VZCZCXRO6814
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #0400/01 0800930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200930Z MAR 08 ZDK MULT
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8455
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 4125
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 8010
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 4842
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3567
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 4305
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0238
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 0402
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0761
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0671
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 9732
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 2515
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 1075
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 9264
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY 1890
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 6485
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TAIPEI 000400 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TW
SUBJECT: PART THREE - 2008 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN 
 
REF: STATE 2731 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  001.2 OF 012 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is part three of AIT/T's three-part 2007-8 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.  The report is presented 
according to reftel sections, beginning with paragraph 27 A. 
Part one contains Paragraphs 27 A-B.  Paragraphs 27 A through 
29 D are contained in part two.  Paragraphs 29 E through 30 I 
are contained in part three. 
 
Protection and Assistance to Victims, cont'd 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
29 E. Mechanism to Detect TIP Victims in Legalized 
Prostitution 
 
Prostitution is not legal in Taiwan.  However, Taiwan has a 
formal mechanism to identify trafficking victims from among 
those arrested for prostitution.  According to NGOs, Taiwan 
law enforcement agencies do not consistently apply this 
mechanism, resulting in the wrongful incarceration and 
punishment of trafficking victims for prostitution, 
immigration violations, and other crimes occasioned by 
trafficking. 
 
29 F.       Rights and Treatment Afforded to TIP Victims 
 
Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Act requires government 
agencies at the national and local level to ensure 
trafficking victims' personal safety, and to provide them 
with appropriate housing, medical and psychiatric care, 
counseling services, translation assistance and legal 
counseling services. MOI subsidies in 2007 for such services 
totaled NT1,035,732 (US$33,000). If the victim is a minor, a 
social worker must be assigned to his or her case, and must 
be present during police questioning, all legal proceedings, 
and trial.  Under the Immigration Act, law enforcement 
agencies are required to protect trafficking victims' 
identities and personal information from public disclosure. 
The Immigration Act also provides that if a trafficking 
victim cooperates with prosecutors by providing testimony or 
other assistance, the victim shall be entitled to the 
protections afforded by Taiwan's Witness Protection Law. 
Additionally, such cooperation shall be considered by 
prosecutors and judges to reduce or eliminate the victim's 
liability for any criminal or administrative violations. 
Victims who cooperate with prosecutors are entitled to 
receive temporary visas to remain in Taiwan up to six months, 
and can request extensions.  However, once the prosecutor 
closes the case, the trafficking victim will be repatriated 
to his or her home country. 
 
Other regulations require local governments to provide 
identified trafficking victims with emergency medical 
assistance, living subsidies, learning opportunities, 
educational subsidies for children, job placement assistance, 
and subsidies for legal assistance. CLA is also required to 
help defray the cost of legal services required by foreign 
workers involved in litigation.  NGOs consistently complain 
that medical and counseling services and legal aid for 
victims of trafficking are inadequate and unevenly 
distributed from place to place. 
 
Unfortunately, only a small percentage of trafficking victims 
are properly identified and removed from detention 
facilities.  The majority of trafficking victims are treated 
as illegal immigrants or illegal laborers, and housed in 
formal, long-term detention facilities.  Some are held at 
smaller-scale, city- or county-level "temporary" detention 
facilities maintained by NIA or the local police.  All PRC 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  002.2 OF 012 
 
 
detainees, regardless of their status, are detained in formal 
detention facilities. Many trafficking victims are prosecuted 
and punished for immigration and labor violations, and for 
criminal offenses (including prostitution) committed in the 
course of their having been trafficked. 
 
Under the law, all detainees must be provided food and 
shelter, medical assistance and psychological counseling, 
legal assistance, and entertainment activities.  NGOs are 
granted regular access to detainees, and are allowed to 
conduct social and cultural activities.  NGOs acknowledge 
that detention center housing is adequate, if sometimes 
severely overcrowded.  NGOs also agree that detainees receive 
sufficient food and medical assistance; however, NGOs claim 
that, aside from the limited services provided by the NGOs 
themselves, detainees have no access to psychological or 
legal counseling while incarcerated. 
 
NIA maintains four formal, long-term detention facilities in 
Taipei (Sanhsia), Hsinchu, Yilan, and Matsu. Several city- 
and county-level NIA offices also maintain smaller, temporary 
detention facilities.  As of March 13, 2008, 1,200 detainees 
are being held in long-term detention facilities: 118 women 
and 124 men at Sanhsia; 133 women and 289 men at Hsinchu; 231 
women and 299 men at Yilan; and 6 women at Matsu. Three 
hundred eighty-one are from Indonesia, 355 are from Vietnam, 
272 are from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau, 111 from Thailand, 
43 from the Philippines, 7 from Malaysia, and 6 from India. 
None of the 1,200 detainees are under age 18. 
 
As of March 13, 2008, an additional 431 detainees are being 
held at NIA temporary detention facilities around Taiwan, 
including 304 foreign nationals and 127 from the PRC, Hong 
Kong, or Macau.  None of those detained are under age 18. 
 
On average, non-PRC detainees spend 48 days in detention 
before being repatriated.  NIA does not keep 
average-time-of-stay data for its temporary detention 
facilities, but maintains that detention times in the 
temporary facilities are much shorter.  According to CGA, 409 
illegal PRC immigrants, 338 men and 39 women, were arrested 
in 2007.  PRC nationals on average spend 96 days in detention 
before being repatriated -- twice as long as detainees from 
other Southeast Asian countries. 
 
In July 2007, local press reported that a number of NIA's 
city and county-level temporary detention facilities were 
plagued by overcrowding and poor sanitation.  NIA officials 
stated that a recent crackdown on illegal immigration and 
illegal labor had been very successful, sharply increasing 
the number of foreigners awaiting repatriation in  temporary 
and formal detention.  NIA officials stated the overcrowding 
problem was exacerbated by the fact that many detained 
illegal immigrants did not have valid travel documents, or 
were unable to pay the cost of their return airfare.  A 
senior NIA official stated that NIA had asked the Indonesian, 
Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese representative offices in 
Taiwan to expedite the issuance of travel documents to help 
speed the repatriation process.  NIA also reported it was 
working to increase capacity of the temporary detention 
facilities in Kaohsiung City and Tainan County by 1,200 each, 
and to improve sanitation practices at all of its temporary 
shelter facilities. 
 
According to NIA, for those individuals in possession of a 
valid passport and capable of paying administrative fines and 
a return airfare, deportation procedures are usually 
completed within 14 days.  In cases where the foreign 
national has overstayed for only a short time, and where no 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  003.2 OF 012 
 
 
employer misconduct is alleged, deportation procedures are 
also usually completed within 14 days.  In cases where the 
foreign national is not in possession of valid travel 
documents, is unable to pay assessed fines or return airfare, 
or has overstayed in Taiwan for an extended period of time, 
deportation procedures can take much longer.  Deportation 
procedures can also be prolonged in instances where alleged 
illegal conduct by the employer must be investigated.  When a 
foreign worker makes credible allegations of employer 
misconduct, it is NIA's policy to place the worker in a 
formal, versus temporary, detention center.  The worker is 
not deemed to be a victim of trafficking and is not 
automatically placed in a shelter facility. 
 
NGOs insist that the Taiwan authorities did not deserve the 
praise given to them by the 2007 TIP Report for the March 
2007 rescue of 35 Indonesian women from forced labor. 
According to the Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office 
(VMWBO), the raids in which the women were rescued took place 
from early January to early February 2007.  VMWBO learned of 
the raids from newspaper articles in early February, and 
immediately contacted NIA to arrange for transfer of the 
victims to an appropriate shelter.  VMWBO claims it took six 
weeks for NIA to agree to release the first group of victims 
from detention for placement in a shelter.  Some of the 
victims had been in detention since early January, VMWBO 
claims, and had not been given access to medical or 
counseling services or legal advice during the entire time. 
In addition, although the Taiwan government officially 
recognized all 35 Indonesian women as labor trafficking 
victims, ten were still in detention as of late October 2007. 
 One woman was convicted of using a fraudulent marriage to 
enter Taiwan and fined NT$108,000 (US$3,480).  Because she 
was unable to pay the fine, her stay in detention was 
lengthened by four months.  Eleven others were fined 
NT$10,000 (US$300) for overstaying their visas.  Four others 
were also charged with fraudulent marriage, but charges were 
ultimately dropped.  (See para. 29 D for additional 
information.) 
 
NIA reported that 14,071 illegal immigrants, including 12,664 
foreign nationals and 1,407 citizens of China, Hong Kong, or 
Macau, were deported from Taiwan in 2007.  According to NIA, 
184 individuals were deported for fraudulent marriage, 184 
for entering Taiwan illegally, 199 were deported for 
unspecified criminal violations, 288 for prostitution, 522 
for working illegally, and 11,287 were deported for 
overstaying their work visas. 
 
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 nine 
years total.  Before the 2006 rule change, the period of stay 
in a shelter was deducted from the worker's permitted work 
stay in Taiwan. Nonetheless, because foreign workers are not 
permitted to work 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 shelters to 
seek illegal work. 
 
29 G. Victim Participation in Investigation and Prosecution 
of Traffickers 
 
On November 30, 2007, the Legislative Yuan Home and Nations 
Sub-Committee amended the Immigration Act to include a new 
chapter titled "Transnational Trafficking in Persons 
Prevention and Victim Protection."  NIA reports that 37 other 
laws and regulations must be amended before the amended 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  004.2 OF 012 
 
 
Immigration Act can go into effect.  The EY is expected to 
complete that work by June 2008, and will specify at that 
time when the amended Immigration Act will go into effect. 
 
The new chapter 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 revision 
to Article 31 of the Immigration Act, to allow foreign 
workers (and foreign spouses) to legally remain in Taiwan 
until pending claims against their employer are fully 
resolved. 
 
It should be noted that during 2007, the Taiwan authorities 
removed from detention and granted prosecutorial immunity 
only to those 75 identified trafficking victims who 
cooperated with prosecutors in cases where charges were 
actually filed against a trafficker or other defendant. The 
government identified an additional 138 trafficking victims, 
126 of whom had also expressed willingness to cooperate with 
prosecutors.  However, charges were not filed in those cases, 
obviating the need for those victims' testimony. 
Consequently, all 138 trafficking victims, including those 
126 willing to provide testimony, remained in detention 
facilities, and were held accountable for labor, immigration, 
and other violations committed during their stay on Taiwan. 
 
Presently, trafficking victims are not allowed to obtain 
other employment or to leave the country while serving as 
witnesses in court cases.  The Taiwan authorities acknowledge 
that trafficking victims residing in shelters long-term 
should be permitted to work.  Recent amendments to Article 44 
of the Immigration Act include provisions which authorize the 
CLA to issue temporary work permits to trafficking victims 
for periods of up to six months, depending upon the length of 
the investigation or trial in which the testimony of the 
trafficking victim is required.  CLA has not yet issued 
regulations to this effect. 
 
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.  NGOs report that filing a civil suit is 
expensive, and that legal aid resources are not sufficient to 
defray the costs, rendering such actions impractical for most 
victims.  NGOs did report several examples of local BLA 
offices assisting victims of labor trafficking to recover 
substantial sums of unpaid back wages and overtime pay.  The 
problem in most cases is a lack of evidence to demonstrate 
the hours actually worked by the employee and the wages 
actually paid by the employer. 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  005 OF 012 
 
 
 
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 
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. 
 
29 H.       Protection of Victims and Witnesses 
 
Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Act provides that if 
trafficking victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, who 
deem their cooperation necessary and useful to the 
prosecution, victims will be afforded all protections 
available under Taiwan's "Witness Protection ct."  The 
Witness Protection Act empowers the court to issue a 
protective order at the request of the witness, prosecutor, 
victim, defendant, personal counsel, the police, or an 
involved social welfare agency.  Protective measures can 
include a police protective detail, a restraining order 
against a specific person, or protective custody. 
Trafficking victims are permitted to conceal their identity 
while giving testimony, and law enforcement officials must 
ensure the identity of the victim is protected in court 
documents and other case materials. 
 
Trafficking victims are sometimes placed in protective 
custody at detention centers or in local jails while serving 
as witnesses in court cases.  In March 2007, an NIA official 
stated that NIA placed trafficking victims in detention 
centers in order to protect them from criminals.  NGOs have 
challenged the practice, asserting that trafficking victims 
should be placed in shelter facilities once they have been 
identified as victims.  If those victims who agree to serve 
as witnesses are in danger, NGOs argue, appropriate police 
protections can be arranged. 
 
29 I.       Specialized Training for Officials to Identify 
and Aid TIP Victims 
 
According to MOI, the government implemented 92 victim 
identification and treatment training sessions for 
immigration officials, local and national local police, coast 
guard personnel, labor officials, social workers and medical 
personnel, interpreters, and tourist industry personnel. 
Taiwan government personnel, academics, and NGO 
representatives also attended four digital video conferences 
sponsored by AIT's public affairs section. 
 
CLA and BLA regularly train local government labor inspectors 
and counseling personnel how to identify and protect 
trafficking victims.  All inspectors and counselors attend 
special training sessions to identify and assist victims of 
trafficking, and are provided with guidelines and standard 
operating procedures for identifying trafficking victims. 
 
MOJ prosecutors periodically train police, immigration 
officials, and other law enforcement personnel how to 
identify and protect trafficking victims during 
investigations and how to conduct trafficking investigations 
to increase the probability of conviction at trial. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  006 OF 012 
 
 
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. 
 
The NIA, CLA/BLA, national and local police agencies, and the 
national and local prosecutors' offices cooperate with NGOs 
and civic organizations to identify trafficking victims and 
to place them in appropriate shelter environments.  NGO 
representatives are permitted to accompany victims to police 
interviews, labor hearings, and court appearances, and to 
provide interpretation and other services. 
 
NGOs, including End Child Prostitution and Trafficking 
(ECPAT), Garden of Hope, and Taiwan Women's Rescue Foundation 
(TWRF), regularly conduct training seminars for police, 
prosecutors, labor and immigration personnel to improve their 
understanding of Taiwan's trafficking problem and to increase 
their ability to identify victims of sex and labor 
trafficking.  Nonetheless, these and other NGOs continue to 
report that government officials, particularly at the local 
level, do not fully understand what human trafficking is, or 
what distinguishes a trafficking victim from an "illegal 
immigrant" or a "runaway" worker in illegal status. As a 
result, NGOs report, trafficking victims are regularly 
misidentified as criminals, placed in detention facilities 
instead of shelters, and prosecuted for immigration, labor, 
and criminal violations occasioned by their having been 
trafficked.  NGOs assert the government must do much more to 
ensure that law enforcement and immigration personnel around 
Taiwan are able to identify trafficking victims and render 
appropriate care.  NGOs also recommend the standard of proof 
required to obtain "victim" status be lowered, to increase 
the probability that trafficking victims receive the shelter, 
social services, and other assistance they need as quickly as 
possible. 
 
29 J.       Taiwan Assistance to Repatriated Nationals Who 
Are TIP Victims 
 
The Taiwan National Immigration Agency (NIA) reported that 8 
female trafficking victims were returned from Japan to Taiwan 
in 2007.  An additional 25 female trafficking victims were 
returned to Taiwan from the United States.  The Taiwan 
government provided medical and financial assistance, 
counseling, and other aid to help these women return to 
normal lives. 
 
29 K.       NGOs Working with TIP Victims in Taiwan, 
Cooperation with 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. 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  007 OF 012 
 
 
NGOs also receive substantial funding from central and local 
government authorities to perform services for trafficking 
victims. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
 
30 A.       Taiwan Acknowledgment of the TIP 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 traffickers 
have too often received only minor punishments.  The stated 
objective of the Action Plan is to rationalize and integrate 
the government response to the trafficking problem, 
coordinating efforts between different agencies at both the 
national and local level.  Emphasis is placed on improving 
the government's ability to identify and protect victims of 
sex and labor trafficking, expanding law enforcement 
capability to detect and interdict trafficking operations, 
and enhancing punishments for those convicted of labor or sex 
trafficking. 
 
30 B. Government-Run Anti-TIP Campaigns 
 
The Taiwan government conducts anti-trafficking information 
and education campaigns that target potential and actual 
victims of trafficking, both domestically and abroad. 
 
During 2007, the authorities launched a multimedia campaign 
to increase public awareness of Taiwan's human trafficking 
problem, and to solicit public assistance in identifying and 
assisting victims of sex and labor trafficking.  As part of 
this campaign, the MOI sponsored 420 radio and 267 television 
announcements, placed eight newspaper notices, and printed 
30,000 handbills describing the crime of human trafficking 
and urging the public to report suspected abuses.  Posters 
depicting victims of sex and labor trafficking were posted at 
community centers and park billboards around Taiwan.  The 
posters and radio and television advertisements targeted 
those who might exploit victims of trafficking, including 
unscrupulous employers and those who patronize prostitutes, 
urging them to view trafficking victims as human beings 
entitled to dignity, respect, and fair treatment. 
 
As part of an ongoing campaign to prevent child sex 
trafficking, the government displayed public service 
announcements at 680 cinemas island-wide.  The announcements 
were also broadcast on six nationwide televisions stations, 
and included on online chat-rooms frequented by Taiwanese 
youth. 
 
The authorities also initiated an outreach program to enhance 
foreign workers' understanding of their rights, and resources 
available to them under Taiwan law.  In addition to the 
multi-language emergency contact number cards disseminated at 
public facilities around Taiwan, the authorities also 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  008 OF 012 
 
 
published public service announcements in several foreign 
language publications, including the Vietnamese, Filipino, 
and Indonesian newspapers widely circulated among Taiwan's 
foreign worker population.  The authorities also sponsored a 
radio and television broadcast campaign designed to educate 
employers about, and urge respect for foreign workers' 
rights.  According to MOI, these public service announcements 
were broadcast 1,290 times from July to December 2007. 
 
The authorities also tailored a media program to reach 
foreign-born spouses, including those from China.  This 
campaign included public service announcements in 
national-distribution newspapers, and broadcasts on local and 
national television and radio stations.  Taiwan continues to 
operate the nationwide toll-free hotline for foreign spouses 
seeking assistance.  The hotline provides consulting services 
in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and 
Cambodian, and topics include employment services, health 
care services, immigration procedures, and adjustment to life 
in Taiwan. 
 
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.  In January 2008, a second 
service center for foreign workers was opened at the 
international airport in Kaohsiung, where many workers from 
the Philippines and Indonesia first enter Taiwan. 
 
NGOs argue that the location of the service counters in the 
non-secure, pre-immigration areas of the airports enables 
brokers to 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 counters' usefulness to 
foreign workers is demonstrated by the 210 emergency 
petitions and 145,000 service requests processed during the 
2007 calendar year. 
 
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 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.  CLA also operates five labor service centers in 
Taiwan's largest cities.  These centers provide foreign and 
domestic workers with job referral services, unemployment 
assistance, vocational training, and job transfer services. 
These offices are an additional outlet for information on 
employers' responsibilities and foreign workers' rights and 
remedies under Taiwan law.  CLA disseminates employer 
handbooks and foreign worker handbooks, translated into 
English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai.  CLA provides 
funding to city and county governments to defray expenses 
associated with foreign labor affairs reporting, reform of 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  009 OF 012 
 
 
foreign labor regulations, and training conferences for local 
law enforcement and social services personnel. 
 
MAC has expanded 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. 
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 
counselors, and contain information on the rights and 
obligations of foreign spouses living in Taiwan. 
 
30 C. Taiwan Relationship with NGOs, Civil Society, Relevant 
Organizations on TIP 
 
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.  Many NGOs assert the government has 
placed too much emphasis on the increased detection, 
prosecution, and punishment of suspected traffickers, and too 
little on improving its ability to identify and protect 
victims of trafficking.  This is evidenced, NGOs claim, by 
the sharp increase in the number of arrests for forced 
prostitution, but the absence of any similar increase in the 
number of trafficking victims being sent to NGO shelters for 
care.  NGOs contend these circumstances indicate one of two 
things: either the law enforcement crackdown is in fact not 
related to trafficking, or that the Taiwan government 
continues to treat trafficking victims, including those 
forced into prostitution, as criminals subject to 
incarceration, punishment, and repatriation. 
 
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 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  010 OF 012 
 
 
programs for them. 
 
The Taiwan government sponsors NGO participation in 
international anti-trafficking meetings and exchanges. 
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. 
 
30 D. Government Monitoring of Immigration/Emigration 
Patterns for Evidence of TIP 
 
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. 
 
30 E. Mechanism to Coordinate Government Anti-TIP Efforts 
 
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 oversees 
the task force, and is accountable to the Interior Minister. 
The MOI has also appointed a vice-minister to serve as the 
single point of contact for TIP-related inquiries.  In 
practice, the NIA has served as AIT's chief point of contact 
for TIP-related information. 
 
Taiwan has 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. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  011 OF 012 
 
 
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, 
including high ranking military officers. 
 
30 F.       Existence of National Action Plan to Combat TIP 
 
Taiwan published the "Executive Yuan Action Plan for 
Suppressing Trafficking in Persons" (the "Action Plan"), on 
November 8, 2006.  Thirteen government ministries and 
agencies and NGOs cooperated in drafting the Plan, which 
directs: (1) strengthening Taiwan's existing net of 
anti-trafficking laws; (2) implementing an island-wide 
standard procedure to identify trafficking victims; (3) 
exempting trafficking victims from punishment for non-violent 
crimes occasioned by their victimization; (4) allowing 
trafficking victims to switch jobs or employers; (5) 
assigning special task forces and special prosecutors to 
increase the investigation,  prosecution, and conviction of 
traffickers; and (6) enhancing penalties for convicted 
traffickers. The Action Plan requires MOI, MOJ, NIA, CLA, and 
other involved government agencies to include NGO 
representatives in regular policy-making discussions, and to 
incorporate NGO recommendations into a "comprehensive and 
integrated" anti-TIP strategy.  Government agencies are also 
required by the Action Plan to include NGO input in anti-TIP 
informational materials, educational seminars, and other 
activities.  The Plan requires a comprehensive 
anti-trafficking strategy to be fully implemented by December 
¶2008. 
 
30 G. Government Efforts to Reduce Demand for Commercialized 
Sex 
 
During 2007, the authorities launched a multimedia campaign 
to increase public awareness of Taiwan's human trafficking 
problem, and to solicit public assistance in identifying and 
assisting victims of sex and labor trafficking.  As part of 
this campaign, the MOI sponsored 420 radio and 267 television 
announcements, placed eight newspaper notices, and printed 
30,000 handbills describing the crime of human trafficking 
and urging the public to report suspected abuses.  Posters 
depicting victims of sex and labor trafficking were posted at 
community centers and park billboards around Taiwan.  The 
posters and radio and television advertisements targeted 
those who might exploit victims of trafficking, including 
unscrupulous employers and those who patronize prostitutes, 
urging them to view trafficking victims as human beings 
entitled to dignity, respect, and fair treatment. 
 
As part of an ongoing campaign to prevent child sex 
trafficking, the government displayed public service 
announcements at 680 cinemas island-wide.  The announcements 
were also broadcast on six nationwide televisions stations, 
and included on online chat-rooms frequented by Taiwanese 
youth. 
 
30 H.       Government Efforts to Reduce Domestic 
 
TAIPEI 00000400  012 OF 012 
 
 
Participation in Child Sex Tourism 
 
Taiwan does not have a recognized child sex tourism problem. 
Taiwan passed the Child and Youth Sexual Transaction 
Prevention Act (CYSTPA) in 1995.  Since then, the incidence 
of child prostitution has declined sharply on Taiwan, such 
that NGOs report it is no longer a serious problem. Taiwan 
citizens arrested abroad for having or attempting to have 
sexual relations with minors are regularly prosecuted, 
convicted, and sentenced to prison pursuant to the CYSTPA. 
 
30 I.       Government Efforts to Prevent Peacekeepers from 
Trafficking or Exploiting TIP Victims 
 
Not applicable to Taiwan. 
 
¶2. (SBU) TIME SPENT ON REPORT: 
 
FO-03, 65 hours 
FO-01, 2 hours 
 
¶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 
YOUNG