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INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 6554
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3262
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 4030
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RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 7800
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY 0932
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 5736
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 35 TAIPEI 000740 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: INPUT FOR 2007 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN 
 
REF: 06 STATE 202745 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is AIT/T's 2006-07 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 
report.  The report is presented according to reftel 
sections, beginning with paragraph 27 A. 
 
27 A. Overview of Taiwan's Activities to Eliminate 
Trafficking in Persons 
 
Taiwan is a source country for a limited number of women 
trafficked to Japan.  Taiwanese citizens do not need visas to 
visit Japan and can legally travel to Japan via commercial 
flights.  According to the International Police division of 
Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, Taiwanese women are 
lured to Japan by newspaper advertisements in Taiwan placed 
by local employment agencies with ties to organized crime 
rings in Japan.  The ads promise employment and free 
transportation to Japan.  Once the Taiwanese women arrive in 
Japan, they are forced into prostitution or other forms of 
labor and threatened with bodily harm to prevent them from 
going to authorities. One officer in Taiwan's Representative 
Office in Tokyo is charged with cooperating with Japanese 
authorities to identify Taiwanese trafficking victims and 
return them to Taiwan.  The Taiwan National Immigration 
Agency (NIA) reported that 59 female trafficking victims were 
returned to Taiwan in 2006.  This is an increase over the 
total 68 women returned to Taiwan during 2004 and 2005.  NIA 
was unable to provide an official estimate of the total 
number of Taiwanese women trafficked to Japan in recent 
years. 
 
There is reason to believe that Taiwan is also a source 
country for a limited number of women trafficked to the 
United States.  Over the past ten months, AIT's consular 
section fraud prevention unit identified at least 100 
Taiwanese women who appear to have traveled to the U.S. in 
2006 to work as prostitutes.  All were female except one, and 
most were between 23 and 40 years of age. Ongoing 
investigations by Diplomatic Security and U.S. local law 
enforcement suggest that most of the participants knew they 
would be working as prostitutes and were willing to be 
transported to the U.S. for that purpose.  However, ongoing 
investigations suggest some participants may have been 
subjected to exploitative working conditions to which they 
did not consent, including forced confinement or relocation, 
confiscation of travel documents, and withholding of pay. 
 
Taiwan is not a transit point for a significant number of 
internationally trafficked persons.  Taiwan is a transit 
point for a small number of illegal Mainland Chinese seeking 
to enter the United States.  Taiwan criminal gangs use 
fraudulent Taiwan travel documents and Taiwan-operated 
vessels to smuggle these illegal immigrants.  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 primarily a destination country for Southeast Asian 
and PRC men and women trafficked into forced labor or sexual 
exploitation.  Traffickers also use fraudulent marriages 
between Taiwanese men and PRC or Southeast Asian women 
(primarily Vietnam), to traffick women into Taiwan for labor 
and sex exploitation. 
 
Taiwan's geographic proximity to the PRC and Southeast Asia, 
large demand for foreign workers, and lucrative sex industry 
provide opportunities for traffickers to exploit victims. 
Many female trafficking victims are forced into prostitution. 
 Both men and women are subjected to forced labor or 
involuntary servitude.  In many cases, a victim's passport is 
seized, and he or she may be subjected to physical abuse or 
other forms of coercion to prevent them from attempting 
escape or seeking assistance from the authorities. 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  002 OF 035 
 
 
 
According to the National Immigration Agency (NIA), 1,596 PRC 
citizens (925 men and 671 women) and 1,701 Southeast Asian 
citizens were deported from Taiwan in 2006.  More than 
340,000 foreign workers and 370,000 foreign spouses live in 
Taiwan.  These large numbers make it difficult to obtain 
reliable estimates of the number of persons being trafficked 
within Taiwan. 
 
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. 
According to NIA, as of February 2007, the 14 PRC women held 
at the Ilan Detention Center are all adults.  There is a 
clear consensus among government officials and NGOs that 
trafficking of minors for prostitution has declined 
dramatically since the passage of the 1995 Child and Youth 
Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA).  However, there 
were continuing reports of a small number of teenage girls 
being forced into prostitution after responding to misleading 
employment advertisements. 
 
The Ministry of Interior (MOI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), 
National Immigration Agency (NIA) (formerly the Immigration 
Bureau of the National Police Agency), National Police 
Administration (NPA), Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), 
academics, human rights groups, women's rights groups and 
advocacy groups for foreign labor and foreign spouses are the 
primary sources for information about trafficking in persons. 
 These sources are all generally reliable and often cooperate 
with each other to combat trafficking.  These sources agree 
that it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of 
trafficked persons in Taiwan. 
 
27 B. General Overview and Changes 
 
The Taiwan Coast Guard (CGA) intercepted fewer PRC immigrants 
being smuggled to Taiwan by boat in 2006.  During the first 
ten months of the year, 294 men and 31 women were intercepted 
while trying to enter Taiwan illegally by boat.  In 2005, 369 
men and 72 women were caught before landing on Taiwan. 
 
CGA officials reported that illegal Chinese male immigrants 
are seeking construction jobs in Taiwan (women cannot legally 
perform certain kinds of construction work in Taiwan). 
According to CGA, most male PRC illegal immigrants seeking 
these jobs come to Taiwan under the guise of working aboard 
Taiwan fishing boats.  Once the boats dock in Taiwan, the PRC 
men disappear. In September 2006 the Ministry of Justice 
(MOJ) reported that the whereabouts of more than half of the 
2,000 Chinese fishermen hired by Suao Harbor fishing 
companies were unknown.  Law enforcement officials suspected 
the missing fishermen had found illegal work inside Taiwan. 
 
The number of female illegal PRC immigrants smuggled by boat 
has dropped, CGA officials say, because smugglers connected 
to Taiwan's sex industry are using other channels, including 
fraudulent marriages, to circumvent increased coastal 
patrols. PRC citizens can only legally enter Taiwan to 
conduct tourism or business, or to be the spouse of a 
Taiwanese citizen. 
 
Ninety percent of illegal PRC immigrants, male and female, 
come from Fujian province, situated only 90 miles across the 
Taiwan Strait.  According to the NIA, of those illegal PRC 
immigrants apprehended on Taiwan soil in 2006, 75 percent 
were found in northern Taiwan.  Seventy-three percent of PRC 
illegal immigrants arrested in Taiwan were found after living 
in Taiwan six months or less.  Almost half of those detained 
admitted to performing some kind of temporary labor while in 
Taiwan. 
 
Human smuggling groups in Sichuan and Fujian provinces 
actively recruit men, women, and girls willing to work in 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  003 OF 035 
 
 
Taiwan.  Others, seeking economic opportunities, may initiate 
contact with the smugglers in hopes of finding better 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 in the Taiwan economy. 
Other women will be delivered to secret locations, where 
auctions arranged by sex traffickers will take place. 
Brothel operators and others from Taiwan's commercial sex 
industry attend the auctions, where they "buy" women for 
their illegal operations.  After a woman has been sold, she 
is transported to a designated workplace, or to an apartment 
near the area where she will work. 
 
According to the National Police Agency, many PRC women know 
they are coming to Taiwan to work as prostitutes, but many do 
not.  In many cases, both those women who volunteer to work 
as prostitutes and those who do not are subjected to 
exploitative working conditions, physical or mental abuse, 
confinement, and other forms of coercion.  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. 
 
Taiwan continued to improve the protections and services 
afforded to trafficked PRC women.  NGOs report that the law 
requires police and other law enforcement officials to 
consider all girls under 18 years of age to be trafficking 
victims, not criminals.  Once trafficking victims are taken 
into custody, police and other government officials are 
required to protect them from further harm.  During the 
initial intake process at the one remaining Detention 
Facility in Ilan, immigration authorities apply a 
standardized TIP victim screening system, which considers 
information from the initial police interview, the 
circumstances of the migrant's arrival in Taiwan, and other 
evidence obtained by investigators.  After the initial intake 
is completed, a second interview is conducted with the 
assistance of social workers to ensure that victims are 
properly identified and afforded appropriate protections. 
Trafficking victims have regular access to NGOs and social 
workers, and recreational activities are provided and 
encouraged.  Both NGOs and religious social workers visit 
victims at the Ilan facility at least twice a week, and can 
visit more frequently if needed.  Taiwan authorities 
encourage trafficked women to cooperate with officials to 
prosecute traffickers. 
 
NGOs told AIT that immigration officials are increasingly 
distinguishing PRC trafficking victims from PRC criminals, 
and affording victims better protection and treatment. 
According to the Taiwan Women's' Rescue Foundation, when PRC 
citizens are repatriated to China, the Taiwan immigration 
officials notify PRC authorities which individuals were 
victims of trafficking.  NGOs told AIT that, although there 
is still considerable room for improvement, the Taiwan 
government is increasingly willing to incorporate NGO 
suggestions into its anti-trafficking policy and training 
programs, and law enforcement officials are consulting NGO 
representatives on difficult cases more frequently. 
 
NGOs were invited by the Taiwan government to participate in 
drafting the "Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Action 
Plan" (the "Plan") issued on November 8, 2006.  NGO 
representatives, academics, and foreign and local experts 
participated in eight separate meetings with senior-level 
Taiwan government officials from twelve different ministries 
and agencies, including MOI, MOJ, NIA, CLA, and NPA.  While 
NGOs criticized the Action Plan for offering too few specific 
changes, NGO representatives continue to participate in 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  004 OF 035 
 
 
bi-monthly Task Force meetings convened by the MOI to 
supervise and evaluate ongoing anti-trafficking efforts. 
 
The Taiwan government acknowledges that fraudulent marriages 
are commonly used by traffickers to introduce foreign women 
into Taiwan for labor or sexual exploitation.  Many women 
from China, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries are 
willing to marry Taiwan men in order to enjoy Taiwan's higher 
standard of living, and to earn money to assist relatives 
back home.  Traffickers disguised as marriage brokers exploit 
such motivations and lure many women to Taiwan in order to 
force them into prostitution or exploitative labor upon their 
arrival.  Other women may knowingly enter into a false 
marriage in hopes of finding gainful employment in Taiwan. 
These women do not intend to become prostitutes, but upon 
arrival are often coerced by traffickers into the sex trade 
or forced labor. In some cases, women, particularly from the 
PRC, knowingly enter into false marriages in order to work in 
Taiwan's sex industry.  These women are often subjected to 
exploitative working conditions to which they did not 
consent, including forced confinement or relocation, physical 
or mental abuse, and unfair withholding of pay. 
 
Traffickers of PRC women prefer using fraudulent marriages 
over smuggling by boat because it is safer and carries a 
lower risk of detection.  Trafficking syndicates in Vietnam, 
Indonesia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries use 
fake marriages to circumvent restrictions on certain classes 
of laborers, or to introduce women into Taiwan's sex 
industry. 
 
Some Taiwan men are willing to serve as bogus husbands 
because of the financial rewards, despite the risks 
associated with getting caught.  In facilitating a "bride's" 
residence in Taiwan, a typical "husband" can receive a free 
round trip to the bride's home country and as much as US 
$1,000 per month for up to one year.  Under current fraud and 
forgery laws, a man convicted of fraudulent marriage can face 
up to three years in prison.  He may also be convicted of 
aiding and abetting crimes furthered by the sham marriage, 
including forced prostitution and pimping.  A defendant 
convicted of marrying a PRC woman under false pretenses can 
be charged with violating the "Act Governing Relations 
Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area" 
(the Taiwan-PRC Relations Act), and can face a sentence of 
one to seven years.  Typical sentences for first-time 
offenders range between one to one-and-a-half years.  Many 
traffickers solicit mentally or physically disabled or 
destitute men to serve as husbands.  Courts often punish such 
men with sentences of less than one year.  Penalties for 
traffickers are higher, but traffickers themselves rarely 
enter into fraudulent marriages.  In 2004, one trafficker was 
sentenced to seven years for brokering several false 
marriages to traffick PRC women into Taiwan in violation of 
Taiwan-PRC Relations Act.  The conviction was overturned on 
appeal in 2007. 
 
According to MOI statistics, in 2006 one quarter of new 
marriages in Taiwan involved a foreign-born mother. There are 
approximately 133,000 spouses from Southeast Asia (100,000 of 
them from Vietnam) and another 233,000 spouses from the PRC 
living in Taiwan. 
 
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.  A 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 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  005 OF 035 
 
 
deportation to coerce and control women brought into Taiwan 
under the guise of marriage. 
 
Taiwan authorities have taken significant steps to discourage 
traffickers from abusing the spouse-visa program.  All 
foreign spouses must first apply to a Taiwan Bureau of 
Consular Affairs (BOCA) Overseas Office to obtain a visitor's 
visa to enter Taiwan.  In September 2003, Taiwan reinstated 
the face-to-face interview requirement for all PRC spouses 
seeking a visitor's visa to enter Taiwan.  Beginning in 
January 2005, face-to-face interviews were required of all 
prospective spouses from Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, the 
Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Interviews must be 
conducted by two BOCA staff members, chosen at random and 
rotated regularly to prevent collusion with applicants.  Once 
in Taiwan, each foreign spouse must apply for an Alien 
Residency Card (ARC).  At this stage, BOCA officials will 
interview the foreign spouse again, and his or her putative 
wife or husband.  The NIA maintains 39 interview rooms in 
Taiwan's five major cities, two international airports, and 
on Kinmen and Matsu islands, adjacent to the PRC's Fujian 
province.  Applicants found to be in sham marriages are 
immediately deported. 
 
The face-to-face interview requirement has helped to detect 
and deter fraudulent "marriages of convenience."  From 2004 
to 2005, the number of visitor's visas issued to Vietnamese 
spouses dropped from 11,953 to 7,062.  In 2006, the total 
number of visas issued to Vietnamese spouses dropped again, 
to 3,864.  The refusal rate for Vietnamese applicants has 
climbed from 10 percent in 2004 to 37 percent now.  PRC 
marriage visa applicants have dropped by a third over the 
past two years, and refusal rates have climbed from 12 
percent to above 30 percent. 
 
The Taiwan authorities have also adopted other measures to 
cut down on the trafficking of foreign spouses.  In 2003, the 
legislature amended the Taiwan-PRC Relations Act to increase 
penalties for Taiwanese entering into fraudulent marriages 
with PRC citizens.  In May 2005, the Taiwan government 
stipulated that Vietnamese women marrying Taiwan men must be 
at least 20 years old, and the age difference between the 
bride and groom must be less than 20 years.  The number of 
arranged marriages between Vietnamese women and Taiwan men 
dropped by 40 percent over the next several months.  Also in 
2005, the government began requiring both the foreign and 
Taiwan spouse to attend a mandatory two-hour session on their 
respective rights under Taiwan law.  In June 2006, the Taiwan 
government banned the formation of new cross-border 
matchmaking companies, and announced that existing firms 
would be subject to stricter regulations and monitoring.  In 
October 2006, a hotline was established to provide consulting 
services to foreign spouses in Chinese, English, Indonesian, 
Thai, and Vietnamese.  Over the past year, Taiwan authorities 
have also increased the number and frequency of surprise 
visits and phone calls to check on the whereabouts of persons 
involved in suspect cross-border marriages. 
 
The Taiwan government does not have reliable statistics on 
the number of women trafficked into Taiwan through fraudulent 
marriage.  According to a November 2006 report from the 
Immigration Bureau of the National Police Agency (now part of 
the recently-established National Immigration Agency), over 
the past three years immigration officials discovered 16,819 
PRC citizens in fraudulent marriages with Taiwan citizens, 
amounting to 12.6 percent of the 133,305 Chinese spouses who 
had entered Taiwan from September 2003 to October 2006. 
 
NGOs assert that the government does too little to educate 
migrants, including foreign spouses, about rights and 
protections available to them under Taiwan law.  This leaves 
them distrustful of authority, and vulnerable to 
misinformation and abuse from spouses, employers, and 
traffickers.  Traffickers are able to operate with relative 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  006 OF 035 
 
 
impunity, NGOs say, because law enforcement resources 
dedicated to combat trafficking are still inadequate. 
 
In August 2005, 1,700 Thai laborers working on the Kaohsiung 
area rapid transit system rioted over management conditions, 
withholding of pay, and poor living conditions.  The riot 
revealed the existence of a significant labor trafficking 
problem in Taiwan, and highlighted the need for changes to 
Taiwan's foreign labor importation system. 
 
According to MOI, there are approximately 340,000 foreign 
workers in Taiwan, primarily from the Philippines, Thailand, 
Vietnam, and Indonesia.  Fifty percent of these workers are 
employed in the manufacturing industry, and 45 percent are 
employed as nursing caregivers. 
 
Foreign workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, 
including construction workers, fishermen, and caregivers 
employed by hospitals or other commercial institutions are 
covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Law (LSL).  The LSL 
prohibits forced labor, establishes limits on premature 
contract termination, ensures basic minimum wage and overtime 
rates, sets limits on the work-day and work-week, and 
guarantees breaks and minimum time off. 
 
The protections offered by the LSL do not extend to the 
150,000 foreign workers employed as private nursing 
caregivers and domestic helpers.  They are covered instead by 
the Employment Services Act (ESA), which does not guarantee 
the 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 per month or less of 
free time.  Some employers forbid their employees from 
leaving the employer's residence, except on days off.  In 
this forced isolation, foreign domestic helpers and nursing 
caregivers are extremely vulnerable to abuse, including 
physical or mental abuse, and sexual assault.  The ESA does 
not afford foreign workers any protection against the 
employer's arbitrary termination of their contract. 
 
In November 2006, the CLA considered extending LSL coverage 
to foreign workers employed as private nursing caregivers and 
domestic helpers.  The proposal encountered stiff opposition 
from the League of Welfare Organizations for the Disabled, 
who argued that extending LSL coverage to these categories of 
workers would make care services for disabled family members 
unaffordable for about one-third of those families who 
currently employ such workers.  The CLA withdrew the 
proposal, but did not rule out its future reconsideration. 
 
To reduce the likelihood of labor trafficking and the 
incidence of employer abuse, on October 24, 2006, the CLA 
promulgated the "Living Conditions and Management Standards 
for Employment of Class B Foreign Workers," which establishes 
mandatory living conditions, including meals, free time, and 
a right to privacy, for all foreign workers.  Starting 
November 1, 2006, all employers must submit to local labor 
authorities a "Foreign Worker's Life Management Plan" for 
each foreign worker, within three days of the worker's 
arrival in Taiwan.  Local labor inspectors are required to 
conduct an inspection of the worker's living environment and 
working conditions within two months of receiving the 
employer's "Life Management Plan."  By the end of December 
2006, employers had submitted 6,287 plans for newly arrived 
foreign workers. 
 
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, 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  007 OF 035 
 
 
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. 
 
The Taiwan government grants commercial and private employers 
the right to employ a certain number of foreign workers per 
year.  Employers sell these "quotas" to the highest-bidding 
brokerage firm, which then recruits foreign workers to fill 
the quota, charging each worker exorbitant 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 gets rid of a 
problematic employee, and the broker can fill the empty quota 
with a new foreign worker.  The higher the turnover rate for 
foreign workers, the more money brokerage firms can make, 
since each new crop of workers can be charged new placement 
and brokerage fees. 
 
High brokerage fees and other charges frequently turn foreign 
workers into virtual indentured servants.  According to a 
2006 NGO report, foreign workers must pay combined placement, 
service fees, and food and boarding charges of 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 $15,840 (US $511), 
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 12.5 months to pay off average fixed debts of NT 
$343,500, leaving no money for himself. 
 
Domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are entitled to NT 
$15,840 monthly minimum salary, but typically are not paid 
overtime wages, 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 12.5 months to pay off 
average fixed debts of NT $198,500, leaving no money left 
over for other expenses. 
 
Taiwan regulations allow an employer, with the foreign 
worker's consent, to deduct up to 30 percent of the foreign 
worker's monthly salary to be placed in a bank account in the 
worker's name.  The employer holds the bank book and the 
worker has no access to this account.  The money, which 
typically amounts to around NT $3,000 per month, is only 
returned to the worker at the completion of his or her 
contract.  If the company goes bankrupt, the worker loses the 
money.  This practice is called "forced savings" because if 
the worker does not consent to the arrangement, the worker is 
sent home. 
 
Because the debts owed to brokers and employers are so great, 
most workers expect to save little or nothing during the 
first two years of their contracts.  In many cases, the 
financial pressure prompts workers to run away from their 
broker and employer in order to seek more profitable 
employment elsewhere.  Workers also flee to escape difficult 
or dangerous work, or to escape abuse by the broker or 
employer.  According to a 2005 NGO survey of 118 migrant 
workers who had quit their legal employment to begin working 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  008.2 OF 035 
 
 
illegally, 36 percent had quit because their take-home salary 
was too low after deductions for brokerage fees, food, board, 
tax, health and labor insurance, and forced savings. 
Eighteen percent had quit because the work was too difficult 
or dangerous. 
 
Foreign workers in Taiwan do not have the right to transfer 
to a new employer at will.  The ESA authorizes foreign 
workers to transfer to a new employer only under certain 
conditions:  (1) the employer or person to be cared for dies 
or departs Taiwan; (2) the vessel on which the worker is 
employed sinks, is under repair, or has been seized; (3) the 
factory or other work location is shut down, has suspended 
business, or is unable to pay the worker's salary; (4) the 
worker can prove he has suffered physical, sexual, or severe 
verbal abuse from the employer; (5) the worker reports that 
he has been forced by his legal employer to work for an 
illegal employer; and (6) after a previous warning from the 
government, the employer has forced the worker to again 
perform work outside the scope of his work permit or 
employment contract, or to work in an unauthorized workplace 
("illegal work"). 
 
Before January 2002, an employee was entitled to an immediate 
transfer upon proving that his employer had forced him to do 
illegal work.  In 2002, Article 72 of the ESA was revised to 
give an employer a chance to correct the illegal work 
situation within a specified period.  Now, a worker is only 
entitled to a transfer (and his employer will only be 
punished) after the employer's second illegal work violation. 
 This puts the foreign worker in a catch-22: a worker 
reporting a first violation risks destroying his relationship 
with the employer, who can retaliate by canceling the 
worker's contract and deporting him.  If the worker chooses 
not to report the illegal work, he risks being caught by the 
police and deported for working illegally (see further 
discussion at para. 29 (C), below). 
 
Assuming a foreign worker is entitled to transfer to a new 
employer for one of the enumerated reasons, domestic helpers 
and nursing caregivers must typically wait 6-8 weeks before 
the transfer is approved.  Factory and construction workers 
usually wait 3-4 weeks.  While waiting to transfer to a new 
employer, foreign workers are not allowed to work.  If they 
cannot find a new employer, they must depart Taiwan. 
 
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 
$511).  By hiring foreign workers in illegal status, illegal 
employers can circumvent the foreign worker quota system, 
taxes, and other financial burdens the government imposes on 
legal employers of foreign workers.  Although they may be 
able to earn more money, foreign workers in illegal status do 
not have a contract, are not protected by the LSL or ESA, and 
are not covered by health or labor insurance.  Because they 
fear deportation, foreign workers in illegal status rarely 
report employer misconduct to law enforcement or other 
government officials.  This makes them extremely vulnerable 
to employer abuse, including but not limited to physical or 
mental abuse and sexual assault.  Some illegal status foreign 
workers, desperate for any type of gainful employment, end up 
trafficked into forced labor or Taiwan's sex industry. 
 
NGOs reported that foreign workers often fell victim to labor 
trafficking -- having contracted to perform one type of work 
but forced to perform another type of work upon arrival in 
Taiwan.  Employers use this tactic to circumvent hiring 
limits on certain classes of workers, or workers from certain 
countries.  Employers and brokers both profit from it: 
brokers charge workers more to secure high-wage-plus-overtime 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  009 OF 035 
 
 
factory jobs than they do for low-wage domestic caretaker 
jobs.  Employers can pay foreign workers bound by domestic 
helper contracts less than those who signed factory worker 
contracts.  Since they are performing work outside the scope 
of their work permits and original contracts, foreign workers 
often believe they are in illegal status.  Many of these 
workers do not report labor trafficking violations to 
authorities because they do not know their rights and are 
fearful of deportation.  Other workers, in debt to brokers 
and possibly the employer, do not wish to lose what gainful 
employment they have.  In any event, the ESA grants employers 
one chance to "cure" certain violations, including forcing an 
employee to perform unauthorized work or to work at an 
unauthorized location, without penalty (see above).  If the 
foreign worker reports the violation, he risks retaliation 
from the employer, who will likely not be punished. 
 
According to the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), from 
December 2005 to December 2006, the number of foreign workers 
in illegal status decreased by 2.6 percent, to 21,051.  The 
number of Filipino workers in illegal status dropped by 6 
percent (2,982), and the number of illegal workers from 
Thailand and Vietnam also dropped, by 30 percent (1,839) and 
11 percent (10,711), respectively.  The number of Indonesian 
workers in illegal status rose by 39 percent, to 5,512.  Due 
to high "runaway" rates among Vietnamese workers, a ban on 
Vietnamese fishermen has been in effect since May 2004, and a 
ban on Vietnamese domestic helpers and nursing caregivers has 
been in place since January 2005. For similar reasons, a ban 
on Indonesian workers had been in effect from August 2002 to 
December 2004. 
 
In April 2006, CLA announced guidelines for heavier fines for 
those who employ or arrange employment for illegal foreign 
workers.  Administrative fines for labor violations are 
imposed and collected by local city and county governments. 
CLA urged local governments, which assess and collect these 
fines, to follow the new guidelines to heavily punish those 
who employ illegal workers.  Stiffer penalties were also 
announced for illegal foreign workers themselves.  The CLA 
emphasized that trafficking victims forced into illegal 
status by mistreatment or exploitation would not be 
repatriated, and their right to work in Taiwan would be 
preserved.  Despite the CLA's April 2006 new penalty 
guidelines, most city and county governments continued to 
assess minimum instead of maximum fines.  CLA officials told 
AIT the new penalty guidelines were non-binding 
recommendations, and that local governments retained 
discretion over labor violation fines. (Please see para. 29 
(C) below for further discussion.) 
 
In January 2007, CLA implemented new measures to simplify the 
re-hiring of foreign nursing caregivers and domestic helpers. 
 Under this "direct re-hiring program," employers can now 
file applications to re-hire the same foreign worker before 
the expiration of the worker's current contract.  The 
paperwork required of the foreign worker has been simplified, 
and time required out of Taiwan to renew the work permission 
has been shortened to one day from three weeks.  Brokers are 
not involved in arranging the contract renewal, saving the 
foreign worker a second brokerage fee and other charges often 
demanded by brokers. 
 
In March 2007, CLA revised the rules governing cash rewards 
for those who report violations of the Employment Standards 
Law (ESL). Informants can receive NT $50,000 for reporting 
illegal employment or brokerage of foreign workers, up from 
NT $5,000.  The reward for information leading to the arrest 
of a "runaway" worker has been increased from NT $2,000 to NT 
$5,000.  The reward for reporting an illegal foreign worker 
remains unchanged at NT $2,000.  NGOs strongly condemn 
rewards for the capture of "runaway" workers.  Workers who 
flee their employers because of exploitation or abuse are not 
criminals, NGOs argue, and should not have bounties placed on 
 
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their heads. 
 
CLA also announced a new reward structure to encourage the 
public to report cases of mistreatment of foreign workers. 
Under the new rules, depending upon the size of the company, 
informants can receive up to NT $100,000 for reporting poor 
management of foreign workers by local companies.  In 
addition, NT $50,000 will be paid to anyone reporting sexual 
harassment of foreign workers by their employers. 
 
Government leaders have demonstrated strong political will to 
combat trafficking in persons.  This commitment is best 
demonstrated by the "Executive Yuan Action Plan for 
Suppressing Trafficking in Persons" (the "Action Plan"), 
published by the EY 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.  By May 2007, each relevant government agency 
must submit its detailed proposal to meet Plan goals.  A 
Cabinet-level Minister without Portfolio, appointed by and 
responsible to the Executive Yuan, oversees and coordinates 
the multi-agency task force, which met for the first time in 
March 2007.  The Plan requires a comprehensive 
anti-trafficking strategy to be fully implemented by December 
¶2008. 
 
In an effort to streamline immigration policies and to 
improve immigration enforcement, the Taiwan government on 
January 2, 2007 launched the National Immigration Agency 
(NIA). The NIA replaces the National Police Agency's (NPA) 
Immigration Bureau and Foreign Affairs Department, and the 
Aviation and Harbor Police Bureaus. The NIA has also absorbed 
immigration-related duties from MOI, the Council for Labor 
Affairs (CLA), and several other government agencies.  The 
NIA is now responsible for formulating and implementing all 
policies and procedures relating to foreign workers, foreign 
spouses, and legal and illegal immigrants.  To improve 
accessibility to immigration services, in January 2007 the 
NIA opened 25 new immigration service offices in cities and 
counties across the island.  NIA also hired an additional 160 
immigration officers to speed handling of immigration 
matters. 
 
On December 11, 2006, the Legislative Yuan Home and Nations 
Sub-Committee approved the revised draft of the Immigration 
Act, which includes a new chapter on "Cross-Border Human 
Trafficking Prevention and Victim Protection."  The 
Immigration Act bill is currently under consideration by the 
Legislative Yuan, and is expected to be passed before the end 
of this legislative session in June 2007 (see 29.A below). 
 
27 C.  Limitations on Taiwan's Ability to Address TIP 
 
Until last year, Taiwan's difficult relationship with PRC had 
been its greatest handicap in fighting trafficking from the 
Mainland.  China and Taiwan signed the Kinmen Accord in 
September 1990, under which the PRC agreed to accept 
returning illegal immigrants from Taiwan within 20 days. 
According to Taiwan authorities, the complicated cross-Strait 
relationship, the lack of normal communication channels and 
the PRC's refusal to cooperate contributed to increasingly 
longer periods of detention for growing numbers of illegal 
PRC immigrants.  In 2004, nearly 5,000 PRC citizens were 
awaiting repatriation in Taiwan's four detention facilities. 
By February 2006, that number had been reduced to 
approximately 1,200 people detained in four separate 
 
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facilities.  As of February 2007, only 128 PRC citizens are 
being held in detention, in the one remaining facility in 
Ilan. 
 
According to NIA and Taiwan academics, the drastic decrease 
in the number of PRC detainees awaiting repatriation is the 
result of enhanced communication with Chinese authorities and 
improved cross-Strait relations.  During several large 
repatriation operations from November 2006 to February 2007, 
Taiwan returned an additional 370 illegal immigrants to the 
PRC, bringing the total number of detainees in Taiwan to its 
lowest level in 15 years.  Taiwan has closed three of its 
four detention facilities, leaving open only the Lotung 
facility in Ilan, which can accommodate 2,000 people. 
 
Taiwan faces few budget or personnel shortages that would 
hinder its ability to combat labor and sex trafficking from 
Southeast Asian source countries.  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 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 practices 
in source countries is limited.  Brokers in Taiwan are in 
direct communication with their counterparts in Vietnam, 
Thailand, the Philippines, 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 "quotas" 
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, even though in their view it would be desirable to 
eliminate the foreign labor brokerage system, they believed 
this could not be done because several legislators would 
oppose it for personal financial reasons. 
 
Taiwan's existing incentive system for police may need to be 
changed.  Officers receive large incentive payments for 
arrests involving drugs or firearms, and these kinds of cases 
weigh heavily in deciding promotions.  Trafficking cases take 
more time to investigate than drug or gun crimes, but 
trafficking arrests garner less incentive money and do little 
to boost an officer's chances for promotion.  A Foreign 
 
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Affairs Police bureau chief suggested trafficking 
investigations and arrests would increase if the incentive 
system were recalibrated. 
 
27 D. Taiwan Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Efforts 
 
Taiwan now systematically monitors its anti-trafficking 
efforts on all three fronts -- prevention, protection, and 
prosecution.  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.  The multi-agency 
task force convened for the first time on March 7, 2007. 
Following the meeting, the Executive Yuan delivered to AIT 
the "Executive Yuan Report on Prevention of Trafficking in 
Persons."  The Report detailed government plans to prevent 
trafficking through education and early detection, to improve 
protections and services for trafficking victims, and to 
intensify prosecution and punishment of traffickers.  The 
Report also established anti-TIP benchmarks and reported 
progress made toward reaching those goals since the Action 
Plan was approved on November 8, 2006. 
 
The MOJ issued its own internal "Human Trafficking Prevention 
Concrete Implementation Plan" on December 27, 2006.  Pursuant 
to this plan, in January 2007 the Taiwan High Court 
Prosecutor's Office established a unit of six senior-level 
prosecutors to supervise lower District Court handling of 
trafficking cases.  Each of Taiwan's 21 District Court 
prosecutor's offices was required to designate a senior-level 
prosecutor to manage trafficking cases at the local level. 
 
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. 
 Taiwan does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, 
so 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.  MOJ statistics did not distinguish between actual 
trafficking cases and "trafficking-related" offenses like 
smuggling and prostitution.  In January 2007, in cooperation 
with District Court prosecutors and local law enforcement, 
the Taiwan High Court began tracking trafficking cases based 
on the facts of the cases themselves; specifically, whether a 
given case involves the control, coercion, and exploitation 
typical of trafficking cases.  These new statistics have been 
provided to AIT. 
 
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 worker 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. 
 
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. 
 
In 2006, the MOI authorized the Central Police University to 
 
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study international human trafficking patterns, and to 
investigate and analyze statistics on human trafficking in 
Taiwan.  According to the EY, the results of this project 
will be available to government authorities to guide further 
efforts to combat trafficking. 
 
The government began monitoring trafficking of children and 
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. 
 
Section 2 - PREVENTION 
 
28 A. Taiwan Acknowledgment of the Problem 
 
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, in the past, 
traffickers had 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, 
coordinating efforts between different agencies at both the 
national and local level. 
 
28 B. Taiwan Agency Structure for Anti-Trafficking 
 
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 Peoples, 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. 
 
28 C. Information, Education and Communication 
 
The Taiwan government conducts anti-trafficking information 
and education campaigns that target potential and actual 
victims of trafficking, both domestically and abroad. 
 
In January 2006 the government opened a special service 
counter at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to 
disseminate labor rights information to arriving workers and 
to hear grievances and to provide emergency assistance to 
laborers about to depart Taiwan.  NGOs argue that the 
location of the service counters in the non-secure, 
pre-immigration area of the airport enables brokers to 
 
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physically prevent workers from reporting problems.  CLA 
officials respond that workers can also use emergency phones 
located in the airport's secure post-immigration area to 
report complaints.  NGOs counter that the emergency phones 
are not marked for that purpose, rendering them useless to 
uninformed workers.  NGOs also charge that the airport 
service counter staff are poorly trained, and that the 
counters often run out of informational pamphlets.  CLA 
contends the service counter's usefulness to foreign workers 
is demonstrated by the 270 emergency petitions and 94,000 
service requests processed during the 2006 calendar year. 
The 2006 CLA budget for the Taoyuan Service Center was US 
$645,000.  There are plans in place to open a second worker 
service counter at the international airport in Kaohsiung. 
 
CLA supports 24 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers 
located around Taiwan.  The Centers, operated by local 
governments 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.  In 2006, CLA budgeted US $1.3 
million to subsidize the centers.  In 2007, CLA increased its 
annual budget for the service centers to US $2.1 million, to 
ensure that city and county governments had sufficient 
resources to defray attorney fees, court costs, and other 
fees associated with litigating foreign workers' legal 
claims. 
 
In 2006, CLA gave US $923 thousand to city and county 
governments and private organizations to host 128 social 
events for foreign workers.  The events were designed to 
bring foreign workers together, where government and NGO 
representatives could inform them of their rights and 
obligations under Taiwan law.  According to CLA, more than 
62,000 foreign workers attended these events. 
 
To increase foreign workers' awareness of their rights under 
Taiwan law, the CLA published a booklet entitled "Legal 
Workers are Good Workers,"  which used pictures to depict 
legal and illegal conduct by workers and employers.  CLA also 
disseminated 90,000 employer handbooks and 255,000 foreign 
worker handbooks, translated into English, Vietnamese, 
Indonesian, and Thai.  CLA also helped city and county 
governments defray expenses associated with foreign labor 
affairs reporting, reform of foreign labor regulations, and 
training conferences for local law enforcement and social 
services personnel.  CLA's 2006 budget for publications and 
foreign labor-related assistance to local governments was US 
$1 million.  The 2007 budget was increased by 75 percent, to 
US $1.76 million. 
 
The Action Plan requires MAC to continue and expand its 
"Mainland Spousal Guidance Program," which uses town 
hall-style meetings, social events, information hotlines, 
websites and printed handbooks to inform Mainland-born 
spouses of their rights under Taiwan law.  MAC is also 
required to continue and expand its subsidies to NGOs to 
continue dialogue with the PRC on anti-trafficking efforts 
and other related cross-Strait exchanges. 
 
The Taiwan government subsidizes NGO-run domestic trafficking 
prevention outreach programs targeting minors and Southeast 
Asian women married to Taiwanese men. The Action Plan 
obligates MOI to establish by October 2007 a formal mechanism 
to accept and evaluate NGO requests for government subsidies 
for programs to combat trafficking. 
 
Taiwan government representative Overseas Offices in 
Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam conduct 
pre-entry counseling seminars for foreign spouses of Taiwan 
citizens.  The seminars are conducted by experienced local 
 
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counselors, and contain information on the rights and 
obligations of foreign spouses living in Taiwan.  In 2006, 
6,200 Southeast Asian foreign spouses had participated in 
these seminars. After the PRC, Vietnamese citizens constitute 
the majority of foreign spouses married to Taiwan citizens. 
For this reason, the Overseas Office in Ho Chi Minh city has 
created a website to help Vietnamese spouses obtain necessary 
information.  By January 2007, the site had received 30,000 
hits. 
 
The Action Plan obligates MOI by June 2007 to develop and 
implement programs and publish materials to increase the 
general public's awareness of human trafficking, and to 
increase foreign laborers' understanding of their rights and 
remedies under Taiwan law. 
 
28 D. Other Programs to Prevent Trafficking 
 
Taiwan authorities at the central and local government level 
are active in combating many of the social ills which 
predispose individuals to becoming victims of trafficking. 
 
All city and county governments maintain violence prevention 
and control centers to address domestic and sexual violence 
and child abuse, environmental factors which can contribute 
to homelessness, thereby increasing an individual's 
vulnerability to sex or labor exploitation.  Victims of 
abuse, including foreign born-spouses and foreign workers, 
can receive medical treatment, emergency assistance, shelter, 
legal and family counseling, language education and other 
forms of training. 
 
CLA regularly conducts publicity campaigns to inform young 
people, first-time job seekers, and other workers of their 
labor rights and remedies, and to increase awareness of the 
labor- and sex-trafficking risks associated with deceptive 
job offers. 
 
In 2006, the Taiwan central and local governments began a US 
$100 per month per child subsidy program to reduce financial 
stress on lower-income families deemed to be at higher risk 
for child abuse.  The central government paid 70 percent of 
the US $6.4 million program and local governments paid the 
rest.  The program was expected to help as many as 15,000 
underprivileged children.  The central government allocated 
an additional US $1 million to hire an additional 140 social 
workers to manage child welfare cases.  The MOI tripled 
funding for social welfare NGOs to US $3 million to assist 
their efforts to increase public awareness of child abuse and 
domestic violence, and to identify and assist children and 
families deemed at high risk. In January 2007, the government 
also offered a US $100 per month rental subsidy for 
low-income families unable to afford decent housing. 
 
Adults and children are provided subsidized health care under 
the national health insurance plan.  In January 2007, the 
Taiwan government assumed responsibility for paying the 
insurance premiums for family members of jobless insured 
workers. 
 
Education for children between six and 15 years of age is 
free, universal, compulsory and enforced.  According to 
government statistics, 99 percent of eligible children attend 
primary and junior high school.  The Department of Education 
tracks school dropouts, provides counseling, and encourages 
these students to return to school.  The Action Plan requires 
the Department of Education to submit a proposal to improve 
the effectiveness of this program by December 2007.  The 
government recently decided to extend compulsory education 
from nine to twelve years, starting in 2009. 
 
The government continues to financially support a program 
sponsored by End Child Prostitution, Pornography and 
Trafficking (ECPAT) in which counselors visit teenage girls 
 
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in shelters once a week to ensure they do not become 
trafficking victims.  In 2005, local police forces around 
Taiwan joined forces with ECPAT to combat Internet child 
pornography.  With assistance from local Internet service 
providers, over the past two years the operation shut down 
2,442 websites, and 69 cases were referred to the Central 
Investigative Bureau for further investigation. 
 
28 E. Taiwan Relationship with NGOs, Civil Society, Relevant 
Organizations on Trafficking 
 
The Taiwan government has a strong working relationship with 
a number of NGOs and other civic organizations involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts, including the Women's Rescue 
Foundation, ECPAT Taiwan, the Presbyterian Church, the 
Catholic Society of Jesus, the Good Shepherd Sisters, the 
Hope Workers' Center, the Stella Maris International Service 
Center, the Color Page Women's Volunteer Organization, the 
Chinese Muslim Association, the Chunghua Foundation for 
Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, the United Way, and 
the Garden of Hope Foundation. 
 
NGOs were involved in the drafting of Taiwan's anti-TIP 
Action Plan.  The 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.  This has prompted some NGO leaders to 
criticize the government for being more interested in 
improving its image than in actually solving Taiwan's sex- 
and labor-trafficking problem. 
 
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 China, and to conduct social and educational 
programs for them. 
 
The Taiwan government sponsors NGO participation in 
international anti-trafficking meetings and exchanges. 
Taiwan will host an international anti-trafficking seminar in 
August 2007, and will invite NGOs and academics to 
participate.  Taiwan 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. 
 
28 F. Taiwan Border Control Screening and Monitoring of 
Emigration/Immigration Patterns for Evidence of TIP 
 
In an effort to streamline immigration policies and to 
improve immigration enforcement, the Taiwan government on 
January 2, 2007 launched the National Immigration Agency 
(NIA).  The NIA replaces the National Police Agency's (NPA) 
Immigration Bureau and Foreign Affairs Department, and the 
 
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Aviation and Harbor Police Bureaus. The NIA has also absorbed 
immigration-related duties from MOI, the Council for Labor 
Affairs (CLA), and several other government agencies.  The 
NIA is now the lead agency for formulating and implementing 
all policies and procedures relating to foreign workers, 
foreign spouses, and legal and illegal immigrants. 
 
The NIA, NPA and other government agencies collect and 
compile statistics on legal and illegal immigration to study 
human trafficking trends and to formulate future policy. 
NIA, MOFA, NPA, and the Coast Guard monitor and report 
statistics on the number of illegal foreign immigrants 
apprehended in Taiwan, including those from the PRC, Vietnam, 
Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries.  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 reports 
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 traffick 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. 
 
28 G. Existence of Trafficking and Corruption Task Forces 
 
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 Portfolio has been 
appointed to oversee the task force.  The MOI has also 
appointed a vice-minister to serve as the single point of 
contact for TIP-related inquiries. 
 
Taiwan also has a multi-agency task-force aimed at preventing 
the trafficking of under-age girls.  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 monitors implementation of the 1995 
statute and provides guidance to member agencies through 
semi-annual written reports. 
 
In addition to the inter-agency 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, 
 
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and high-ranking military officials. 
 
28 H. National Plan of Action 
 
Taiwan has a national plan of action to combat trafficking in 
persons.  The Action Plan tasks government agencies to meet 
various goals by specific deadlines.  Goals not specifically 
mentioned elsewhere in this report include: 
 
Protection 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) must (1) enhance 
efforts to detect and deter fraudulent visa applicants, 
especially spouse visa applicants, at its Overseas offices; 
(2) improve efforts to crack down on cross-border marriage 
brokerage companies suspected of trafficking, and (3) improve 
cooperation and communication between Taiwan's Overseas 
Offices, the National Immigration Agency, local law 
enforcement, and NGOs to combat trafficking rings.  These are 
ongoing projects. 
 
The Education Department must enhance current efforts to 
provide guidance counseling and social services for young 
people no longer attending school to help them find lawful 
employment and to avoid becoming victims of trafficking. 
The targeted implementation date for these new programs is 
December 2007. 
 
MOI was tasked to supervise the revised draft of the 
Immigration Act, which includes a new chapter on 
"Cross-Border Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim 
Protection."  The Immigration Act bill is currently under 
consideration by the Legislative Yuan, and is expected to be 
passed before the end of this legislative session in June 
¶2007. 
 
MOI has also been tasked to: (1) develop a formal policy for 
granting government subsidies to NGOs involved in assisting 
victims of human trafficking; (2) establish a mechanism to 
evaluate trafficking victims' requests to be returned to 
their home countries; (3) formulate a policy to postpone the 
repatriation of trafficking victims who may face bodily harm 
in their home countries; and (4) submit proposed revisions to 
existing immigration laws to allow foreign national 
trafficking victims legal residence in Taiwan if they agree 
to assist in the investigation, prosecution, and conviction 
of alleged traffickers.  These tasks must be completed by 
October 2007. 
 
On an ongoing basis, MOI must supervise and assist local 
government efforts to increase the number of short-term and 
emergency shelters for trafficking victims, and to provide 
medical care, counseling, legal aid, and other necessary 
assistance. 
 
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and MOI must review and 
revise the laws governing relations with the PRC, Hong Kong, 
and Macau, and submit proposed revisions to allow victims of 
trafficking from those regions to extend their stay in Taiwan 
or to obtain legal residence in exchange for assisting in the 
investigation, prosecution, and conviction of alleged 
traffickers.  These proposals must be submitted by October 
¶2007. 
 
The Action Plan tasks the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) to 
review existing foreign labor shelter facilities and to 
submit a proposal to increase the number of available 
shelters.  CLA has also been instructed to work with local 
governments to update databases of multilingual employees, to 
create an island-wide network of interpreters to assist 
foreign workers.  These tasks must be completed no later than 
March 2007. 
 
In order to improve protections for foreign workers against 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  019 OF 035 
 
 
excessive service fees and other side agreements, CLA has 
proposed to commission NGOs and other non-profit 
organizations to evaluate rules used by other countries to 
regulate cross-border employment agencies and to control 
contract fees, and to recommend changes to CLA's existing 
rules.  To protect the rights of foreign workers during 
investigation and trial, CLA and MOI have proposed 
establishing "victim advocacy units" to provide legal counsel 
to workers during the investigative process, starting with 
initial questioning. CLA must submit plans to accomplish 
these goals no later than December 2007. 
 
MOFA is working to sign bilateral agreements with labor 
source country governments to establish mechanisms for the 
safe return of trafficking victims to their home countries, 
and to increase cross-border cooperation to combat 
trafficking.  MOJ has sent a draft "Taiwan and Vietnam 
Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement" to Vietnam for review. 
MOJ plans to send officials to Vietnam to complete 
negotiations and sign the agreement. 
 
Prevention 
 
CLA must enhance training for local government labor 
inspectors and counseling personnel to improve their ability 
to identify and protect trafficking victims.  This includes 
requiring all inspectors and counselors to attend special 
training sessions to identify and assist victims of 
trafficking, and equipping each inspector and counselor with 
a handbook and standard operating procedure for identifying 
trafficking victims.  These goals must be achieved by June 
¶2007. 
 
To enhance the quality of medical services available to 
foreign workers, including those who are victims of 
trafficking, the Health Ministry must draft a multilingual 
handbook of common medical issues.  The handbook must be 
posted on the Health Ministry website, so health 
professionals island-wide can use it to inform foreign worker 
patients.  This must be completed by April 2007. 
 
Prosecution 
 
MOJ has been tasked to train police, immigration officials, 
and other law enforcement personnel how to protect a 
trafficking victim during an investigation, and how to 
conduct trafficking investigations to increase the 
probability of conviction at trial.  MOJ must submit its 
proposed training plan by April 2007. 
 
Section 3 - INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
29 A. Laws Specifically Prohibiting Trafficking in Persons 
 
Taiwan does not have a comprehensive TIP law, but trafficking 
in persons is specifically prohibited by the 1995 Child and 
Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA) and Articles 
296 and 296-1 of the Criminal Code.  According to MOJ, in 
2006 three people were indicted for violating Article 23, 
paragraph 2 of the CYSTPA and 74 people were indicted for 
violating Criminal Code Article 296. 
 
On December 11, 2006, the Legislative Yuan Home and Nations 
Sub-Committee approved the revised draft of the Immigration 
Act, which includes a new chapter on "Cross-Border Human 
Trafficking Prevention and Victim Protection." The 
Immigration Act bill is currently under consideration by the 
Legislative Yuan, and is expected to be passed before the end 
of the legislative session in June 2007. 
 
The "Cross-Border Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim 
Protection" chapter requires prosecutors, law enforcement, 
and other government officials involved in the investigation 
and prosecution of trafficking offenses to protect 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  020 OF 035 
 
 
trafficking victims' privacy and personal security.  The 
government is required to provide medical assistance, 
psychological counseling, shelter, translation, and legal 
services to victims of trafficking, and to secure their 
personal belongings.  If the victims are children or minors, 
a social worker must be appointed to accompany the child or 
minor through all stages of police questioning, and if 
necessary, investigation and trial of the alleged 
traffickers. 
 
The chapter further 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. 
 
The Home and Nations Sub-Committee also approved a proposed 
revision to Article 31 of the Immigration Act, to allow 
foreign workers to legally remain in Taiwan until pending 
claims against their employer are fully resolved.  This 
amendment is also being considered by the current legislative 
session, which ends on June 2007. 
 
In 2004, Taiwan amended the Act Governing Relations Between 
Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (the "Act") 
to increase punishments 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 Articles 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 of the boat used in the smuggling operation. 
 
29 B. Penalties for Sexual Exploitation-Related Trafficking 
 
Article 23 of the CYSTPA states: 
 
-- One who seduces, permits, facilitates, helps, or by other 
means causes a person under the age of eighteen to engage in 
a sexual transaction shall be sentenced to more than one year 
but fewer than seven years in prison, and fined not more than 
NT $3,000,000. 
 
-- One who intends to profit by committing this crime shall 
be sentenced to more than three years but less than ten years 
in prison, and fined not more than NT $5,000,000. 
 
Article 24 of the CYSTPA states: 
-- One who uses coercion, threats, drugs, fraud, hypnotism or 
other means to make a person under the age of eighteen engage 
in a sexual transaction shall be sentenced to more than seven 
years in prison, and fined not more than NT $2 million (US 
$57,100). 
 
-- One who intends to profit by committing this crime shall 
be punished with imprisonment of more than ten years, and 
fined not more than NT $7 million (US $200,000). 
 
-- One who habitually commits this crime shall be punished 
with life imprisonment or imprisonment of not less than 10 
years, and fined not more than NT $10 million (US $285,700). 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  021 OF 035 
 
 
Article 25 of the CYSTPA states: 
 
-- One who intends to make a profit by involving a person 
under the age of eighteen in sexual transactions through 
trafficking, pawning or other means of the same nature shall 
be punished with imprisonment of more than seven years, and 
fined not more than NT $7 million (US 200,000). 
 
Chapter 26 of the Criminal Code, "Offenses Against Personal 
Liberty" provides an all-encompassing statute against 
trafficking.  Chapter 26, Article 296, "Forcing a Person into 
Slavery," states that: 
 
-- A person who enslaves another or places another in a 
position without freedom similar to slavery shall be punished 
with imprisonment of not less than one and not more than 
seven years. 
 
In 1999, the Criminal Code was revised to include Article 
296-1, "Trafficking in Persons," which states that: 
 
a) A person who buys, sells, or holds another person in 
custody shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than 
five years, and fined not more than NT $500,000 (US $16,000). 
 
b) A person who commits the aforementioned offense to cause a 
female or male person to have sexual relations with another 
person shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than 
seven years, and fined not more than NT $500,000 (US $16,000). 
 
c) A person who forces, intimidates, extorts, controls, uses 
drugs or other illegal means to commit the offenses described 
in (a) or (b) shall receive the punishment prescribed by (a) 
or (b), with prison time and fines increased up to one half. 
 
d) A person who introduces, accommodates, or conceals a 
victim of the crimes specified in (a)-(c) shall be punished 
with imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than 
seven years, and fined not more than NT $300,000 (US $9,600). 
 
e) A person who habitually commits any of the crimes 
specified in (a)-(d) shall be punished with a minimum of ten 
years and a maximum of life in prison and fined not more than 
NT $700,000 (US $22,500). 
 
f) A public official who conceals a person who has committed 
any of the crimes specified by (a)-(e) shall receive the 
punishment prescribed by (a)-(e), with prison time and fines 
increased up to one half. 
 
The 1999 revision to the Criminal Code also added Article 
231-1, which stipulates: 
 
1) A person who for profit coerces, threatens, intimidates, 
controls, drugs, hypnotizes or uses other methods to overcome 
the will of a female or male person in order to have that 
person engage in sexual relations or obscene conduct with a 
third person shall be punished with imprisonment of not less 
than seven years, and fined not more than NT $300,000 (US 
$9,600). 
 
2) A person who introduces, accommodates, or conceals a 
person who has committed the crime specified by (1) shall be 
punished with imprisonment of not less than one year and not 
more than seven years. 
 
3) A person who habitually commits the crimes specified in 
(1) or (2) shall be punished with imprisonment of not less 
than ten years, coupled with a fine of not more than NT 
$500,000 (US $16,000). 
 
4) A public official who conceals a person who has committed 
any of the crimes specified by (1)-(3) shall receive the 
punishment prescribed by (1)-(3), with prison time and fines 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  022 OF 035 
 
 
increased up to one half. 
 
According to MOJ, 36 sex-trafficking cases were prosecuted in 
2006, involving 229 defendants.  Because Taiwan has no 
specialized anti-trafficking law, prosecutors resorted to 
various criminal statutes to prosecute alleged traffickers. 
 
Three individuals were charged with violating Article 15 of 
the Taiwan-PRC Relations Act (smuggling PRC nationals into 
Taiwan, illegal or unauthorized work or conduct), and four 
were accused of violating Article 79 (violating the Act for 
profit). 
 
Three individuals were prosecuted for violating Article 23 of 
the CYSTPA (soliciting or facilitating child prostitution). 
 
Under the Criminal Code, seventeen individuals were charged 
with violating Article 216 (using forged government 
documents), and twenty-one were charged for violating Article 
214 (inducing a public official to perform a false or 
dishonest act.)  Twenty-eight individuals were charged with 
violating Article 231 (procurement) and eighteen were charged 
with violating Article 231-1 (forced prostitution). 
Seventy-four were charged with violating Article 296 
(slavery), one defendant was charged under Article 304 (use 
of violence or coercion to compel another), one defendant was 
charged under Article 221 (rape), and one defendant was 
charged under Article 185-4 (vehicular homicide).  Eight of 
the aforementioned defendants were charged under recidivist 
statutes, mandating prison time of up to five years. 
 
According to MOJ, from the start of 2007, an additional 41 
trafficking cases, involving 274 people, have been 
investigated.  Thirty-nine cases were filed against 253 
defendants.  Eighteen individuals have been convicted and 
taken into custody. 
 
Thirty-eight individuals were charged with violating Article 
15 of the Act (smuggling PRC citizens into Taiwan or illegal 
employment), and 131 were accused of violating Article 79 
(smuggling and/or trafficking of PRC citizens).  Three 
individuals were also charged with violating Article 82-1 of 
the Act (recruiting PRC students without government 
permission). 
 
Three individuals were prosecuted for violating Article 23 of 
the CYSTPA (soliciting or facilitating child prostitution), 
and 35 were charged for violating Article 24 (forcible 
prostitution of a minor). 
 
Under the Criminal Code, eleven individuals were charged with 
violating Article 216 (using forged government documents), 
and eight were charged for violating Article 218 (forging 
official seals on public documents.)  One individual was 
charged with perjury under Article 168.  Seventeen 
individuals were charged with violating Article 231 
(procurement for prostitution). 
 
One individual was charged with violating Article 24 of the 
Passport Act (counterfeiting or tampering with passport 
documents causing damage to the public). 
 
29 C. Punishment of Labor-Related Trafficking 
 
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. 
 
Employment Service Act 
 
Article 44: No one may let a foreign worker stay and work 
illegally. 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  023 OF 035 
 
 
 
Article 45: No one may refer a foreign worker to work for an 
unauthorized employer. 
 
Article 57: An employer of a foreign worker shall not: 
 
(1) Employ a foreign worker without obtaining an Employment 
Permit, or employ a foreign worker after the employer's 
Employment Permit has expired, or employ a foreign worker 
that has been authorized to work for another employer; 
 
(2) Cause an authorized foreign worker to work for an 
unauthorized employer; 
 
(3) Cause a foreign worker to engage in work not within the 
scope of the employer's Employment Permit; 
 
(4) Cause a foreign worker employed as a fisherman, household 
assistant to change his or her workplace without obtaining 
prior government approval; 
 
(5) Fail to arrange for the employed foreign worker to 
undergo health examinations, or fail to timely submit health 
examination reports to the Competent Health Authority; 
 
(6) Dismiss or lay off a national worker as a result of 
having employed a foreign worker; 
 
(7) Coerce, threaten, or by the use of any illegal means 
force a foreign worker to engage in work contrary to the 
worker's free will; 
 
(8) Illegally withhold the passport or residence certificate 
of a foreign worker, or embezzle belongings of a foreign 
worker. 
 
(9) Violate any other provisions of the Employment Standards 
Act or regulations promulgated pursuant to the Employment 
Standards Act. 
 
Article 63:  Anyone that violates Article 44 or Subparagraph 
(1) or (2) of Article 57 shall be fined at least NT $150,000 
and at most NT $750,000; anyone who repeats a violation of 
the same provisions within five years shall be imprisoned for 
a term not to exceed three years, or be detained for hard 
labor, and/or fined an amount not to exceed NT $1,200,000. 
 
Article 64:  Anyone who violates the provisions of Article 45 
shall be fined an amount of at least NT $100,000 and at most 
NT $500,000; anyone who repeats a violation within five years 
shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year, or be 
detained for hard labor, and/or fined an amount not to exceed 
NT $600,000. 
 
Anyone who violates the provisions of Article 45 in order to 
profit therefrom shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed 
three years, or be detained for hard labor, and/or fined an 
amount not to exceed NT $1,200,000. 
 
Anyone who violates as a usual practice the provisions of 
Article 45 shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed five 
years, and in addition, may also be fined an amount not to 
exceed NT $1,500,000. 
 
Article 72, subparagraph (3) operates to give an employer a 
limited time to correct illegal work situations prohibited by 
Article 57, subparagraphs (3) and (4).  Article 72 reads in 
relevant part: 
 
Where any of the following circumstances has arisen or 
existed, the Employer's Recruitment Permit and Employment 
Permit shall be annulled in whole or in part: 
 
(1) Any of the circumstances as referred to in Article 54, 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  024 OF 035 
 
 
paragraph (1) has arisen or existed; 
 
(2) Any of the circumstances as referred to in Article 57, 
subparagraphs (1), (2), (6)-(9) have arisen or existed; 
 
(3) The employer has failed to rectify within the specified 
period any of the circumstances referred to in Article 57, 
subparagraphs (3) and (4). 
 
Labor Standards Law 
 
Article 5: No employer may, by force, coercion, detention, or 
other illegal practice, compel a worker to do work. 
 
Article 75: An employer who violates the provisions of 
Article 5 shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five 
years, detained for hard labor, and/or fined NT $50,000. 
 
In April 2006, CLA announced guidelines for heavier fines for 
those who employ or arrange employment for illegal foreign 
workers.  Administrative fines for labor violations are 
imposed and collected by local city and county governments. 
CLA urged local governments to heavily punish those who 
employ illegal workers.  Under the new guidelines, an 
individual who knowingly hires an illegal foreign worker for 
over 30 days or employs two or more illegal foreign workers 
for more than 15 days should pay the maximum fine of US 
$25,000 (NT $750,000).  If an employer commits two offenses 
within a five year period, he should face up to three years 
in jail and the maximum fine of up to US $40,000 (NT $1.2 
million).  One who knowingly arranges work for an illegal 
foreign worker, or unknowingly arranges work for two or more 
illegal foreign workers, should be fined the maximum US 
$16,000 (NT $500,000). 
 
Stiffer penalties were also announced for illegal foreign 
workers themselves.  Any foreign worker who has stayed in 
Taiwan illegally for more than six months now faces a maximum 
fine of US $5,000, in addition to repatriation and permanent 
exclusion from Taiwan.  The CLA emphasized that trafficking 
victims forced into illegal status by mistreatment or 
exploitation would not be repatriated, and their right to 
work in Taiwan would be preserved. 
 
Despite the CLA's April 2006 new penalty guidelines, most 
city and county governments continued to assess minimum 
instead of maximum fines.  According to CLA, an employers 
found to have illegally changed the place or nature of a 
foreign worker's employment were typically fined US $1,000, 
not the $5,000 maximum.  Employers found to have hired 
illegal foreign workers or to have transferred a legal 
foreign worker to an unauthorized employer were fined $5,000, 
one-fifth of the $25,000 maximum.  CLA officials told AIT the 
new penalty guidelines were non-binding recommendations, and 
that local governments retained discretion over assessing and 
collecting labor violation fines. 
 
According to MOJ, in 2006 law enforcement officials referred 
to MOJ for possible prosecution 41 cases of labor brokers 
illegally detaining workers or improperly demanding 
extra-contractual payments, 308 cases of employers illegally 
harboring foreign workers, 1584 cases of employers hiring 
foreign workers without proper permit, 110 cases of employers 
allowing their approved foreign workers to work for an 
unauthorized third party, and 618 cases of employers 
assigning foreign workers to perform unauthorized work or to 
relocate to an unauthorized work site.  The majority of these 
cases were punished administratively pursuant to Articles 57 
and 63 of the ESA, which specifies that illegal employment 
and detention of foreign workers can be punished by fines of 
NT $150,000-750,000 (US $5,000-25,000), and their licenses to 
recruit and employ foreign laborers can be partially or fully 
revoked. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  025 OF 035 
 
 
Of the aforementioned 2006 ESA violations, district 
prosecutors from January 2006 through February 2007 filed 62 
criminal cases against 122 defendants for ESA violations. 
Twenty-one individuals were convicted of violating Article 63 
(illegal employment of a foreign worker). Eight of those 
defendants were sentenced to less than six months in prison, 
eight were imprisoned for hard labor, and five were fined 
between NT $150,000-750,000.  Another fourteen individuals 
were convicted of violating Article 64 (illegal transfer of a 
foreign worker to a third party).  All fourteen defendants 
were sentenced to less than six months in prison, two were 
assigned to hard labor, and five were fined between NT 
$100,000-500,000. 
 
29 D. Penalties for Rape or Forcible Sexual Assault 
 
Taiwan's Criminal Code prescribes the following penalties for 
those found guilty of the offenses of rape, forcible sex, and 
obscene conduct: 
 
Article 221 (normal punishment): Any person who has forced, 
intimidated, or threatened any man or woman into having 
carnal relations, or has done so by inducing hypnosis or 
other means against his or her freewill, shall be punished 
with a prison term of not less than three years and not more 
than 10 years.  An attempt to commit the above offense is 
punishable. 
 
Article 222 (enhanced punishment): A person who has committed 
the above offense under one of the following circumstances 
shall be punished with life prison or a prison term of more 
than seven years: 
 
Committing the offense together with one or more persons; 
Committing the offense against anyone under the age of 14; 
Committing the offense by administering drugs;  Committing 
the offense and torturing the victim;  Committing the offense 
while employed on a means of public transportation; 
Committing the offense after breaking into an inhabited 
building or vessel;  Committing the offense with the help of 
weapon(s). 
 
Article 224 (normal punishment): A person who has forced, 
intimidated, or threatened any man or woman into committing 
an indecent act, or has done so by inducing hypnosis or other 
means against his or her freewill, shall be punished with a 
prison term of not less than six months and not more than 
five years. 
 
Article 224 (Section 1) (offenses subject to enhanced 
punishment): Any person who has done so under one of the 
circumstances prescribed in Article 222 shall be punished 
with a prison term of not less than three years and no more 
than 10 years. 
 
Article 225 (committing the offense by taking advantage of 
the victim's mental or physical disabilities or incapacity): 
Any person who has committed the offense of rape against any 
man or woman by taking advantage of his or her mental or 
physical disabilities or incapacity shall be punished with a 
prison term of more than three years and less than 10 years. 
Any person who has committed an indecent act against any man 
or woman by taking advantage of his or her mental 
disabilities or incapacity shall be punished with a prison 
term of more than six months but less than five years.  Any 
attempt to commit the above offense is punishable. 
 
Article 226 (enhanced punishment): Any person who has 
committed rape or has committed an indecent act, which has 
resulted in the death or his or her victim, shall be punished 
with life in prison or a prison term of more than 10 years. 
A person who injures his or her victim while committing the 
offense shall be punished with a prison term of more than 10 
years.  The defendant shall be sentenced to a prison term of 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  026 OF 035 
 
 
more than 10 years if a victim commits suicide or injures 
himself due to her sense of shame. 
 
Article 226 (Section 1) (multiple offenses): Any person who 
has committed one of the offenses specified in Article 
221-225 and has intentionally killed his or her victim shall 
be punished with death or life in prison.  Any person who has 
committed rape or has committed an indecent-act, and has 
purposely injured his or her victim shall be punished with 
life in prison or a prison term of more than 10 years. 
 
Article 227: Any person who has carnal relations with any 
male or female person under the age of 14 shall be punished 
with a prison term of not less than three years and not more 
than 10 years. Any person who commits an indecent act against 
a male or female person under the age of 14 shall be punished 
with a prison term of not less than six months and not more 
than five years.  Any person who has carnal relations with 
any male or female person aged 14-16 shall be punished with a 
prison term of less than seven years.  Any person who commits 
an indecent act against a male or female person aged 14-16 
shall be punished with a prison term of not more than three 
years.  Any attempt to commit any of the above offenses is 
punishable. 
 
Article 227 (Section 1) (lighter punishment for the offender 
under the age of 18): An offender who is under the age of 18 
may have his punishment reduced or commuted. 
 
Article 228: Any person who has committed rape against anyone 
under his jurisdiction at an institution or facility shall be 
punished with a prison term of not less than six months and 
not more than five years.  Any person who has committed an 
indecent act against anyone under his jurisdiction shall be 
punished with a prison term of not more than three years. 
 
Article 229 (committing the offense by cheating): Any person 
who by fraudulent means induces a person to mistake him or 
her for a spouse and then has carnal relations with him or 
her shall be punished with a prison term of not less than 
three years and not more than 10 years.  An attempt to commit 
the above offense is punishable. 
 
Article 229 (Section 1) (indictment upon request): Any person 
who has committed rape against his or her spouse, or any 
person who has committed the offense before reaching the age 
of 18, shall be indicted by the prosecutor upon receiving a 
request from the victim. The penalties for trafficking are at 
least as heavy if not heavier than the penalties for rape and 
forcible sexual assault. 
 
From January 2006 to February 2007, 5 employers (or members 
of their family) were prosecuted for sexually assaulting 
foreign laborers.  Prosecutors sought sentences from 7-12 
years for each defendant. 
 
29 E. Legalization/Decriminalization of Prostitution 
 
Taiwan criminalized prostitution in 1997.  It remained legal 
in Taipei City on a small scale until 2001. 
 
According to Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Law 
(passed in 1991), anyone found to have traded sex for a 
reward, financial or otherwise, shall be punished with three 
days in jail, or a fine of no more than NT $30,000 (US $910). 
 Brothel owners, pimps, and enforcers are also subject to the 
punishments prescribed in Article 231 and 232 of the Criminal 
Code. These laws are enforced. 
 
Article 231: A person who induces, retains, or introduces a 
female or male person to have sexual relations with a third 
person, or any person who retains her or him for that 
purpose, shall be imprisoned for no more than five years, and 
fined not more than NT $100,000 (US $3,200). 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  027 OF 035 
 
 
 
Article 232: A person who commits an offense specified in 
paragraph (1) of Article 231, or paragraphs (1) or (2) of 
Article 231-1 against a person subject to his supervision, 
assistance, or care as specified in Article 228, or a husband 
who commits such an offense against his wife, shall receive 
the punishment prescribed by those Articles, with prison time 
and fines increased up to one half. 
 
According to August 2006 press reports, former legal 
prostitutes and others in Taipei called for prostitution to 
be de-criminalized.  No formal action has been taken by the 
central or local governments. 
 
29 F. Prosecutions 
 
According to MOJ, in 2006, law enforcement officials reported 
to MOJ 41 cases of labor brokers illegally detaining workers 
or improperly demanding extra-contractual payments, 309 cases 
of employers harboring foreigners, 1584 cases of employers 
hiring foreign workers without proper permit, 110 cases of 
employers allowing their approved foreign workers to work for 
an unauthorized third party, and 618 cases of employers 
assigning foreign workers to perform unauthorized work or to 
relocate to an unauthorized work site.  The majority of these 
cases were punished administratively pursuant to Articles 57 
and 63 of the ESA, which specifies that illegal employment 
and detention of foreign workers can be punished by fines of 
NT $150,000-750,000 (US $5,000-25,000), and their licenses to 
recruit and employ foreign laborers can be partially or fully 
revoked. 
 
From January 2006 through February 2007, district prosecutors 
filed 62 criminal cases against 122 defendants for violations 
of the ESA.  Twenty-one individuals were convicted of 
violating Article 63 (illegal employment of a foreign 
worker). Eight defendants were sentenced to less than six 
months in prison, eight were imprisoned for hard labor, and 
five were fined between NT $150,000-750,000.  Another 
fourteen individuals were convicted of violating Article 64 
(illegal transfer of a foreign worker to a third party).  All 
fourteen defendants were sentenced to less than six months in 
prison, two were assigned to hard labor, and five were fined 
between NT $100,000-500,000. 
 
According to the EY Report on the Prevention of Trafficking, 
five human trafficking rings were investigated in 2006, 
including four sex-trafficking operations and one labor 
trafficking scheme.  Thirty-three illegal brokers were caught 
during these operations. 
 
According to MOJ, 36 sex-trafficking cases and two 
labor-trafficking cases were prosecuted in 2006, involving 
229 defendants altogether.  Because Taiwan has no specialized 
anti-trafficking law, prosecutors resorted to various 
criminal statutes to prosecute alleged traffickers. 
 
Three individuals were charged with violating Article 15 of 
the Taiwan-PRC Relations Act (smuggling PRC nationals into 
Taiwan, illegal or unauthorized work or conduct), and four 
were accused of violating Article 79 (violating the Act for 
profit). 
 
Three individuals were prosecuted for violating Article 23 of 
the CYSTPA (soliciting or facilitating child prostitution). 
 
Under the Criminal Code, seventeen individuals were charged 
with violating Article 216 (using forged government 
documents), and twenty-one were charged for violating Article 
214 (inducing a public official to perform a false or 
dishonest act.)  Twenty-eight individuals were charged with 
violating Article 231 (procurement) and eighteen were charged 
with violating Article 231-1 (forced prostitution). 
Seventy-four were charged with violating Article 296 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  028 OF 035 
 
 
(slavery), one defendant was charged under Article 304 (use 
of violence or coercion to compel another), one defendant was 
charged under Article 221 (rape), and one defendant was 
charged under Article 185-4 (vehicular bodily 
harm/manslaughter).  Eight of the aforementioned defendants 
were charged under recidivist statutes, mandating prison time 
of up to five years. 
 
The EY Report on the Prevention of Trafficking also stated 
that from January through the end of February 2007, law 
enforcement officials had investigated 23 additional human 
trafficking operations, including four labor exploitation and 
19 sexual exploitation rings.  According to the EY, 160 
traffickers have been apprehended. 
 
The Taiwan legislature is currently considering a proposal to 
amend the Passport Statute to punish those who confiscate the 
passports of Taiwan nationals with up to five years of jail 
time and a fine not to exceed NT $500,000. 
 
29 G. Information on Traffickers and Beneficiaries of 
Trafficking 
 
Trafficking of PRC nationals into Taiwan is largely 
controlled by smugglers (snakeheads) affiliated with 
organized crime syndicates of varying sizes and 
sophistication.  There are also instances of freelance 
Taiwanese traffickers who collude with marriage brokers to 
arrange fraudulent marriages with women from the PRC and 
other Southeast Asian countries.  These women often who 
become victims of trafficking upon arrival in Taiwan. 
Contract labor brokers are also responsible for much of the 
labor trafficking in Taiwan.  There are no clear numbers to 
indicate what percentage of victims are trafficked into 
Taiwan by what means. 
 
There were few official reports of government involvement in 
trafficking, although NGOs have accused local police 
officials of cooperating with marriage and labor brokers to 
block trafficking investigations.  There is also no 
indication of where profits from trafficking are being 
channeled. 
 
29 H. Taiwan Investigation of Trafficking Cases 
 
The Taiwan government actively investigates cases of 
trafficking.  The National Immigration Agency (NIA), National 
Police Administration (NPA), the Criminal Investigation 
Bureau, Coast Guard Agency, prosecutors, and local law 
enforcement cooperatively plan and implement investigations 
and sting operations to interdict labor and sex trafficking 
cases.  To the extent permitted by domestic law, law 
enforcement officials use a variety of techniques and 
resources to gather information and evidence against 
traffickers, including but not limited to electronic 
surveillance, undercover operations, paid informants, and the 
use of mitigated punishment and immunity for suspects who 
assist with investigations and prosecutions. 
 
From January to late March 2007, Taiwan authorities disrupted 
four trafficking operations, including one labor trafficking 
operation and three sex-trafficking rings.  Altogether, 
police arrested 83 suspects in Ilan, Kaohsiung, Keelung, and 
Taipei.  More than 40 trafficking victims were rescued from 
sex- or labor-trafficking exploitation. 
 
29 I. Specialized Training for Taiwan Government Officials 
 
CLA and BLA train local government labor inspectors and 
counseling personnel 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. 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  029 OF 035 
 
 
 
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 traffick women into Taiwan. 
 
NIA and NPA regularly conduct training of immigration and 
police officers to improve their ability to detect and assist 
trafficking victims. 
 
29 J. International Cooperation in TIP Enforcement 
 
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. 
 
29 K. Taiwan Extradition of Traffickers 
 
Taiwan has an informal repatriation agreement with the 
People's 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, Dominique, 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 persons who 
are charged with trafficking. 
 
29 L. Evidence of Taiwan Government Tolerance or Involvement 
in TIP 
 
There is no evidence of widespread government involvement in 
or tolerance of trafficking in persons.  NGOs report that the 
level of government competency and awareness of TIP at the 
local level is uneven.  NGOs also claim that some local 
officials are corrupt and work with brokers to turn a blind 
eye to trafficking. 
 
Incidents of Taiwan authorities supporting trafficking 
directly or indirectly are rare, but incidents do occur. In 
October 2006, authorities charged a senior immigration 
official with cooperating with a brothel owner to smuggle 
more than 80 Chinese prostitutes into Taiwan.  In February 
2007, police arrested a Kaohsiung city councilmember for 
coercing Vietnamese women into prostitution. 
 
There were press reports in 2005 alleging that legislators 
and high-level government officials had received kickbacks 
from the labor brokerage companies involved in the Kaohsiung 
Rapid Transit Company foreign labor scandal.  There was 
speculation that legislators were personally involved in and 
profiting from the importation of foreign labor to Taiwan. 
Sources have told AIT that they believe legislators would 
oppose elimination of the foreign labor brokerage system for 
personal financial reasons. 
 
29 M. Steps to End Official Participation in TIP 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  030 OF 035 
 
 
Aside from the two cases mentioned in paragraph 29 L, there 
have been no reported cases of government officials directly 
involved in trafficking.  The law provides enhanced penalties 
for government officials convicted of trafficking offenses. 
 
29 N. Taiwan as a Child Sex Tourism Destination 
 
Taiwan does not have an identified child sex tourism problem. 
 The CYSTPA imposes criminal penalties on Taiwan citizens 
arrested abroad for having or attempting to have sexual 
relations with minors. 
 
29 O. Taiwan Ratification of International Instruments 
 
As a non-UN member, Taiwan is unable to become a party to the 
1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  However, the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in 1995 that it would 
respect the "spirit and principles" of the Convention.  In 
1999, a Child Welfare Bureau was established within the 
Ministry of Interior to bolster Taiwan's ability to implement 
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to coordinate 
with NGOs.  In April 2001, President Chen reiterated that 
Taiwan would abide by the Convention. 
 
For the same reasons, Taiwan is also unable to become a party 
to the ILO Conventions 29, 105, 182 the UN Convention Against 
Transnational Organized Crime, and the Protocol to Prevent, 
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, but the 
authorities make every effort to abide by the principles of 
those Conventions and Protocols.  In November 2006, a 
proposal was submitted to the Legislative Yuan recommending 
that Taiwan comply with the UN Convention Against 
Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, 
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, even if Taiwan 
cannot join.  The proposal is still under consideration. 
 
Section 4 - PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
30 A. Taiwan Assistance to Victims 
 
After being taken into custody by law enforcement officials, 
all trafficking victims from the PRC are housed at the 
remaining PRC-citizen-only detention facility in Ilan while 
awaiting repatriation.  Women and underage trafficking 
victims are separated from the general detention facility 
population.  Trafficking victims from other countries, such 
as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are housed at the 
Sanhsia facility in Taipei County, or are held in local 
jails.  Trafficking victims are kept apart from the general 
population in local jails.  The detention centers and local 
jails provide victims with temporary shelter, and access to 
medical and counseling services while they are awaiting 
repatriation.  Trafficking victims can be transferred to 
local hospitals for further medical treatment if necessary. 
 
NGOs protest the incarceration of trafficking victims, and 
continue to lobby the government to halt this practice, 
arguing that trafficking victims are not criminals and should 
not be deprived of their personal liberty.  NIA and NPA 
counter that incarceration is necessary to protect 
trafficking victims from possible retaliation by brokers or 
employers.  NGO representatives are permitted to meet with 
trafficking victims in detention facilities or local jails. 
NGOs urge trafficking victims detained in this manner to 
request permission to be sheltered at NGO-operated 
facilities.  These requests are sometimes granted for non-PRC 
citizens. 
 
Taiwan central and local governments subsidize 13 NGO 
operated shelters for victims of trafficking.  During 2006, 
4,447 foreign workers sought shelter in these facilities. 
 
CLA supports 24 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers 
located around Taiwan.  The Centers, operated by local 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  031 OF 035 
 
 
governments with CLA funding, provide counseling, legal aid, 
and labor dispute resolution services. 
 
30 B. Taiwan Funding of NGOs Providing Services to Victims 
 
The central government subsidizes the operation of 11 
NGO-operated shelters for trafficking victims.  The Taiwan 
central government directly subsidizes these shelters, at US 
$15 per person per day.  During 2006, 4,447 foreign workers 
sought shelter in CLA-sponsored facilities, and CLA 
contributed NT $8.7 million (US $300,000) for that purpose. 
CLA's 2007 annual budget for temporary shelters is NT $9.6 
million (US $310,000).  The Taipei and Kaohsiung City 
governments fully fund one shelter each, operated by NGOs in 
their respective districts. 
 
30 C. Identification and Referral of Trafficking Victims 
 
The Ministry of Justice, Prosecutorial Division has completed 
a draft guideline for the identification of victims of 
trafficking, as required by the Action Plan.  According to 
NIA, the Action Plan multi-agency task force has already 
approved the guideline, which must be approved by the 
Executive Yuan before it can be implemented.  NIA expects the 
guideline to be approved and disseminated to Taiwan law 
enforcement, labor officials, and NGOs by mid-April 2007. 
The guideline reads as follows: 
 
Trafficking victims are identified as those: 
 
¶1.  Scouted, recruited, transported, sheltered, or introduced 
to or removed from Taiwan through the use of coercion, 
threat, intimidation, spying, or through restraint by the use 
of drugs, hypnotism, fraud, debt or any other form of 
restraint for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced 
labor, or removal of organs; 
 
¶2.  Those under the age of 18 found conducting sexual 
transactions should be treated as trafficking victims 
regardless of the minor's consent or voluntary participation; 
 
¶3.  During the investigation or disruption of suspected human 
trafficking rings, police, prosecutors, and other law 
enforcement officials are required to pay special attention 
to the following types of individuals to determine if they 
are victims of trafficking: 
 
(a)  Children under the age of 18; 
 
(b)  Those subjected to involuntary transportation or 
transfer to a different place or employer; 
 
(c)  Those subjected to abuse during their transportation to 
Taiwan or transfer to another location within Taiwan.  Abuse 
includes but is not limited to forced confinement or 
restricted communication with others, physical violence, 
coercion, threat or intimidation, and sexual assault. 
 
(d)  Those subjected to abuse at their residence or work 
location.  Abuse includes but is not limited to forced 
confinement or restricted communication with others, physical 
violence, coercion, threat or intimidation, and sexual 
assault. 
 
(e)  Those whose travel or identity documents have been 
confiscated by another; 
 
(f)  Those who have had excessive amounts withheld from their 
earnings, or who have not received fair pay for their work; 
 
(g)  Those who have been forced to perform work different 
from that which they were agreed to do, or those who have 
been forced to transfer to a different employer; 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  032 OF 035 
 
 
(h)  Any other person who can demonstrate he or she is a 
victim of trafficking. 
 
¶4.  Law enforcement officers are required to conduct 
questioning of potential trafficking victims with 
interpreters and social workers, if necessary.  If the 
investigating officer is uncertain of whether an individual 
is a trafficking victim, he or she is required to contact the 
prosecutor's office for further guidance. 
 
¶5.  Trafficking victims must be clearly identified as such 
during the booking and detention process, and must be 
separated from other involved suspects for their protection. 
Once individuals are identified as trafficking victims, law 
enforcement officials must contact the appropriate social 
welfare and labor services entities to arrange for 
appropriate accommodations.  Law enforcement officials must 
inform trafficking victims of measures available for their 
assistance and protection, and request their cooperation in 
identifying and prosecuting the traffickers involved. 
 
¶6.  If prosecutors determine during further investigation 
that an individual is not a victim of trafficking, the 
prosecutor shall notify law enforcement for placement of the 
individual in an appropriate detention facility. 
 
End of Guideline 
 
Taiwan local governments do not have a process in place to 
refer trafficking victims from law enforcement custody to 
NGOs that provide short- or long-term care.  All PRC citizens 
identified as trafficking victims are transferred to the Ilan 
Detention Facility.  At present, PRC citizen trafficking 
victims are not eligible for transfer to NGO-operated shelter 
facilities. 
 
Non-PRC trafficking victims are housed at the Sanhsia 
facility in Taipei and the Hsinchu detention facility 
formerly used to house PRC nationals awaiting repatriation. 
Some trafficking victims are also held by local police 
departments.  NGOs report that, thus far, the Taiwan 
government has been unwilling to release trafficking victims 
from the Sanhsia and Hsinchu facilities to the custody of NGO 
shelters.  However, NGOs also report that certain local 
police departments have been willing to do so on a number of 
occasions, strictly on an ad-hoc basis.  NGOs allege the 
government, focused on prosecuting traffickers, does too 
little to inform detainees of their own legal rights and 
remedies against their traffickers. 
 
NGOs report that many trafficking victims presently in 
NGO-operated shelters were referred to the shelters by local 
law enforcement or Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) officials. 
If a foreign worker reports illegal work, exploitative 
working conditions, or other abuse to the police, the police 
will refer the worker to the BLA who will assume 
responsibility for the case.  In the event of a police 
referral, or if the worker complains directly to BLA, BLA is 
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. 
 
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. 
 
30 D. Rights and Treatment Afforded to Trafficking Victims 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  033 OF 035 
 
 
The minority of trafficking victims are housed by 
NGO-operated shelters.  The majority of trafficking victims 
are typically held in special detention facilities or local 
jails.  Until recently, PRC detainees, some of them 
trafficking victims, were held in excess of a year before 
being repatriated to the PRC.  With recent improvements in 
cross-Strait relations, waiting times for PRC citizens 
awaiting repatriation are much shorter.  While in detention, 
victims are 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. 
 
Any foreign worker who has stayed in Taiwan illegally for 
more than six months faces a maximum fine of US $5,000, in 
addition to repatriation and permanent exclusion from Taiwan. 
 The CLA has emphasized that trafficking victims forced into 
illegal status by mistreatment or exploitation would not be 
repatriated, and their right to work in Taiwan would be 
preserved. 
 
In October 2006, CLA amended its regulations to exclude time 
spent at a shelter from a foreign worker's permitted work 
stay in Taiwan.  Foreign workers are permitted to work in 
Taiwan for up to three years at a time, for a maximum of six 
years total.  Before the rule change, the period of stay in a 
shelter was counted toward this three/six year limit. 
Because working is forbidden while awaiting the outcome of a 
labor dispute, and because many foreign workers are in debt 
to their brokers, many foreign workers chose to flee the 
shelter and seek illegal work. 
 
In January 2007, CLA extended by one month the legal 
residency period of all foreign workers with pending labor 
disputes.  Many foreign workers were confronted with having 
their claims dismissed because their Taiwan residency period 
had or would soon expire. 
 
The "Cross-Border Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim 
Protection" amendment to the Immigration Act now under 
consideration in the legislature chapter provides that if 
trafficking victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, 
prosecutors can request MOJ permission to waive prosecution 
for any crimes occasioned by the trafficking (i.e., 
immigration offenses, illegal work, prostitution, false 
documents), and to punish leniently other misconduct by the 
trafficking victim. 
 
30 E. Victim Participation in Investigation and Prosecution 
of Traffickers 
 
The government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes.  If a 
district prosecutor deems the testimony of a trafficking 
victim to be necessary to a prosecution, the prosecutor can 
arrange for the victim's legal residency period to be 
extended.  The trafficking victim will most likely be housed 
in a detention facility or local jail during this process. 
Victims are not allowed to obtain other employment or to 
leave the country while serving as witnesses in court cases. 
 
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.  Taiwan 
has increased funding to the Legal Affairs Foundation to 
assist trafficking victims with the pursuit of claims against 
traffickers. 
 
Taiwan entitles those 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 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  034 OF 035 
 
 
to foreign nationals on a reciprocal basis.  Taiwan uses its 
anti-money laundering law to seize traffickers' assets and to 
make those assets available to satisfy trafficking victims' 
claims. 
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. 
 
30 F. Protection of Victims and Witnesses 
 
Trafficking victims are placed in protective custody at 
detention centers or in local jails while serving as 
witnesses in court cases.  The government has a witness 
protection law that protects women from retaliation and helps 
encourage their cooperation in investigating trafficking 
rings.  Trafficking victims are permitted to conceal their 
identity while giving testimony. 
 
All PRC citizens identified as trafficking victims are 
transferred to the Ilan Detention Facility.  At present, PRC 
citizen trafficking victims are not eligible for transfer to 
NGO-operated shelter facilities.  Non-PRC trafficking victims 
are housed at the Sanhsia facility in Taipei and the Hsinchu 
detention facility formerly used to house PRC nationals 
awaiting repatriation.  Some trafficking victims are also 
held by local police departments.  On an ad-hoc basis, local 
police are sometimes willing to release trafficking victims 
to the custody of NGO shelters. 
 
30 G. Taiwan Specialized Training for Officials Dealing with 
Trafficking, Especially Related to Victim Protection 
 
In June 2006, the MOJ sponsored six seminars organized by the 
Taiwan Women's Rescue Foundation to provide professional 
training for prosecutors assigned to trafficking cases.  From 
November 2006 to January 2007, the Taiwan government funded 
three seminars on the resettlement and protection of human 
trafficking victims.  The events were organized by a 
coalition of NGOs to bring together foreign and local 
experts, academics, social workers, and government 
representatives from the National Police Agency, Council for 
Labor Affairs, Health Department, and Ministry of Justice. 
During 2006, NGO personnel were regularly invited to speak to 
police officers, prosecutors, immigration officials and 
others to enhance their understanding of the needs of 
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. 
 
MOFA conducts regular training of its consular officers to 
assist them in detecting and preventing the fraudulent use of 
marriage visas to traffick women into Taiwan. 
 
NIA and NPA regularly conduct training of immigration and 
police officers to improve their ability to detect and assist 
trafficking victims. 
 
30 H. Taiwan Assistance to Repatriated Nationals who are 
Victims of Trafficking 
 
The Taiwan National Immigration Agency (NIA) reported that 59 
female trafficking victims were returned from Japan to Taiwan 
in 2006.  The Taiwan government provided medical and 
financial assistance, counseling, and other aid to help these 
women return to normal lives. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000740  035 OF 035 
 
 
30 I. NGOS Working with Trafficking Victims in Taiwan and 
Cooperation with the Taiwan Government 
 
The Garden of Hope Foundation, End Child Prostitution, 
Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT) Taiwan, the Taipei 
Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF), Hope Workers' 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. 
The Taiwan government has a strong working relationship with 
NGOs, and is generally open to their input and criticism. 
NGOs also receive substantial funding from central and local 
government authorities to perform services for trafficking 
victims. 
 
¶2. (SBU) TIME SPENT ON REPORT: 
 
FN-10, 10 hours 
FN-09, 20 hours 
FO-03, 130 hours 
FO-02, 3 hours 
FE-MC, 1 hour 
 
¶3. (U) POST TIP POINT OF CONTACT: 
 
Brad S. Parker 
Political Officer 
American Institute in Taiwan 
Taipei, Taiwan 
Phone: (011) (886) (2) 2162-2086 
Fax: (011) (886) (2) 2162-2241 
Email: parkerbs@state.gov 
WANG