VZCZCXRO6529
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #1804 2220129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100129Z AUG 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6324
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7117
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 1278
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2028
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5997
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0457
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8362

UNCLAS TAIPEI 001804 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AIT/W, EAP/TC, INR/EAP, G/TIP 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: Southern Taiwan Showing Signs of Transformation in 
Combating TIP 
 
REF: 2007 Taipei 1561 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  AIT/K has offered a variety of TIP events to 
Southern Taiwan audiences, resulting in increased awareness of the 
victim-centered approach.  Local government agencies and 
non-governmental organizations have eagerly accepted TIP seminars 
and training events, but concede that they must do more to better 
address trafficking issues.  Additional training from AIT would 
help.  Local law enforcement officials have broken with past 
practice and have begun to recognize exploited laborers as 
trafficking victims.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Audiences in southern Taiwan have eagerly accepted AIT/K's 
offer to share effective methods in handling TIP cases.  To date, 
thousands of southern Taiwan police officials (street-level officers 
and high-ranking officials), hundreds of staff from the 
newly-established National Immigration Administration Bureau, and 
dozens of prosecutors have received instructions on how to identify 
potential TIP victims and better act on TIP cases. 
 
¶3. (U) Recent roundtable discussions and meetings in coordination 
with G/TIP Senior Coordinator Mark Taylor's visit to Kaohsiung 
(REFTEL) facilitated open dialogues between local law enforcement 
officials, NGOs, and prosecutors.  Digital video conferences 
sponsored by Taipei in coordination with AIT/K have provided a 
platform for inter-agency communication.  As a result, many southern 
Taiwan officials have expressed to AIT that the island's current 
response to the trafficking problem is still inadequate.  AIT 
continues to encourage our Taiwan partners to pursue a comprehensive 
anti-trafficking act to protect TIP victims and to adequately punish 
traffickers. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Two recent events in Chiayi County, where AIT/K has strong 
TIP contacts, demonstrate that a transition is beginning to take 
place.  On July 30th, Chiayi County police identified a group of 
foreign workers as victims of labor exploitation.  Rather than 
following the past practice of placing them in detention centers, 
the victims were placed into shelters and are being provided legal 
aid.  Wang Mei-chuan, Division Chief of the Chiayi County Foreign 
Affairs Police, who has complained about the difficulty of 
distinguishing victims from law breakers, called AIT/K to report 
that this group would be treated as confirmed victims.  The Chiayi 
District Prosecutors Office has also been an active partner, 
granting those foreign workers protection in accordance with the 
witness protection law as well as assisting them to claim 
compensation and pursue restitution of their withheld salaries. 
 
¶5. (U) Demonstrating their commitment to rooting out the official 
corruption which enables traffickers to escape prosecution, on 
August 6th, the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office took into custody 
NIA Chiayi Branch Office Director Lin Shun-dang.  Lin is suspected 
of colluding with brokers and traffickers to warn them of impending 
raids.  Lin is further suspected of strong-arming, even arresting, 
foreign laborers that brokers found difficult to control. 
 
¶6. (U) Comment. Many southern Taiwan officials have expressed a 
desire to punish traffickers, while adopting the victim-centered 
approach in their dealings with confirmed victims.  While these 
signs of progress at the local level are promising, local officials 
complain about budget shortfalls.  At the local and national level, 
the Taiwan authorities must do more to better identify and protect 
victims of trafficking.  Additional training from AIT and other USG 
agencies would help. End Comment. 
 
Pierre-Louis 
 
Young