreign women into Taiwan

for labor or sexual exploitation. Of the fourteen trafficking cases

uncovered in the past year, eleven involved fraudulent marriages,

according to NIA. 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 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. Taiwan

authorities banned for-profit marriage broker agencies in 2008,



TAIPEI 00000222 004.2 OF 024





although there is a one-year grace period to allow existing agencies

to close down operations.

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 CLA, at the end of 2008 there were nearly 365,000 legal

foreign workers in Taiwan, primarily from Indonesia, the

Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Fifty-one percent of these

workers were employed in the manufacturing industry, and forty-six

percent were employed as nursing caregivers or domestic helpers.

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.

All 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.

With the recent economic downturn, many firms are laying off or

furloughing workers, including foreign laborers. Many of these

foreign laborers, despite being covered by Labor Standard Law

protections that include severance pay, are forced to sign documents

indicating they have voluntarily broken their contracts, thereby

obviating the employers' need to provide severance benefits. The

CLA publicly announced plans to reduce the percentage of foreign

workers who may be employed in the manufacturing and construction

industries. The CLA has also said that it would freeze the number

of foreign laborers allowed to enter Taiwan for an unspecified time.

NGOs voiced concerns that the CLA was not providing sufficient

oversight to guarantee employers met their obligations to dismissed

workers and that brokers would continue to import foreign laborers,

creating an oversupply of workers. NGOs pointed out that such a

situation could lead to greater exploitation and abuse of foreign

workers.

The protections offered by LSL do not extend to any of the 169,000

foreign workers employed as private nursing caregivers or domestic

helpers. They are covered instead by the Employment Services Act

(ESA),which does not guarantee a minimum wage or 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,

domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are extremely vulnerable to



TAIPEI 00000222 005.2 OF 024





labor exploitation, physical and mental abuse, and sexual assault.

The ESA does not afford local or foreign workers engaged as nursing

caregivers or domestic help any protection against their employers'

arbitrary termination of their contracts. 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

$557.00),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 typically do not receive the

NT $17,280 monthly minimum salary nor overtime, since they are not

covered by the LSL. The same 2006 NGO report indicated that foreign

workers 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 or more 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 thirty 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 $163 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 for 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.

Currently, Article 72 of the ESA gives an employer a chance to

correct an illegal work situation within a specified period. The

worker is only entitled to a transfer (and his employer will only be

punished) after the employer's second 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.

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



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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 can make

them 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.

In the past, many of these workers would not report labor

trafficking violations to authorities because they did not know

their rights and were fearful of deportation. CLA, NIA, and other

agencies and NGOs, however, have stepped up public awareness and

education campaigns over the past year. Recent anecdotal evidence

from those with direct interaction with foreign laborers suggests

these campaigns have been effective in educating foreign workers

about the risks and signs of trafficking and of their rights. The

numbers of workers reporting trafficking complaints, however, remain

relatively low because, according to one official, they worry they

will not be able to find other employment. Those who do call in are

generally trapped in extreme circumstances or no longer able to bear

the abusive situation. Foreign workers continue to come to Taiwan,

however, for economic reasons. AIT contacts note a typical

Indonesian worker can earn 11 months' salary and a typical

Vietnamese worker can earn five months' salary working for one month

on Taiwan.

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

vacancy until the dispute is resolved.

NGOs contend the NIA, NPA, and local law enforcement continue to

view trafficking victims as violators, criminals, or runaways,

without trying to evaluate whether the violation occurred as a

result of abusive and exploitative circumstances.

Dedicated Anti-TIP Budget

In July 2007, the Executive Yuan approved the "Human Trafficking

Prevention Implementation Plan," setting aside NT $390 million (US

$11.8 million) for 2008-2010 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. The task force recommended in late 2007 increasing funding

for the implementation Plan to NT $690 million (US $20.9 million).

This figure was revised to NT $490 million (US $14.8 million) for



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the 2008-10 budget and approved by the EY in December 2008.

In line with the new EY recommendations, the NIA's budget for 2009

is NT $107.2 million, an increase of NT $1.2 million over the 2008

budget. Of this, the budget for construction and improvement of

shelter facilities is NT $49.87 million, including NT $9.27 million

specifically allotted for the new shelter in Yilan. Authorities

spent NT $4.72 million on victim assistance services in 2008,

including shelter subsidies, counseling, transportation, and medical

services. In 2008, the CLA earmarked approximately NT $26 million

for temporary shelters, which also house trafficking victims. The

CLA also contributes funds to defray legal costs involved in the

litigation of former employers by trafficking victims. The budget

for this item in 2008 was NT $1.1 million. Only NT $100,000 of those

funds were used in the 1,087 cases brought to court, which recovered

NT $65 million for victims, according to the CLA.

Despite CLA Plans, No Standard Form Contract Introduced

Despite reports last year that the CLA planned to introduce a

standard form for all foreign labor contracts in 2008, the CLA noted

that, based on the principle of free contracts, no standard form

contract was introduced. However, according to CLA, fees or loans

not on the worker's contract would be unenforceable. NGOs contend

that Taiwan courts 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.

-- D. Vulnerability to TIP (See also 23 E)

The majority of Taiwan's population of economic migrants come from

the PRC or Southeast Asian countries, 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.

Taiwan recorded 21,719 marriages to foreign-born spouses in 2008--a

12 percent decrease over 2007. Eighty-seven percent of the spousal

visas issued in 2008 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.

-- E. Traffickers and Their Methods

Eighty-six percent of illegal PRC immigrants, male and female, come

from Fujian province, situated only 90 miles across 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.

According to NIA, 285 illegal PRC immigrants were arrested in 2008,

a 36 percent year-on-year decrease. The majority of those were

apprehended on the island, with only 19 percent caught at sea. The

number of illegal PRC female 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.

Trafficking syndicates in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and other

Southeast Asian countries also use fake marriages to circumvent

restrictions on certain types of laborers from certain countries.

The "brides" are typically promised jobs as caregivers or domestic



TAIPEI 00000222 008.2 OF 024





helpers and knowingly enter into false marriages in hopes of

securing gainful employment. Some of them are forced into

exploitative labor, while others may be coerced into Taiwan's sex

industry.

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 or 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 sentences of twenty days hard labor, which can be offset by a

fine. In facilitating a "bride's" residence in Taiwan, a typical

"husband" can receive a free round trip to the bride's home country

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.

24. Setting the Scene for the Government's Anti-TIP Efforts:

-- A. Government Acknowledgement of TIP Issue

The government recognizes that PRC and Southeast Asian men and

women, and sometimes minors, are trafficked to Taiwan for forced

labor and sexual exploitation. The government acknowledges that

Taiwan is also a transit point for the smuggling of PRC nationals to

other countries. Taiwan authorities acknowledge that Taiwan is a

source country for a small number of women trafficked to other

countries, particularly Japan. The central and local governments

are actively working to prevent trafficking, to assist trafficking

victims, and to punish traffickers.

The Executive Yuan has acknowledged that, before the promulgation of

the Action Plan, the Taiwan government "did not go far enough in

identifying and protecting human trafficking victims." The EY has

admitted that traffickers have too often received only minor

punishments. The stated objective of the Action Plan is to

rationalize and integrate the government response to the trafficking

problem, coordinate interagency efforts to identify and protect

trafficking victims, expand law enforcement capability to detect and

interdict trafficking operations, and enhance punishments for

traffickers.

-- B. Government Agencies Involved in Anti-TIP

The following government agencies are involved in the fight against

trafficking: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA),Ministry of

Justice (MOJ),Ministry of Education (MOE),Ministry of

Transportation and Communication (MOTC),Department of Health, the

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC),the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA),

the Government Information Office (GIO),the Council of Cultural

Affairs, the Council of Indigenous People, the Council of

Agriculture, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Coast Guard

Administration, and the Ministry of Interior (MOI),which includes

the National Immigration Agency (NIA) and the National Police

Administration (NPA). A Cabinet-level Minister without Portfolio,

appointed by and responsible to the Executive Yuan, is charged with

supervising the interagency implementation of an island-wide Action

Plan to combat trafficking.

-- C. Limitations on Government's Ability to Address TIP

Taiwan generally faces few budget or personnel shortages that would

hinder its ability to combat labor and sex trafficking from South

Asian source countries, although authorities point out that Taiwan's

lack of diplomatic relations with its neighbors and others does

impact its ability to more effectively and efficiently coordinate

its crossborder anti-trafficking efforts and to participate in

regional forum and international organizations. Taiwan also has

sufficient resources to provide adequate protections and services

for trafficking victims.

A central NGO complaint is that although the central government has



TAIPEI 00000222 009.2 OF 024





mandated that certain protections and services for trafficking

victims be available island-wide, the treatment afforded to

trafficking victims varies considerably from place to place. NGOs

told AIT that central government police and labor authorities often

establish beneficial new policies or procedures that are only

partially implemented or simply ignored by local labor and law

enforcement officials. This problem is especially marked in the

more rural areas of Southern Taiwan. Central and local government

officials acknowledge this situation and emphasize government plans

to counteract it through increased training and education on

TIP-related issues.

Foreign labor brokerage companies operate across national borders,

and Taiwan's ability to restrain abusive practice in source

countries is limited. Brokers in Taiwan are in direct

communications with their counterparts in Indonesia, the

Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other source countries. Source

country governments often do not closely monitor the fees and other

conditions imposed on workers by labor brokers in their territory.

This gives foreign labor brokers in Taiwan and in the various source

countries ample opportunity to exploit the workers through inflated

fees, and to coerce them by threatening family or property left

behind in the worker's home country. The Taiwan government is

working to improve cross-border cooperation with source country

governments, but progress has been slow.

Corruption may be impeding reform of the exploitative labor

brokerage system. Following the 2005 Kaohsiung labor riots, Taiwan

politicians and media outlets investigated whether legislators and

high-level government officials had received kickbacks from the

brokerage companies involved in the scandal. According to press

reports from November 2005, elected officials at the central and

local government levels had lobbied on behalf of 70 different

foreign labor brokerage companies to obtain a portion of the foreign

labor "quota" needed by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit project. There

was speculation that legislators, especially members of the

legislature's Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee,

were personally involved in and profiting from the importation of

foreign labor to Taiwan. Sources have told AIT that legislators or

local politicians frequently accompany employers or brokers to

Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) mediation sessions with workers who

have registered complaints. These sources surmised that these were

thinly-veiled attempts to influence BLA officials and intimidate

workers in order to achieve a favorable outcome for the employer or

broker.

In March 2008, the National Police Agency instituted a cash reward

system for breaking up trafficking rings. Law enforcement officers

could receive NT $10,000 for each trafficker arrested. The

incentive system was modified, however, in October to a point

system, where officers could receive 1 or 2 points for each

trafficker arrested. The points would then be considered in an

officer's performance evaluation and for promotions.

Elder-care organizations, representing the interests of those

families caring for elderly or infirm family members at home, remain

a powerful force in opposition to extending Labor Standards Law

protections to domestic helpers and caregivers. In any case, CLA

officials and legislators appear to lack the political will to

extend LSL coverage to presently uncovered workers.

-- D. Government Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Taiwan now systematically monitors its anti-trafficking efforts on

all three fronts--prevention, protection, and prosecution, although

there still remains work to be done in tracking trafficking

statistics. The Action Plan requires the multi-agency task force to

convene every two months to report to the presiding Minister without

Portfolio, who is required to monitor and evaluate progress toward

anti-TIP goals. From March 2008 to February 2009, the multi-agency

task force charged with overseeing anti-TIP efforts has convened six

times.

In January, Taiwan passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking law.

However, it will not take effect until related regulations can be

amended to comply with the law and the Executive Yuan promulgates



TAIPEI 00000222 010.2 OF 024





the law. In the meantime, prosecutors use existing sections of

Taiwan's Criminal Code, labor and immigration laws, the Taiwan-PRC

Relations Act, and the CYSTPA to punish labor- and sex-trafficking

offenses. Before 2007, the Ministry of Justice tracked

investigations, prosecutions and convictions via the principal

Criminal Code section or other law used to charge or convict the

defendant. This made it difficult to distinguish trafficking cases

from "trafficking-related offenses" like smuggling and prostitution.

MOJ reports that, since July 2007, human trafficking cases have

been classified as either "sexual exploitation" or "labor

trafficking" cases. In the EY's approved 2009-2010 Anti-TIP Project

Plan, the MOJ, MOI, and CGA will continue to compile and report

trafficking-related statistics. MOJ reports that it is working on

the establishment of a statistical mechanism following the passage

of the Anti-Human Trafficking law.

The Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) maintains and reports statistics

on the number of requests for assistance received by the 24 Foreign

Worker Service Stations located around Taiwan, and those received by

the Foreign Worker Assistance Center located at Taiwan Taoyuan

International Airport. CLA tracks and reports the number of calls

received by the various foreign workers telephone hotlines. CLA and

the MOI also track the number of foreign workers assisted by

government-subsidized NGO shelters. CLA tracks and reports the

number of employers and brokers fined for violating foreign worker

labor regulations. CLA also tracks and reports the number of

foreign workers in "illegal status," according to their country of

origin, and the number of workers referred to prosecutors in cases

of suspected human trafficking.

The National Immigration Agency (NIA),the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs (MOFA),the National Police Administration (NPA),and the

Coast Guard monitor and report statistics on the number of illegal

foreign immigrants to Taiwan, including those from the PRC, Vietnam,

Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. MOFA and NIA also

maintain and report statistics on foreign spouse visa interviews,

refusal and issuance rates, and the number of spouses found to be in

fraudulent marriages.

The government began monitoring trafficking of minors in 1995. The

1995 Child and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA)

created an interagency taskforce composed of the ministries of

Interior, Justice, Defense, Economic Affairs, Transportation,

Education, the Department of Health, the Mainland Affairs Council,

and the Council of Labor Affairs. Together with key NGOs, this task

force continues to monitor implementation of the CYSTPA and provides

guidance to member agencies through semi-annual written reports.

According to the MOJ, 822 individuals were indicted and 875

convicted in 2008 for violations of the CYSTPA, which criminalizes

child prostitution and the possession and distribution of child

pornography. This is a 32 percent year-on-year decrease in

indictments and 10 percent year-on-year decrease in convictions.

MOJ notes there have been no cases of Taiwan nationals prosecuted

for having sexual transaction with a minor while abroad under the

CYSTPA since 2006.

25. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers:

-- A. Laws Prohibiting Trafficking in Persons

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed a comprehensive trafficking law

January 13, 2009. This law criminalizes sex, labor, and organ

trafficking, but will likely not take effect until mid 2009.

Currently, trafficking in persons is prohibited by the 1995 Child

and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA) and Articles

296 and 296-I of the Criminal Code.

In 2004, Taiwan amended the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples

of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (the "Act") to increase

punishment for cross-Strait smugglers. Article 79 of the Act

stipulates that any person convicted of smuggling Mainland Chinese

into Taiwan for profit in violation of Article 15 of the Act shall

be sentenced to at least three and not more than ten years in jail,

and fined up to US $150,000. Under Article 79 and 80, boat owners

and crewmembers involved in smuggling are subject to a prison term

of up to 3 years and/or a US $30,000-$200,000 fine and confiscation



TAIPEI 00000222 011.2 OF 024





of the boat used in the smuggling operation.

B. Penalties for Sexual Exploitation-Related Trafficking

Articles 23, 24, and 25 of the CYSTPA criminalize sexual

transactions with minors. Penalties range from prison terms of more

than one year and a maximum fine of NT $3 million for engaging or

facilitating the sexual transaction of a minor to a maximum prison

term of ten years and a maximum fine of NT $10 million for a

habitual offender who uses force, fraud, or coercion to cause a

minor to engage in sexual transaction.

Various articles (Chapter 26, Articles 296 and 231) of the Criminal

Code specifically criminalize offenses against personal liberty,

including slavery, as well as the buying, selling, or holding of

another person or forcing another person to engage in sexual

transaction. Public officials involved in these kinds of crimes or

in the concealing of such crimes may receive a heavier sentence (up

to one and a half times the sentence received for committing the

crime itself).

According to MOJ, from April to December 2008 authorities filed

charges against 481 individuals in 135 cases of suspected

trafficking, including 35 cases of suspected labor trafficking and

92 cases of suspected sexual exploitation.

C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses

In Taiwan, labor trafficking offenses can be punished by

administrative fines, jail time, or both. Administrative

punishments for labor trafficking are governed by Articles 44, 45,

57, 63, and 64 of the Employment Service Act, and by Articles 5 and

75 of the Labor Standards Law.

Under Article 5 of the Labor Standards Law, "no employer may, by

force, coercion, detention, or other illegal practice, compel a

worker to do work." Article 75 lays out the penalties for violating

the provisions of Article 5, which include a maximum imprisonment of

5 years, hard labor, and/or a fine of NT $50,000. Post has heard of

no reports of employers being sentenced to prison for violations of

Article 5.

CLA terminated operations of 24 brokerage companies in 2008 for

violations of the Employment Services Act, including charging

excessive fees, reporting false information, and illegal brokerage.



According to CLA, local labor officials reported 25 cases of

suspected human trafficking to local prosecutors for further

handling. CLA did not provide information regarding convictions or

sentencing for these cases.

-- D. Prescribed Penalties for Rape or Forcible Sexual Assault

Under Taiwan's Criminal Code (Articles 221-229),penalties range

from prison terms of less than three years and no more than ten

years for forcible sex, to death or life in prison for someone

convicted of rape, forcible sex, or obscene conduct who has

intentionally killed his or her victim.

-- E. Law Enforcement Statistics

Press reported several large busts of human trafficking operations

over the past six months. In one November raid, a labor brokerage

executive and 23 of his agents were arrested and charged with money

laundering, fraud, and forced labor. The media reported the agency

set up bank accounts for over 9,300 foreign workers and then seized

their bank cards in order to confiscate their salaries. In February,

over 300 suspects were arrested in connection with another labor

brokerage firm. The agency was alleged to have illegally pocketed

the majority of workers' salaries, forcing them to sign paperwork

falsely stating they had run up NT $200,000 (US $6,060) in

administrative fees.

According to MOI, from April to December 2008 the authorities filed

charges against 481 individuals in 135 cases of suspected

trafficking, including 35 cases of suspected labor trafficking and

92 cases of sexual exploitation.

It should be noted that Taiwan's criminal justice system follows a

complicated three-trial process, where each court of appeal reviews

the merits of the case rather than a point of law and issues its own

sentence, which may be lighter or heavier than those issued by the

previous court. Defendants do not serve sentences until after the



TAIPEI 00000222 012.2 OF 024





final trial and conviction.

According to CLA, local labor officials referred 25 cases of

suspected human trafficking to local prosecutors for further

handling. CLA did not provide information regarding convictions or

sentencing for these cases.

-- F. Specialized Training for Officials

Over the last year, authorities sponsored several large-scale

conferences to promote anti-trafficking efforts, including the

"International Workshop on Combating Human Trafficking" on August

27-28 and the "International Conference on Strategies for Combating

Human Trafficking" on October 30. The Legal Aid Foundation also

sponsored an "International Workshop on Human Trafficking Victims

and Legal Aid" in November attended by prosecutors, judges, and

defense attorneys. NIA also compiled and distributed an operations

manual on human trafficking cases to law enforcement agencies as

part of their on-the-job training. In addition, a delegation from

the National Immigration Agency went to the U.S. to consult with the

Department of Homeland Security as well as NGOs who support and

shelter trafficking victims. Finally, authorities held ongoing

specialized training seminars and workshops throughout the year for

law enforcement, prosecutors, labor officials, and judges. For

example, from May to September 2008, NIA invited 2,656 officials

from the National Police Administration, the Coast Guard

Administration, and the MOJ to take part in its training programs.

AIT delivered TIP-related speeches and briefings to several hundred

immigration, law enforcement, NGO representatives, and the general

public throughout the island during 2008.

-- G. Government-to-Government Cooperation

The United States and Taiwan signed an "Agreement on Mutual Legal

Assistance in Criminal Matters" on March 26, 2002. With U.S.

assistance, Taiwan prosecutors indicted an individual for smuggling

PRC nationals into the United States.

In early 2007 the fraud prevention unit of AIT's consular section

identified more than 100 Taiwanese women who had traveled to the

U.S. in 2006 to work as prostitutes. After initial investigations

by local U.S. law enforcement, AIT informed the International

Criminal Affairs division of Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau

(CIB) of the likely existence of a Taiwan-based criminal operation

smuggling Taiwan women to the U.S. for prostitution. Evidence

obtained by U.S. local law enforcement suggested that while many of

the women had agreed to work as prostitutes, many 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 lured

to the U.S. by promises of legitimate work, only to be confined to

brothels and forced to perform sexual services. Acting on AIT's

information, CIB conducted its own investigation and ultimately

arrested the suspected ringleader and five others. The first trial

is expected to open in May or June.

The CIB Police Liaison Department has offices in the Philippines,

Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. CIB opened a

Washington, D.C. office in 2008 as well. CIB officers work closely

with local law enforcement in these countries as well as Taiwan visa

and immigration officials to investigate suspected "fake" marriages,

interdict trafficking rings, and to arrange the safe return of

trafficking victims to Taiwan. Spousal visa issuance rates have

dropped significantly following CIB's participation in the interview

and investigation process and refusal rates remain high. While

higher visa refusal rates may indicate the discovery of more fraud,

it is important to understand that such rates do not directly

correlate to the interdiction of potential trafficking victims.

Fraudulent marriages, however, are the most common method

traffickers use to recruit and transport women to Taiwan. According

to NIA, of the fourteen trafficking cases uncovered since April

2008, eleven involved fraudulent marriages, while 666 mainland

spouses (507 women and 159 men) and 248 non-PRC foreign spouses (221

women and 27 men) were found to be in fraudulent marriages.

-- H. Extradition of Traffickers to Other Countries

Taiwan has an informal repatriation agreement with the People's



TAIPEI 00000222 013.2 OF 024





Republic of China. Under the Kinmen Accord of 1990, Taiwan and

Mainland China repatriate convicted and suspected criminals, as well

as illegal immigrants, to each other's jurisdiction.

Taiwan has extradition agreements with Costa Rica, the Dominican

Republic, Dominica, Malawi, Paraguay, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Taiwan and the United States have agreed to a legal assistance

framework.

If the extradition candidate is a Taiwan citizen, Taiwan law

requires the government to refuse the request, and refer the

candidate to Taiwan's legal system for prosecution.

According to the MOI and NIA, the lack of formal diplomatic

relations with other countries from which persons are trafficked

hinders Taiwan's ability to extradite those charged with trafficking

offenses.

-- I. Evidence of Government Involvement or Tolerance of

Trafficking

There is no evidence of widespread government involvement in or

tolerance of trafficking in persons. However, NGOs report that the

level of government competency and awareness of TIP, particularly at

the local level is uneven. NGOs also allege that many local

officials are corrupt and work with brokers to turn a blind eye to

trafficking. One NGO stated they were aware of allegations that some

consular officers abroad colluded with foreign brokerage firms to

traffic foreigners to Taiwan.

-- J. Government Efforts to End Participation by Officials in

Trafficking

There were no reported cases of government officials directly

involved in trafficking. The law provides enhanced penalties for

government officials convicted of trafficking offenses.

-- K. Prostitution

Taiwan criminalized prostitution in 1997, but it remained legal in

Taipei City on a small scale until 2001. It is believed that there

are more than 50,000 prostitutes working illegally island-wide.

Advocacy groups allege that criminalizing prostitution has increased

sex workers' vulnerability to police abuse, coercion by criminal

gangs, sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol abuse, and

poverty. They also argue that USG pressure to criminalize

solicitation would worsen matters for prostitutes in Taiwan,

including those forced into the sex trade. Advocacy groups continue

to press the government to decriminalize prostitution. No formal

action has been taken by the central or local governments.

According to Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Law (passed

in 1991),anyone found to have traded sex for a reward, financial of

otherwise, shall be punished with three days in jail, (or a fine of

no more than NT $30,000 (US $910)).

Article 80 is the statute most commonly used to punish those working

as prostitutes. According to the Collective of Sex Workers and

Supporters (COSWAS),a local sex workers' rights advocacy group,

Taiwan law enforcement officers view clients of prostitutes as

witnesses, not participants, to the crime of prostitution.

Therefore, if the client provides a witness statement to be used

against the prostitute, police will typically let the client go

without a citation or fine. A client will sometimes resist

providing testimony, usually because he or she is a "regular

customer" or due to fear of retribution from the prostitute's pimp

or other criminal associates. According to COSWAS, police will

threaten to inform the client's family or business associates if the

client refuses to cooperate. Occasionally, in exchange for a small

bribe, the police will agree to ignore the incident entirely.

COSWAS reported that police frequently threaten prostitutes with

arrest and detention in order to obtain free sexual services.

Brothel owners, pimps, and enforcers are also subject to the

punishments prescribed in Articles 231, 231-1, and 232 of the

Criminal Code.

According to MOI, 221 female foreign nationals and 21 male were

arrested for prostitution during 2008. MOI did not maintain

statistics on the nationality of those arrested.

-- L. International Peacekeeping

Not applicable.



TAIPEI 00000222 014.2 OF 024





-- M. Child Sex Tourism

Taiwan does not have an identified child sex tourism problem. The

CYSTPA imposes criminal penalties on Taiwan citizens for having or

attempting to have sexual relations with minors. MOJ reports 822

individuals were indicted and 875 convicted in 2008 for violations

of the CYSTPA, which also criminalizes possession and distribution

of child pornography. This is a 32 percent year-on-year decrease in

indictments and 10 percent year-on-year decrease in convictions.

There have been no cases of Taiwan nationals prosecuted under the

CYSTPA for having sexual transaction with a minor abroad since 2006,

according to MOJ. The Ministry of Tourism worked with the NGO ECPAT

to design and launch a public awareness campaign at major tourist

hotels and with tour operators in 2008.

26. Protection and Assistance to Victims:

-- A. Protection for Victims and Witnesses

Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Law provides additional

protections for trafficking victims. Law enforcement agencies must

protect trafficking victims' identities and personal information

from public disclosure and are required to inform trafficking

victims of the services and assistance available to them under the

law. National and local 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 is entitled to the

protections afforded by Taiwan's Witness Protection Law.

Additionally, the law requires prosecutors and judges to take this

cooperation into consideration by reducing or eliminating 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 six months, and can

request extensions. However, once the prosecutor closes the case,

the trafficking victim will be repatriated. NGOs say trafficking

victims are required to appear in court as witnesses and to stay on

Taiwan until the conclusion of the cases, something officials deny.

Trafficking victims typically end up staying on Taiwan anywhere from

eight to 20 months, according to one NGO.

The Taiwan authorities acknowledge that trafficking victims residing

in Taiwan long-term should be permitted to work. Article 44 of the

amended Immigration Law authorizes the CLA to issue temporary work

permits to trafficking victims for periods of up to six months

depending upon the length of the investigation or trial in which the

testimony of the trafficking victim is required. However, no work

permits have yet been issued to victims of trafficking under these

provisions.

NGOs argue that prosecutors are reluctant or too overworked to issue

witness certificates to trafficking victims. According to the NIA,

witness certificates are required to apply for temporary stay

permits from NIA. CLA requires victims to obtain temporary stay

permits first before they may apply for temporary work permits.

NGOs complain that the regulations stipulate temporary stay and work

permits may not exceed six months, although they are renewable, and

point out that by the time victims receive work permits, they must

already go through the renewal process, creating a situation where,

in fact, victims continue to be unable to work. The new

anti-trafficking law would eliminate the witness certificate

requirement, according to officials.

The Home and Nations Committee of the Legislative Yuan also approved

a revision to Article 31 of the Immigration Act, to allow foreign

workers (and foreign spouses) to legally remain in Taiwan until

pending claims against their employers are fully resolved.

Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Act requires government

agencies at the national and local level to ensure trafficking

victims' personal safety, and to provide them with appropriate

housing, medical and psychiatric care, counseling services,



TAIPEI 00000222 015.3 OF 024





translation assistance and legal counseling services. MOI subsidies

in 2008 for such services totaled NT $4.72 million (US $143,000).

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. Under the Immigration Act, law enforcement

agencies are required to protect trafficking victims' identities and

personal information from public disclosure.

According to NIA, for individuals who have a valid passport and can

pay administrative fines and a return airfare, deportation

procedures are usually completed within 14 days. In cases where the

foreign national has overstayed for only a short time, and where no

employer misconduct is alleged, deportation procedures are also

usually completed within 14 days. When the foreign national does not

have valid travel documents, is unable to pay assessed fines or

return airfare, or has overstayed in Taiwan for an extended period

of time, deportation procedures can take much longer. Deportation

procedures can also be prolonged in instances where alleged illegal

conduct by the employer must be investigated. NGOs state that

because trafficking victims are forced to serve as witnesses and, as

a result, spend many months on Taiwan unable to work as they wait

for the cases to be closed, many victims would rather not come

forward. If they are processed as immigration violators, they can be

repatriated quickly and seek employment in their home country or

elsewhere. Law enforcement sources stated trial length depends on

the number of victims involved - the greater the number, the longer

it takes to try the case. For example, a case with only a few

victims could conclude within four months, while one 2007 case

involving more than 70 victims has still not concluded.

CLA regulations exclude time spent at a shelter from a foreign

worker's permitted stay on Taiwan. Foreign workers are allowed to

work on Taiwan for up to three years at a time, for a maximum of

nine years total. Because foreign workers are not permitted to work

while awaiting the outcome of a labor dispute and are in debt to

their brokers, many choose to flee shelters to seek illegal work.

Under Chapter 7 of the amended Immigration Act, if trafficking

victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, who deem their

cooperation necessary and useful to the prosecution, victims will be

afforded all protections available under Taiwan's "Witness

Protection Act." The Witness Protection Act empowers the court to

issue a protective order at the request of the witness, prosecutor,

victim, defendant, personal counsel, the police, or an involved

social welfare agency. Protective measures can include a police

protective detail, a restraining order against a specific person, or

protective custody. Trafficking victims are permitted to conceal

their identity while giving testimony, and law enforcement officials

must ensure the identity of the victim is protected in court

documents and other case materials.

-- B. Victim Care Facility Access

Under Taiwan's National Action Plan to combat trafficking, the CLA

is responsible for providing shelter services to those trafficking

victims who entered Taiwan on work visas, while NIA is responsible

for all other trafficking victims.

Under the law, all detainees must be provided food and shelter,

medical assistance and psychological counseling, legal assistance,

and entertainment activities. NGOs are granted regular access to

detainees and are allowed to conduct social and cultural activities.

NGOs acknowledge that detention center housing is adequate, if

sometimes overcrowded. NGOs also agree that detainees receive

sufficient food and medical assistance. NGOs claim, however, that,

aside from the limited services provided by the NGOs themselves,

detainees have no access to psychological counseling and are not

provided with information regarding their cases. However, officials

state that counselors are stationed at all detention facilities and

available to provide trafficking victims with all necessary

counseling and assistance and that legal assistance is provided.

NIA maintains four formal, long-term detention facilities, in Taipei

(Sanhsia),Hsinchu, Yilan, and Matsu. Several city- and

country-level NIA offices also maintain smaller, temporary detention

facilities. During 2008, 5,688 detainees were held in long-term



TAIPEI 00000222 016.2 OF 024





detention facilities, including 822 women and 738 men at Sanhsia;

1,394 women and 738 men at Hsinchu; and 1,309 women and 620 men at

Yilan. 2,050 were from Vietnam, 1,758 were from Indonesia, 993 were

from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau, 450 from Thailand, and 261 from

the Philippines. Of these detainees, eight were under the age of

18 and 38 were pregnant. In 2008, an additional 10,273 detainees

were held at NIA temporary detention facilities around Taiwan.

On average, non-PRC detainees spent 45 days in detention before

being repatriated and PRC detainees spent an average of 79 days in

detention. NIA does not keep average-time-of-stay data for its

temporary detention facilities, but maintains that detention times

in the temporary facilities are much shorter.

In August 2008, NIA opened the Yilan shelter, located on the grounds

of the Yilan detention facility. The shelter is operated by the NGO

ECPAT under a one-year contract and has a total budget of NT $5.8

million. ECPAT will receive NT $529 per day per victim sheltered. So

far, the Yilan shelter has housed 12 victims, six of whom were

repatriated at the end of 2008. Of these, ten were victims of labor

trafficking and two of sex trafficking. NGOs express concern that

trafficking victims at the shelter may be under constant NIA

supervision and denied privacy and freedom of movement, making the

shelter environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a

detention center. ECPAT, however, said that victims are free to come

and go, though the organization acknowledged transportation to and

from the facility is inconvenient. ECPAT representatives state they

are currently looking into ways the shelter can meet victims'

transportation needs.

In 2008, CLA earmarked approximately NT $26 million for its

temporary shelters. Among the 1,042 people placed in these shelter,

22 were suspected trafficking victims. CLA also provides NGOs with a

subsidy of NT $500 per day per victim sheltered.

-- C. Victim Care Services Access

Local governments are legally required to provide economic and other

assistance to identified victims of trafficking. Assistance

includes but is not limited to: emergency housing subsidies,

education subsidies for children, job placement assistance, legal

aid subsidies, and medical and psychological treatment. CLA also

contributes funds to defray legal costs for foreign workers involved

in litigation against their employers. In 2008, CLA's available

budget for these funds amounted to NT $1.1 million, of which NT

$100,000 was used to defray costs associated with 1,087 cases

brought to court. Approximately NT $65 million was recovered as a

result of these cases.

According to MOI, local government and NGOs have been enlisted to

provide psychological and legal counseling services, educational

opportunities, and other services to identified victims of

trafficking. MOI reports that subsidies in 2008 for victim

assistance services totaled NT $4.72 million. These funds provided

assistance to 50 victims of trafficking, averaging NT $94,470 per

person.

CLA provides a subsidy of NT $500 (US $15) per person per day to 11

NGO-operated shelters for trafficking victims. CLA's 2008 annual

budget for temporary shelters was NT $26 million (US $788,000). The

Taipei and Kaohsiung City government fully fund one shelter each,

operated by NGOs in their respective districts. According to CLA,

1,042 individuals were placed in these shelters during 2008, among

them 22 suspected trafficking victims.

CLA also supports 25 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers

located around Taiwan. The Centers, operated by local governments

with CLA funding (NT $77.12 million in 2008),provide counseling,

legal aid, and labor dispute resolution services to foreign workers,

including those identified as victims of trafficking. According to

CLA, Service Centers did not receive any complaints involving

possible criminal charges, including trafficking, in 2008.

If a trafficking victim is referred to an NGO-operated shelter by a

Taiwan central or local government agency, the receiving NGO will

automatically receive the daily per-person subsidy of NT$500. NGOs

must apply to the government to receive the subsidy for trafficking

victims coming to the shelter through other channels. This category



TAIPEI 00000222 017.2 OF 024





would include walk-ins, referrals from churches or other social

organizations, and the "ad-hoc" referrals from local police

departments.

-- D. Immigration Relief for Victims

The Immigration Act also provides that victims who cooperate with

prosecutors are entitled to receive temporary visas to remain in

Taiwan up to six months. Extensions may be granted in six-month (or

less) increments for the duration of the trial. Once the case is

closed, the trafficking victim will be repatriated to his or her

home country.

Under the new trafficking law, which has not yet taken effect,

victims whose lives may be endangered in their own countries for

aiding in the investigation or trials of suspected traffickers, may

be entitled to apply for permanent resident status. Other provisions

in the trafficking law, however, also allow the authorities to

refuse or revoke the temporary resident permits of victims who

violate shelter regulations.

-- E. Long-Term Shelter Benefits for Victims

The Taiwan central government subsidizes 11 NGO-operated shelters

for trafficking victims; the Kaohsiung and Taipei City governments

subsidize two more. The NIA, CLA/BLA, national and local police

agencies, and the national and local prosecutors' offices cooperate

with NGOs and civic organizations to identify trafficking victims

and to place them in appropriate shelter environments. NGO

representatives are permitted to accompany victims to police

interviews, labor hearings, and court appearances, and to provide

interpretation and other services. Several NGOs have received

permission from the NIA to monitor the living conditions of PRC

women and girls detained while awaiting repatriation to mainland

China, and to conduct social and educational program for them.

Other regulations require local governments to provide identified

trafficking victims with emergency medical assistance, living

subsidies, learning opportunities, educational subsidies for

children, job placement assistance, and subsidies for legal

assistance. CLA is also required to help defray the cost of legal

services required by foreign workers involved in litigation,

including civil suits to recover wages. NGOs consistently complain

that medical and counseling services and legal aid for victims of

trafficking are inadequate and unevenly distributed from place to

place. NGOs agreed that authorities provided very little, if any,

information on court cases in which trafficking victims were

involved. This created a great deal of uncertainty and stress for

victims who were already traumatized. Some NGOs argued that current

shelter environments were designed more for short-term intervention

and were therefore inappropriate for long-term stays.

-- F. Victim Referral Process

According to officials, law enforcement must conduct an initial

identification within 24 hours of law enforcement action. A second

evaluation should be conducted during detention intake and may also

be conducted when the case file is sent to the prosecutor. However,

NIA detention center officials contend their chief responsibility is

to provide humane treatment to detainees while they await the

prosecutor's decision to charge or repatriate them.

NIA detention center officials insist that it is not the role of the

detention center personnel to second-guess the police officer or the

prosecutor on whether a detainee is or is not a victim of

trafficking. Nonetheless, regulations require NIA detention

facility officers to interview all incoming detainees. On rare

occasions, NIA detention center officials will contact the relevant

prosecutor's office to suggest reconsideration of a particular

individual's case. However, there is no procedure in place for NIA

detention center officials to directly contact the prosecutor in

charge of the detainee's case, causing weeks or months to go by

before victims are identified and relocated to shelters.

If a foreign worker reports illegal work, exploitative working

conditions, or other abuse to the police, the police are required to

refer the worker to the local Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA),which

should then assume responsibility for the case. In the event of a

police referral, or if the worker complains directly to BLA, BLA is



TAIPEI 00000222 018.2 OF 024





required to arrange for a labor inspector and police officer to

visit the worksite and investigate the alleged illegal work or

abuse. BLA will also refer the worker to an appropriate NGO-run

shelter. NGOs complain that the investigation can take longer than

six months, during which time the foreign worker is forbidden from

working.

-- G. Trafficking Victim Statistics

Authorities were unable to provide statistics on victim

identification (apart from those placed in shelters),participation

in trials, or the number of victims who had charges against them

dropped or suspended.

According to MOI, local government agencies placed 69 trafficking

victims with government-subsidized NGO shelters during 2007 and 65

in 2008. Of the 44 victims who possessed a working visa, five were

identified as victims of sexual exploitation and 39 had suffered

labor exploitation. Among the remaining 90 victims, 42 were

identified as victims of sexual exploitation and 48 as victims of

labor exploitation. According to CLA, 40 individuals (18 in 2007

and 22 in 2008) holding working visas were placed with CLA-funded

NGO shelters during 2007-2008. All were identified as victims of

labor exploitation.

-- H. Victim Identification

Taiwan continued efforts to improve law enforcement's ability to

investigate trafficking cases and to identify victims of human

trafficking during the course of investigation. In 2008, the MOJ

issued standard operating procedures governing the investigation of

human trafficking cases. These procedures require law enforcement

officials to conduct victim identification based on a simplified set

of eight indicators. The case file is tagged as a trafficking case,

the evaluation form is included, and a copy of the victim

identification "norms" are attached so that all agencies have a

standard basis on which to evaluate potential trafficking victims.



Although Taiwan has a standard victim identification guideline and

regulations require identification within 24 hours, implementation

is not yet consistent and the process of referring victims from law

enforcement custody to shelter facilities remained unreliable. NGOs

continued to complain that trafficking victims remain unidentified

and that authorities are generally unresponsive to NGO requests for

re-evaluation and identification of suspected trafficking victims.

Officials in the southern part of the island said that victim

identification currently takes two months on average.

Victim identification guidelines require the local prosecutor to

review the arresting officer's report, and if necessary, conduct

further investigation to determine whether the individual is a

trafficking victim or an illegal immigrant. However, NGOs reported

that prosecutors usually accept the conclusions reached in the

arresting officer's initial report and rarely undertake their own

investigation. NGOs and immigration officials agreed that if the

arresting officer is unsympathetic or does not understand the

definition of a trafficking victim, the officer might improperly

classify someone as an immigration violator, or other form of

criminal, instead of a trafficking victim. Moreover, if the

prosecutor is overworked, as is often the case, it is increasingly

probable that trafficking victims will go undetected, and be treated

as "criminals" rather than "victims."

Prostitution is not legal in Taiwan. However, Taiwan has a formal

mechanism to identify trafficking victims from among those arrested

for prostitution. According to NGOs, Taiwan law enforcement

agencies do not consistently apply this mechanism, resulting in the

wrongful incarceration and punishment of trafficking victims for

prostitution, immigration violations, and other crimes occasioned by

trafficking.

-- I. Victim Rights

Certain local police departments have referred suspected trafficking

victims to NGO shelters on a number of occasions, but according to

the NGOs, this is done on a largely ad-hoc basis. Of the more than

80 victims identified in more than 400 suspected trafficking cases

in 2007, 60 were identified by Keelung City Police Department and



TAIPEI 00000222 019.2 OF 024





sent to NGO shelters. Keelung Police have also worked with local

prosecutors and businesses to find employment for trafficking

victims. The Keelung City Police Commissioner previously worked as

CIB Women and Children's Affairs Section Chief. In addition, the

local BLA office in Taoyuan has established an informal policy that

all victims of trafficking are to be sent directly to NGO shelters,

are not to be incarcerated, and are not to be returned to the

custody of their brokers or employers. NGOs continue to lobby the

CLA and local BLA offices to institute this practice island-wide.

Some trafficking victims are treated as illegal immigrants or

illegal laborers, and housed in formal, long-term detention

facilities. Some are held at smaller-scale, city- or country-level

"temporary" detention facilities maintained by NIA or the local

police. Currently, all PRC detainees, regardless of their status,

are detained in formal detention facilities. The new trafficking

law, however, specifically states that there should be no difference

in treatment for trafficking victims from Taiwan, the mainland, or

other countries.

Both NGOs and officials alike recommend more practical training for

law enforcement, prosecutors, and especially judges. NGOs say that

many trafficking victims continue to be prosecuted and punished for

immigration and labor violations, and for criminal offenses

(including prostitution) committed in the course of their having

been trafficked. They also contend that victims are forced to serve

as witnesses and to stay on Taiwan without the ability to work for

long periods.

-- J. Victim Participation in Investigation and Prosecution of

Traffickers

Chapter 7 of the Immigration Act provides that if trafficking

victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, who deem their

cooperation necessary and useful to the prosecution, victims will be

afforded all protections available under Taiwan's "Witness

Protection Act." Prosecutors are instructed to waive prosecution for

any crimes occasioned by the trafficking and to punish leniently

other misconduct by the trafficking victim. If a victim's testimony

is required by prosecutors, the victim should be issued a temporary

residence permit of six months or less, which should be extended if

necessary. The victim is to be returned to his or her home country

safely upon conclusion of the trial. The chapter encourages

agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts to cooperate with NGOs

and source country governments to promote anti-trafficking efforts.

No work permits have been issued to date and victims are generally

not offered a choice, but rather required to serve as witnesses.

The Home and Nations Committee also approved a revision to Article

31 of the Immigration Act, to allow foreign workers (and foreign

spouses) to legally remain in Taiwan until pending claims against

their employer are fully resolved.

Trafficking victims may ask for compensation by attaching a civil

suit to the criminal prosecution against the trafficker, but this

happens infrequently. Once they have been arrested, most

trafficking victims wish to leave Taiwan as soon as possible and few

wish to stay or take legal action against their traffickers or

former employers, though there have been such cases. Taiwan has

increased funding to the Legal Affairs Foundation to assist

trafficking victims with the pursuit of claims against traffickers.

NGOs report that filing a civil suit is expensive, and that legal

aid resources are not sufficient to defray the costs, rendering such

actions impractical for most victims. CLA reported that in 2008 NT

$100,000 in subsidies was provided to offset costs associated with

these types of civil suits. 1,087 cases were brought to court and NT

$65 million in back wages were recovered, according to CLA.

Taiwan entitles trafficking victims who have been injured, or the

family of one who has been killed, to request compensation from the

government. With the exception of the PRC, this law extends to

foreign nationals on a reciprocal basis. Taiwan uses its anti-money

laundering law to seize traffickers' assets, though these assets may

not be used to satisfy trafficking victims' claims. Taiwan's new

Anti-Trafficking Law contains a provision which will allow

authorities to seize a convicted trafficker's assets to make



TAIPEI 00000222 020.2 OF 024





compensation available to his/her victims.

Alleging criminal misconduct against an employer carries significant

risk for a foreign worker. Under current law, if the prosecutor

decides not to indict or prosecute the employer, or if after

prosecution fails to convict the employer, the foreign worker is

automatically repatriated.

-- K. Specialized Training for Officials

According to MOI, a total of five interagency workshops have been

held since March 2008. In addition, authorities held ongoing

training throughout the year on investigating trafficking cases and

victim identification and treatment for immigration officials, local

police, coast guard personnel, labor officials, social workers and

medical personnel, interpreters, and tourist industry personnel.

CLA and BLA regularly train local government labor inspectors and

counseling personnel how to identify and protect trafficking

victims. All inspectors and counselors attend special training

sessions to identify and assist victims of trafficking, and are

provided with guidelines and standard operating procedures for

identifying trafficking victims.

MOJ prosecutors periodically train police, immigration officials,

and other law enforcement personnel how to identify and protect

trafficking victims during investigations and how to conduct

trafficking investigations to increase the probability of conviction

at trial.

MOFA conducts regular training of its consular officers to assist

them in detecting and preventing the fraudulent use of marriage

visas to traffic women into Taiwan.

NIA and NPA regularly conduct training of immigration and police

officers to improve their ability to detect and assist trafficking

victims.

The NIA, CLA/BLA, national and local police agencies, and the

national and local prosecutors' offices cooperate with NGOs and

civic organizations to identify trafficking victims and to place

them in appropriate shelter environments. NGO representatives are

permitted to accompany victims to police interviews, labor hearings,

and court appearances, and to provide interpretation and other

services.

NGOs, in particular End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT),

Garden of Hope, and Taiwan Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF),

regularly conduct training seminars for police, prosecutors, labor

and immigration personnel to improve their understanding of Taiwan's

trafficking problem and to increase their ability to identify

victims of sex and labor trafficking.

Nevertheless, these and other NGOs continue to report that

officials, particularly local authorities, prosecutors, and judges,

do not fully understand what human trafficking is, or what

distinguishes a trafficking victim from an "illegal immigrant." As

a result, NGOs report, sentences are light or cases dismissed and

trafficking victims are regularly misidentified as criminals, placed

in detention facilities instead of shelters, and prosecuted for

immigration, labor, and criminal violations occasioned by their

having been trafficked. NGOs assert the government must do much

more to ensure that law enforcement and judicial personnel around

Taiwan fully understand the seriousness of human trafficking as a

crime and are able to identify trafficking victims and provide

consistent access to mandated services. NGOs also recommend the

standard of proof required to obtain "victim" status be lowered, to

increase the probability that trafficking victims receive the

shelter, social services, and other assistance they need as quickly

as possible.

-- L. Assistance to Taiwan Victims of Trafficking

Authorities provide medical and financial assistance, counseling,

and other aid to Taiwan victims of trafficking. The new

Anti-Trafficking Law will provide assistance to all victims of

trafficking, regardless of their nationality or household

registration.

-- M. International Organizations

Taiwan authorities have a good working relationship with a number of

NGOs and other civic organizations involved in anti-trafficking



TAIPEI 00000222 021.2 OF 024





efforts. The Taiwan government sponsors NGO participation in

international anti-trafficking meetings and exchanges. Taiwan's

overseas offices cooperate with NGO representatives overseas and

provide them as much assistance as possible. MOFA subsidizes

domestic NGOs that assist the safe return of trafficking victims to

their home countries. Domestic NGOs that conduct exchanges with the

PRC to reduce PRC-to-Taiwan trafficking are also eligible to apply

for subsidies.

The Garden of Hope Foundation, End Child Prostitution, Pornography

and Trafficking (ECPAT) Taiwan, the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation

(TWRF),Hope Worker's Center, the Center for Migrants' Concerns, the

Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office (VMWBO),the Taiwan

Grassroots Women Workers' Center, the Taiwan International Workers'

Association, the Stella Maris International Service Center, the

Catholic and Presbyterian Churches, and other religious and secular

NGOs are at work in Taiwan to provide shelter, counseling, legal,

medical, and financial assistance, public advocacy, social and

cultural activities, repatriation assistance, and other services to

Taiwan's foreign worker community, including victims of sex and

labor trafficking. Taiwan authorities have a strong working

relationship with some NGOs and are generally open to their input

and criticism. NGOs also receive funding from central and local

government authorities to perform services for trafficking victims.

Taiwan's 2009 anti-TIP Action Plan requires MOI, MOJ, NIA, and other

involved government agencies to include NGO representatives in

regular policy-making discussions and to incorporate NGO

recommendations into a "comprehensive and integrated" anti-TIP

strategy. Government agencies are also required by the Action Plan

to include NGO input in anti-TIP informational materials,

educational seminars, and other activities.

NGOs contend that although they have been included in anti-TIP

policy discussions, too few of their suggestions have been adopted.

Many NGOs also assert that authorities fail to consistently,

promptly, and transparently disseminate information related to

trafficking victims, including victim identification procedures as

well as the process by which trafficking victims may obtain services

outlined in various regulations and statutes. Some NGOs, critical

of the commitment by authorities to combat trafficking on Taiwan,

comment that authorities hold many conferences and pass many

regulations but fail to implement them or, at times, to even

establish the practical procedures necessary to deliver assistance

promised in these regulations.

27. Prevention:

-- A. Government Anti-Trafficking Public Awareness and Education

Campaigns

The Taiwan government conducts anti-trafficking information and

education campaigns that target potential and actual victims of

trafficking, both domestically and abroad, as well as the public.

During 2008, the authorities launched a multimedia campaign to

increase public awareness of Taiwan's human trafficking problem, and

to solicit public assistance in identifying and assisting victims of

sex and labor trafficking. As part of this campaign, the MOI

printed 30,000 pamphlets and provided 3,000 informational pens and

the CLA printed 209,000 pamphlets for foreign workers. Local

governments held 12 seminars for employers and brokerage firms and

1,667 people attended. Posters depicting victims of sex and labor

trafficking were posted at community centers and park billboards

around Taiwan. The NIA hotline provided counseling to 11,765

callers in 2008.

As part of an ongoing campaign to prevent child sex trafficking, the

government displayed public service announcements at 680 cinemas

island-wide. The announcements were also broadcast on six

nationwide television stations, and included on online chat-rooms

frequented by Taiwanese youth.

The authorities also initiated an outreach program to enhance

foreign workers' understanding of their rights, and resources

available to them under Taiwanese law. In addition to the

multi-language emergency contact number cards disseminated at public

facilities around Taiwan, the authorities also published public



TAIPEI 00000222 022.2 OF 024





service announcements in several foreign language publications,

including the Vietnamese, Filipino, and Indonesian newspapers widely

circulated among Taiwan's foreign worker population.

Taiwan continues to operate the nationwide toll-free hotline for

foreign spouses seeking assistance. The hotline provides consulting

services in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and

Cambodian, and topics include employment services, health care

services, immigration procedures, and adjustment to life in Taiwan.

CLA funds special service counters at Taiwan Taoyuan International

Airport as well as the international airport in Kaohsiung. These

counters disseminate labor rights information to arriving workers,

hear grievances, and provide emergency assistance to laborers about

to depart Taiwan. According to CLA, no reports of suspected

trafficking cases were received or referred from these counters.

NGOs assert that the location of airport service counters outside

immigration security leaves workers vulnerable to unscrupulous

brokers and that service counters are staffed by a consortium of

labor brokers. CLA officials respond that service counters offer

pick-up service for employers, handle homebound foreign workers'

complaints, and distribute guidebooks that outline workers' rights.

CLA officials add that regulations state service staff may not be

involved in the brokerage of foreign labor and cannot have had any

violations of the Employment Services Act over the past year.

CLA supports 25 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers located

around Taiwan. The Centers, operated by local government with CLA

funding, provide counseling, legal aid, and labor dispute resolution

services. The Centers also publish and disseminate worker rights

handbooks, conduct legal seminars and language training courses,

host social and cultural events, and sponsor radio and television

programs and advertisements to inform foreign workers of their

rights and remedies under Taiwan Law. CLA disseminates employer

handbooks and foreign worker handbooks, translated into English,

Vietnamese Indonesian, and Thai. CLA provides funding to city and

county governments to defray expenses associated with foreign labor

affairs reporting, reform of foreign labor regulations, and training

conferences for local law enforcement and social services

personnel.

MAC has expanded its "Mainland Spousal Guidance Program," which uses

townhall-style meetings, social events, information hotlines,

websites and printed handbooks to inform Mainland-born spouses of

their rights under Taiwan law.

-- B. Monitoring of Immigration and Emigration Patterns

The NIA, NPA, MOFA, and other government agencies collect and

compile statistics on legal and illegal immigration to study human

trafficking trends and to formulate future policy. NIA and NPA also

record and report the number of foreign citizens arrested for

various kinds of offenses, including prostitution, and the number

and nationality of those foreign citizens deported each year. CLA

tracks and reports the number of foreign workers in "illegal

status," according to their country of origin. MOFA maintains and

report statistics on foreign spouse visa interviews, refusal and

issuance rates. NIA and NPA track the number of foreign spouses

found to be in fraudulent marriages. Government officials use all

of these indicators to try to gauge the scope and nature of human

trafficking in Taiwan, but do not have reliable estimates.

In order to discourage the fraudulent use of marriage visas to

traffic women into Taiwan, spouse visa applicants from the PRC,

Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam

must undergo interviews in their home countries before departing for

Taiwan. All foreign spouses and their prospective mates must

undergo a second interview process upon their arrival in Taiwan.

Those who fail the interview process are barred from entering Taiwan

and are immediately returned to their countries of origin.

-- C. Interagency Coordination Mechanisms

Taiwan has established an official mechanism to exchange information

at the national level regarding trafficking in persons. The Action

Plan requires MOI, MOJ, MOFA, NIA, NPA, CLA, and other government

agencies to convene every two months to coordinate and evaluate

ongoing anti-trafficking efforts. A Cabinet-level Minister without



TAIPEI 00000222 023.2 OF 024





Portfolio oversees the task force. The MOI has also appointed a

vice minister to serve as the single point of contact for

TIP-related inquiries. In practice, the NIA has served as AIT's

chief point of contact for TIP-related information.

Taiwan has an interagency taskforce aimed at preventing the

trafficking of minors. This taskforce is composed of the Ministries

of Interior, Justice, Defense, Economic Affairs, Transportation,

Education, the Department of Health, the Mainland Affairs Council,

and the Council of Labor Affairs. Together with key NGOs, this task

force monitors implementation of the 1995 statute and provides

guidance to member agencies through semi-annual written reports.

In addition to the interagency taskforce stipulated by the CYSTPA,

the Foundation of Women's Rights Promotion and Development (WRP)

also serves as a platform to discuss all women-related issues. The

WRP is an NGO funded by the Executive Yuan (EY). It is chaired by

the Premier and includes the ministers of Interior, Education,

Justice, Personnel Administration, Government Information Office,

Health, and Labor as well as academics and representatives of NGOs.

The Taiwan High Prosecutor's Office maintains an Anti-Corruption

Center dedicated to investigating and prosecuting corruption cases

involving legislators, government ministers, and other senior

government officials, including high ranking military officers.

-- D. National Action Plan

The Executive Yuan approved the "Human Trafficking Prevention

Implementation Plan," setting aside NT$490 million for 2008-2010 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 2008 to

February 2009, the interagency taskforce charged with overseeing

anti-TIP efforts has convened six times.

MOI is overseeing an interagency effort to establish a common

trafficking database, which would include resources such as

government interpreters to be made available to foreign workers in

need of translation services related to employment disputes or other

legal matters.

Taiwan published the "Executive Yuan Action Plan for Suppressing

Trafficking in Persons" (the "Action Plan"),on November 8, 2006.

Thirteen government ministries and agencies and NGOs cooperated in

drafting the Plan, which directs: (1) strengthening Taiwan's

existing net of anti-trafficking laws; (2) implementing an

island-wide standard procedure to identify trafficking victims; (3)

exempting trafficking victims from punishment for non-violent crimes

occasioned by their victimization; (4) allowing trafficking victims

to switch jobs or employers; (5) assigning special task forces and

special prosecutors to increase the investigation, prosecution, and

conviction of traffickers; and (6) enhancing penalties for convicted

traffickers. The Action Plan requires MOI, MOJ, NIA, CLA, and other

involved government agencies to include NGO representatives in

regular policy-making discussions, and to incorporate NGO

recommendations into a "comprehensive and integrated" anti-TIP

strategy. Government agencies are also required by the Action Plan

to include NGO input in anti-TIP informational materials,

educational seminars, and other activities.

The government's 2009-2010 Anti-Trafficking Plan focuses on

facilitating interagency cooperation as well as cooperation with

NGOs in order to strengthen legislation and anti-trafficking

operations for the purposes of protecting human rights and improving

Taiwan's international image.

-- E. Government Measures to Reduce Commercial Sex Demand

Prostitution is illegal. During 2008, the authorities launched a

multimedia campaign to increase public awareness of Taiwan's human

trafficking problem, and to solicit public assistance in identifying

and assisting victims of sex and labor trafficking. As part of its

ongoing campaign to prevent child sex trafficking, the government

displayed public service announcements at 680 cinemas island-wide.

The announcements were also broadcast on six nationwide television

stations, and included an online chat-rooms frequented by Taiwanese

youth.

-- F. Government Measures to Reduce International Child Sex Tourism



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by Nationals Abroad

MOJ reports there have been no prosecutions for sexual transaction

with a minor abroad under the CYSTPA since 2006.

-- G. Government Measures to Ensure International Peacekeeping

Forces Do Not Participate in Trafficking

Not applicable to Taiwan.

Taiwan does not contribute international peacekeeping forces.

2. (SBU) Time Spent on Report:

FP-06, 36 hours

FO-02, 90 hours

FO-01, 2 hours

3. (U) Post TIP Point of Contact:

Deanna G. Kim

Political Officer

American Institute in Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan

Phone: (011) (886) (2) 2162-2086

Fax: (011) (866) (2) 2162-2241

Email: KimDG@state.gov



WANG

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