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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8467
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 4137
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 8022
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 4854
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3579
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 4317
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0250
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 0414
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0773
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0683
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 9744
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU PRIORITY 2527
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU PRIORITY 1087
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG PRIORITY 9276
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY 1902
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 6497
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 000401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TW
SUBJECT: PART ONE - 2008 TIP REPORT - TAIWAN 
 
REF: STATE 2731 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is part one of AIT/T's three-part 2007-8 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.  The report is presented 
according to reftel sections, beginning with paragraph 27 A. 
Part one contains Paragraphs 27 A-B.  Paragraphs 27 A through 
29 D are contained in part two.  Paragraphs 29 E through 30 I 
are contained in part three. 
 
Overview 
-------- 
 
27 A. Overview of Taiwan's Activities to Eliminate 
Trafficking in Persons 
 
Taiwan is a source country for a limited number of women 
trafficked to Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom. 
According to the International Criminal Affairs Division of 
the National Police Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), 
local "employment agencies" place newspaper advertisements 
seeking women willing to work overseas as "public relations" 
personnel.  According to CIB, many if not all applicants 
understand this job description to be a euphemism for 
prostitution.  The "employment agencies" are front companies 
for small-scale brokerage operations, some with connections 
to criminal groups in the destination countries.  Applicants 
are required to pay a small fee, usually less than US$750, 
for the broker's help in obtaining a visa and making travel 
and employment arrangements. 
 
Most applicants prefer to go to Japan because Taiwan citizens 
do not need visas to enter Japan and brokerage fees are 
therefore lower.  Brokers charge higher service fees to send 
women to Australia, the U.K., or the United States, where 
some form of visa is required.  Prostitution is legal in 
Australia.  Brokers encourage women under thirty to use 
Australia's "working holiday" visa to enter. Brokers 
encourage older women to go to Japan, because they are 
ineligible for Australia's "working holiday" visa, and cannot 
easily obtain American or British tourist or student visas. 
CIB confirmed that upon arrival in Japan some women were 
forced into prostitution or were subjected to exploitative 
working conditions to which they did not consent, including 
forced confinement or relocation, confiscation of travel 
documents, debt bondage, and withholding of pay.  Others were 
threatened with bodily harm to prevent them from going to the 
local authorities, or denied permission to return to Taiwan. 
 
The CIB officer assigned to the Taiwan Representative Office 
in Tokyo is charged with cooperating with Japanese 
authorities to identify Taiwanese trafficking victims and 
return them to Taiwan.  CIB reported that 8 female 
trafficking victims were returned to Taiwan in 2007.  This is 
a decrease over the total 59 women returned to Taiwan during 
in 2006.  CIB and NIA were unable to provide an official 
estimate of the total number of Taiwanese women trafficked to 
Japan in recent years. 
 
Taiwan appears to be a source country for a limited number of 
women trafficked to the United States.  In 2007, AIT's 
consular section fraud prevention unit identified more than 
100 Taiwanese women (and one man) who traveled to the U.S. in 
2006 to work as prostitutes.  All were between 23 and 40 
years of age. Investigations during 2007-8 by State 
Department Diplomatic Security, U.S. local law enforcement, 
and the International Criminal Affairs division of Taiwan's 
Criminal Investigation Bureau suggest that most of the 
participants knew they would be working as prostitutes and 
were willing to be transported to the U.S. for that purpose. 
However, evidence and testimony collected during these 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  002 OF 012 
 
 
investigations also suggest some participants were subjected 
to exploitative working conditions in the U.S. to which they 
did not consent, including forced confinement or relocation, 
confiscation of travel documents, debt bondage, and 
withholding of pay.  Others were lured to the U.S. by 
promises of work in nightclubs, legitimate massage parlors, 
or restaurants, where sexual services would be optional, not 
required.  Upon arrival in the U.S., however, the women were 
immediately confined to residential brothels and forced to 
service clients.  According to CIB estimates, 25 Taiwan women 
were trafficked to the U.S. in 2007. 
 
Taiwan is not a transit point for a significant number of 
internationally trafficked persons.  Taiwan is a transit 
point for a small number of PRC citizens seeking to illegally 
enter the United States.  Taiwan criminal gangs use 
fraudulent Taiwan travel documents and Taiwan-operated 
vessels to smuggle these illegal PRC immigrants into Taiwan. 
Although these illegal aliens are voluntary migrants, some of 
them may become trafficking victims as a result of debt 
bondage, forced prostitution, or other schemes upon reaching 
Taiwan or the United States. 
 
Taiwan is principally a destination country for Southeast 
Asian and PRC men and women seeking economic opportunities. 
Some of these men and women are trafficked into forced labor 
or sexual exploitation.  Traffickers also lure women (mostly 
from the PRC and Vietnam) to Taiwan with promises of marriage 
to Taiwanese men.  Sometimes these marriage arrangements are 
fraudulent, and the foreign spouses are trafficked into 
forced labor or sexual exploitation. 
 
Taiwan's geographic proximity to the PRC and Southeast Asia, 
large demand for foreign workers, and lucrative sex industry 
provide opportunities for traffickers to exploit victims. 
Many female trafficking victims are forced into prostitution. 
 Both men and women are subjected to forced labor or 
involuntary servitude.  In many cases, the trafficking 
victim's passport will be seized, and he or she may be 
subjected to physical abuse or other forms of coercion to 
prevent him or her from attempting escape or seeking 
assistance from the authorities. 
 
Nearly 360,000 foreign workers and 400,000 foreign spouses 
live in Taiwan.  These large numbers make it difficult to 
obtain reliable estimates of the number of persons being 
trafficked within Taiwan. 
 
There is a consensus among government officials and NGOs that 
trafficking of minors for prostitution has declined 
dramatically since the passage of the 1995 Child and Youth 
Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA). According to 
women's rights groups involved in rehabilitating girls and 
women rescued from Taiwan's sex industry, the number of 
trafficking victims under 18 years of age is low.  MOI 
statistics from 2006 indicate fewer than 650 children were 
rescued from prostitution that year; however, NGOs suggest 
the actual number of children involved in prostitution is 
probably significantly higher. NGOs reported in 2007 a sharp 
increase in the number of boys rescued from prostitution. 
Many were caught during police investigations of on-line 
"social networking" sites suspected of being front operations 
for prostitution rings. 
 
The Ministry of Interior (MOI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), 
National Immigration Agency (NIA) (formerly the Immigration 
Bureau of the National Police Agency), National Police 
Administration (NPA), Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), 
academics, human rights groups, women's rights groups and 
advocacy groups for foreign labor and foreign spouses are the 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  003 OF 012 
 
 
primary sources for information about trafficking in persons. 
 These sources are all generally reliable and often cooperate 
with each other to combat trafficking.  These sources agree 
that it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of 
trafficked persons in Taiwan. 
 
27 B. General Overview and Changes 
 
The majority of Taiwan's population of economic migrants come 
from the PRC or from Southeast Asian countries neighboring 
Taiwan, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, 
and Vietnam. 
 
PRC citizens can only legally enter Taiwan to conduct tourism 
or business, or to become the spouse of a Taiwan citizen. 
PRC citizens are not permitted to work legally in Taiwan, 
except in the fishing industry.  Taiwan fishing companies are 
permitted to hire male PRC nationals to work on Taiwan 
fishing boats; however, the PRC workers are not permitted to 
enter Taiwan, and must be housed in off-shore accommodations 
or in gated dormitories located near their assigned fishing 
port.  According to the Council of Agriculture Fisheries 
Administration, as of late September 2007, 337 PRC fishermen 
had fled their legal employment aboard Taiwan fishing boats 
to seek more lucrative, but illegal, employment in Taiwan's 
construction and manufacturing industries. 
 
Ninety percent of illegal PRC immigrants, male and female, 
come from Fujian province, situated only 90 miles across the 
Taiwan Strait.  Human smuggling groups in Fujian and Sichuan 
provinces actively recruit men, women, and girls willing to 
work in Taiwan.  PRC citizens seeking economic opportunities 
may themselves initiate contact with smugglers in furtherance 
of finding work in Taiwan.  Chinese fishing boats are used to 
transport passengers to certain locations in the Taiwan 
Strait, where they are transferred to Taiwanese fishing 
boats.  Smugglers often force their passengers to discard 
luggage before boarding, in order to be able to fit more 
people into the boats.  After landing in Taiwan, most of the 
men and some of the women will seek illegal work on the 
Taiwan economy.  Some women will be delivered to secret 
locations, where auctions arranged by sex traffickers will 
take place.  Brothel operators and others from Taiwan's 
commercial sex industry attend the auctions, where they "buy" 
women for their illegal operations.  After a woman has been 
sold, she is transported to a designated workplace, or to an 
apartment near the area where she will work. 
 
According to the NIA, of those illegal PRC immigrants 
apprehended on Taiwan soil in 2006, 75 percent were found in 
northern Taiwan.  Seventy-three percent of PRC illegal 
immigrants arrested in Taiwan were found after living in 
Taiwan six months or less.  Almost half of those detained 
admitted to performing some kind of temporary labor while in 
Taiwan. 
 
According to CGA, 409 illegal PRC immigrants, 338 men and 39 
women, were arrested in 2007. The number of female illegal 
PRC immigrants smuggled by boat continues to drop, CGA 
officials say, because smugglers connected to Taiwan's sex 
industry are using other channels, including fraudulent 
marriages, to circumvent increased coastal patrols. 
 
The Taiwan government acknowledges that fraudulent marriages 
are commonly used by traffickers to introduce foreign women 
into Taiwan for labor or sexual exploitation.  Many women 
from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other Southeast Asian 
countries are willing to marry Taiwan men in hopes of 
enjoying Taiwan's higher standard of living, and earning 
money to assist relatives back home.  Traffickers disguised 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  004 OF 012 
 
 
as marriage brokers exploit such motivations, luring many 
women to Taiwan with promises of marriage, only to force them 
into prostitution or exploitative labor upon their arrival. 
 
Trafficking syndicates in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and 
other Southeast Asian countries also use fake marriages to 
circumvent restrictions on certain types of laborers or 
laborers from certain countries.  For example, while a ban on 
Indonesian caregivers was in effect, traffickers used 
fraudulent marriages to facilitate the entry of Indonesian 
women into Taiwan.  The "brides" were promised jobs as 
caregivers or domestic helpers and knowingly entered into 
false marriages in hopes of securing gainful employment. Some 
of them were forced into exploitative labor, while others 
were coerced into Taiwan's sex industry. 
 
Taiwan recorded 24,700 marriages to foreign-born spouses in 
2007 -- a 3 percent increase over the 2006 total. 
Eighty-seven percent of the spousal visas issued in 2007 were 
issued to women, and thirteen percent to men.  Sixty-one 
percent of all spousal visas were issued to citizens of Hong 
Kong, Macau, or the PRC.  Nineteen percent were issued to 
citizens of Vietnam.  NIA and CIB sources report that of the 
5,321 Vietnam citizens who applied for spousal visas in 2007, 
only 3,345 (63 percent) were approved, following the 
implementation of more stringent interview and documentation 
requirements. 
 
In some cases, women, particularly from the PRC, knowingly 
enter into false marriages in order to work in Taiwan's sex 
industry.  These women too are often subjected to 
exploitative working conditions to which they did not 
consent, including forced confinement or relocation, physical 
or mental abuse, and unfair withholding of pay. 
 
Some Taiwan men are willing to serve as bogus husbands 
because the financial rewards are significant and the risks 
relatively minor.  Many traffickers solicit mentally or 
physically disabled or destitute men to serve as husbands. 
Courts often punish such men with fines or sentences of less 
than one year.  In facilitating a "bride's" residence in 
Taiwan, a typical "husband" can receive a free round trip to 
the bride's home country and as much as US $1,000 per month 
for up to one year, deducted from the bride's earnings as a 
prostitute.  NGOs told AIT that women who are smuggled to 
Taiwan must pay between US $3,500-6,500 in fees to smugglers, 
and that local sex or labor traffickers can sell each woman 
for between US $5,000-6,000. 
 
Non-PRC citizen foreign spouses can apply for residency 
immediately, which entitles them to work legally in Taiwan. 
They cannot apply for full citizenship until they have 
resided in Taiwan for three consecutive years, and usually do 
not obtain citizenship until their fourth year of residence 
in Taiwan.  PRC spouses are eligible to apply for dependent 
resident status after two years, but cannot apply for 
permanent residence or permission to work until after six 
years in Taiwan.  Any foreign spouse without citizenship 
risks deportation if he or she divorces or does not live with 
his or her Taiwanese spouse.  Traffickers use the threat of 
deportation to coerce and control women brought into Taiwan 
under the guise of marriage. 
 
According to MOI, at the end of 2007 there were nearly 
360,000 legal foreign workers in Taiwan, primarily from 
Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Fifty 
percent of these workers are employed in the manufacturing 
industry, and 45 percent are employed as nursing caregivers 
or domestic helpers. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  005 OF 012 
 
 
The Taiwan government grants commercial and private employers 
the right to employ a certain number of foreign workers per 
year.  Larger employers, usually construction and 
manufacturing companies, sell these "quotas" to the 
highest-bidding brokerage firm, which then recruits foreign 
workers to fill the quota, often charging each worker 
unlawfully high job placement and brokerage fees.  In order 
to preserve lucrative relationships with employers, brokers 
often help to control troublesome employees through threats, 
physical abuse, and other forms of punishment.  Brokers also 
often help employers to forcibly deport foreign workers -- 
the employer uses the broker to get rid of the problematic 
employee, and the broker benefits by filling the empty quota 
with a new foreign worker, who must pay the broker's fees. 
The higher the turnover rate for foreign workers, the more 
money brokerage firms can make, since each new cycle of 
workers can be charged new placement and brokerage fees. 
 
Foreign workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, 
including construction workers, fishermen, and caregivers 
employed by hospitals or other commercial institutions are 
covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Law (LSL).  The LSL 
prohibits forced labor, establishes limits on premature 
contract termination, ensures basic minimum wage and overtime 
rates, sets limits on the work-day and work-week, and 
mandates daily breaks and minimum time off. 
 
The protections offered by the LSL do not extend to the 
160,000 foreign workers employed as private nursing 
caregivers or domestic helpers.  They are covered instead by 
the Employment Services Act (ESA), which does guarantee the 
minimum wage but not overtime pay, does not set limits on the 
work-day or work-week, and does not provide for minimum 
breaks or vacation time.  NGOs report many cases of foreign 
domestic helpers and nursing caregivers working 16-18 hours 
per day, and being given only one day or less per month of 
free time.  Some employers forbid their employees from 
leaving the employer's residence, except on days off.  In 
this forced isolation, foreign domestic helpers and nursing 
caregivers are extremely vulnerable to labor exploitation, 
physical and mental abuse, and sexual assault.  The ESA does 
not afford foreign workers any protection against the 
employer's arbitrary termination of their contract.  The CLA 
in early 2007 imposed a requirement that any early 
termination of a contract must be reviewed and approved by a 
local Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) official before the 
termination will be enforced and the worker deported (see 
below). 
 
High brokerage fees and other charges frequently turn foreign 
workers into virtual indentured servants.  According to a 
2006 NGO report, foreign workers must pay placement fees, 
service fees, and food and boarding charges totaling between 
NT $254,000-$433,000 (US $8,200-$14,000) for a three-year 
factory or construction job contract. Factory and 
construction workers are covered by the LSL and are 
guaranteed a minimum monthly salary of NT $17,280 (US $557), 
plus overtime.  Regular overtime must be paid at 1.33 times 
the regular hourly rate for the first two hours of overtime 
per day, and for every hour thereafter, special overtime must 
be paid at 1.66 times the hourly rate.  The average factory 
worker earning the minimum monthly salary plus 10 hours of 
regular overtime and 10 hours of special overtime per month 
would need 11.4 months to pay off average fixed debts of NT 
$343,500, leaving no money for himself. 
 
Domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are entitled to NT 
$17,280 monthly minimum salary (see below), but typically are 
not paid overtime wages, since they are not covered by the 
LSL.  The same 2006 NGO report indicated that foreign workers 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  006 OF 012 
 
 
must pay combined placement, service fees, and food and 
boarding charges of between NT $104,000-$293,000 (US 
$3,400-$9,500) to secure a three-year domestic helper or 
nursing caregiver job.  With no prospect of overtime wages, 
the average domestic helper or nursing caregiver would need 
11.5 months to pay off average fixed debts of NT $198,500, 
leaving no money left over for other expenses. 
 
Taiwan regulations allow an employer, with the foreign 
worker's consent, to deduct up to 30 percent of the foreign 
worker's monthly salary to be placed in a bank account in the 
worker's name.  The employer holds the bank book and the 
worker has no access to this account.  The money, which 
typically amounts to around NT $3,000 per month, is only 
returned to the worker at the completion of his or her 
contract.  If the company goes bankrupt, the worker loses the 
money.  This practice is called "forced savings" because if 
the worker does not consent to the arrangement, the worker is 
often sent home. 
 
Because the debts owed to brokers and employers are so great, 
most workers expect to save little or nothing during the 
first two years of their contracts.  In many cases, the 
financial pressure prompts workers to run away from their 
broker and employer in order to seek more profitable 
employment elsewhere.  Workers also flee to escape difficult 
or dangerous work, or to escape abuse by the broker or 
employer. 
 
As of December 2007, a total of 22,533 foreign workers (16 
percent) were reported "missing."  Of this number, 18,610 
missing workers were from Vietnam, 7,174 from Indonesia, 
2,855 from the Philippines, 1,658 from Thailand, 4 from 
Mongolia, and 1 from Malaysia. 
 
From April 1, 2007 to February 20, 2008, Taiwan authorities 
arrested and detained 13,075 foreigners in some form of 
illegal work status.  Citizens from Vietnam (2,872) and 
Indonesia (2,313) comprised the majority of those arrested, 
followed by the PRC (1,089), Thailand (634), and the 
Philippines (460).  Of those arrested, 7,523 were sent to 
formal detention centers to await repatriation.  The 
remaining 5,552 were detained in local-level temporary 
detention facilities before being deported. 
 
Foreign workers in Taiwan do not have the right to transfer 
to a new employer at will.  The ESA authorizes foreign 
workers to transfer to a new employer only under certain 
conditions:  (1) the employer or person to be cared for dies 
or departs Taiwan; (2) the vessel on which the worker is 
employed sinks, is under repair, or has been seized; (3) the 
factory or other work location is shut down, has suspended 
busness, or is unable to pay the worker's salary; (4) the 
worker can prove he has suffered physical, sexual, or severe 
verbal abuse from the employer; (5) the worker reports that 
he has been forced by his legal employer to work for an 
illegal employer; and (6) after a previous warning from the 
government, the employer has forced the worker to again 
perform work outside the scope of his work permit or 
employment contract, or to work in an unauthorized workplace 
("illegal work").  Under new employment transfer rules 
implemented in February 2008 (see below), if the losing and 
gaining employer agree, a worker can transfer to the new 
employer without satisfying the foregoing conditions.  If the 
worker's legal employer does not consent, however, the 
foregoing restrictions may still apply. 
 
Before January 2002, an employee was entitled to an immediate 
transfer upon proving that his employer had forced him to do 
illegal work.  In 2002, Article 72 of the ESA was revised to 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  007 OF 012 
 
 
give an employer a chance to correct the illegal work 
situation within a specified period.  Now, a worker is only 
entitled to a transfer (and his employer will only be 
punished) after the employer's second illegal work violation. 
 This puts the foreign worker in a catch-22: a worker 
reporting a first violation risks damaging his relationship 
with the employer, who can retaliate by canceling the 
worker's contract and deporting him.  If the worker chooses 
not to report the illegal work, he risks being caught by the 
police and deported for working illegally (see further 
discussion at para. 29 (C), below). 
 
If a foreign worker leaves his or her legal employer for any 
reason not authorized by the ESA, the worker automatically 
enters "illegal status" and can be subject to immediate 
deportation.  According to Taiwan officials, foreign workers 
in illegal status can earn higher wages from illegal 
employers willing to hire them (US $800 per month versus US 
$557).  By hiring foreign workers in illegal status, illegal 
employers can circumvent the foreign worker quota system, 
taxes, and other financial burdens the government imposes on 
legal employers of foreign workers.  Although they may be 
able to earn more money, foreign workers in illegal status do 
not have a contract, are not protected by the LSL or ESA, and 
are not covered by health or labor insurance.  Because they 
fear deportation, foreign workers in illegal status rarely 
report employer misconduct to law enforcement or other 
government officials.  This makes them extremely vulnerable 
to employer abuse, including but not limited to physical or 
mental abuse and sexual assault.  Some illegal status foreign 
workers, desperate for any type of gainful employment, end up 
trafficked into forced labor or Taiwan's sex industry. 
 
NGOs reported that foreign workers often fell victim to labor 
trafficking -- having contracted to perform one type of work 
but forced to perform another type of work upon arrival in 
Taiwan.  Employers use this tactic to circumvent hiring 
limits on certain classes of workers, or workers from certain 
countries.  Employers and brokers both profit from it: 
brokers charge workers more to secure high-wage-plus-overtime 
factory jobs than they do for low-wage domestic caretaker 
jobs.  Employers can pay foreign workers bound by domestic 
helper contracts less than those who signed factory worker 
contracts.  Since they are performing work outside the scope 
of their work permits and original contracts, foreign workers 
often believe they are in illegal status.  Many of these 
workers do not report labor trafficking violations to 
authorities because they do not know their rights and are 
fearful of deportation.  Other workers, in debt to brokers 
and possibly to the employer, do not wish to lose what 
gainful employment they have.  In any event, the ESA grants 
employers one chance to "cure" certain violations, including 
forcing an employee to perform unauthorized work or to work 
at an unauthorized location, without penalty (see above).  If 
the foreign worker reports the violation, he risks 
retaliation from the employer, who will likely not be 
punished. 
 
Taiwan has no law to protect foreign workers from being 
forcibly repatriated.  Under current laws, an employer can 
repatriate foreign workers at any time.  NGOs report that 
foreign workers who raise concerns or seek legal help are 
regularly deported without due process.  CLA changed its 
regulations to address this problem.  Beginning November 1, 
2006, employers who wish to terminate a foreign worker's 
contract before its expiration date must request and obtain 
approval from an appropriate local government labor official. 
 If the labor official discovers a labor-management dispute, 
or that the worker is being forcibly repatriated, the 
employer will not be able to recruit a new worker to fill the 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  008 OF 012 
 
 
vacancy until the dispute is resolved. 
 
NGOs complain that the government is using the wrong policy 
to solve the problem of runaway workers; for example, issuing 
a reward of NT$2,000 (US $60) to police officers for the 
arrest of each foreign worker found in illegal status.  NGOs 
contend the NIA, NPA, and local law enforcement continue to 
view illegal workers as criminals, without trying to 
understand the abusive and exploitative circumstances which 
cause many workers to flee their legal employers. 
 
Significant Changes 
 
Dedicated Anti-TIP Budget 
 
In July 2007, the Executive Yuan approved the "Human 
Trafficking Prevention Implementation Plan,8 setting aside 
NT$390 million (US$12.6 million) for the 2008-2010 period for 
the construction and improvement of shelter facilities, 
education and training for government officials, and the 
expansion of international cooperation to combat trafficking. 
 From March 2007 to February 2008, the multi-agency task 
force charged with overseeing anti-TIP efforts has convened 
six times.  In late 2007, the task force recommended 
increasing funding for the Implementation Plan to NT$690 
million (US$22.3 million) to meet anticipated budget needs. 
 
Standard Form Contract 
 
In July 2007 the CLA announced plans to introduce in early 
2008 a standard form for all foreign labor contracts, aimed 
at preventing brokers from charging excessive brokerage fees. 
The form contract will list in detail the types of fees that 
can be collected from foreign workers, as well as the working 
terms.  According to CLA, fees or loans not included in the 
form contract would be unenforceable. 
 
NGOs contend that Taiwan courts, following the standard form 
contract guidelines, have enforced fraudulent contract terms 
against foreign workers.  According to NGO sources, after a 
foreign worker has paid his or her brokerage fee, the broker 
will often refuse to find the worker a job until the worker 
agrees to sign a contract which obligates the worker to repay 
"loans" which the broker never made. 
 
Increased Minimum Wage 
 
On July 1, 2007, Taiwan raised the monthly minimum wage from 
NT$15,840 (US$511) to NT$17,280 (US$557).  At the same time, 
CLA raised the ceiling on meal and lodging fees that 
employers can charge foreign workers from NT$4,000 (US$129) 
to NT$5,000 (US$161).  CLA asserted foreign workers could 
negotiate meal and lodging fees with their employers. 
Because foreign workers have no individual or collective 
bargaining power, NGOs countered, every employer will impose 
the higher fees, reducing the net benefit of the minimum wage 
increase by half.  NGO and press reports confirm that many 
foreign workers have seen the minimum wage increase offset by 
increased meal and lodging fees. 
 
According to NGOs, it is difficult for foreign workers to 
negotiate the terms of a contract before they arrive in 
Taiwan.  Moreover, NGOs allege, many foreign workers are on 
probation during the first 40 days of their employment.  Few 
are willing to risk provoking the employer by pushing for 
better contract terms, for fear of being summarily deported 
within the probationary period.  Under Taiwan law, foreign 
workers can only join existing unions and cannot form new 
ones.  Foreign workers are also precluded from holding union 
office.  Therefore, NGOs contend, in addition to lacking 
 
TAIPEI 00000401  009 OF 012 
 
 
individual bargaining power, foreign workers also have little 
or no collective bargaining power to demand more favorable 
contract terms or working conditions. 
 
Increased Maximum Work Period 
 
On July 13, 2007 CLA increased the maximum time a foreign 
worker may work in Taiwan from six to nine years. 
 
Draft TIP Statute Under Review 
 
In October 2007, NIA and MOJ submitted the first draft of a 
comprehensive anti-TIP statute to the MOI for review.  MOI is 
expected to complete its review and amendment process by 
April 2008, at which time the draft will go to the Executive 
Yuan for review and approval.  The Executive Yuan could 
approve the statute by June 2008.  The draft statute would 
then go the LY for consideration.  AIT has offered to send 
the draft statute to US DOJ's Civil Rights Division for 
review and suggestions, but MOJ and NIA have not responded to 
this offer. 
 
A coalition of NGOs has been working on its own draft TIP 
statute.  The NGO version reportedly includes a broader 
definition of trafficking, a more complete list of penalties 
and punishments, and would require more services to be 
provided to trafficking victims. 
 
Labor Standards Law Coverage 
 
In November 2007, CLA announced plans to have all laborers 
covered by Taiwan's Labor Standards Law (LSL) by 2009, 
including the estimated 163,000 foreign workers employed as 
domestic helpers or caregivers.  Once covered by the LSL, 
domestic helpers and caregivers would be entitled to overtime 
pay, mandatory minimum leave, and other benefits. Elder-care 
interest groups continue to block efforts to extend LSL 
coverage to domestic helpers and caregivers.  CLA 
acknowledged that extending LSL coverage to these workers 
would impose an additional economic burden on their 
employers, many of whom were already struggling with the cost 
of caring for elderly or infirm family members.  NGOs 
expressed deep skepticism about the CLA plan, citing CLA's 
failure to honor several earlier promises to extend LSL 
coverage to domestic helpers and caregivers. 
 
Amended Immigration Law 
 
On November 30, 2007 the Legislative Yuan amended Taiwan's 
immigration law to provide additional protections for 
trafficking victims.  The amendment requires local police and 
prosecutors to establish dedicated anti-trafficking units. 
Law enforcement agencies must protect trafficking victims' 
identities and personal information from public disclosure. 
Government agencies must also ensure trafficking victims' 
personal safety, and provide them with appropriate housing, 
medical and psychiatric care, counseling services, 
translation assistance and legal counseling services.  If the 
victim is a minor, a social worker must be assigned to his or 
her case, and must be present during police questioning, all 
legal proceedings, and trial. 
 
If a trafficking victim cooperates with prosecutors by 
providing testimony or other assistance, the victim shall be 
entitled to the protections afforded by Taiwan's Witness 
Protection Law.  Additionally, such cooperation shall be 
considered by prosecutors and judges to reduce or eliminate 
the victim's liability for any criminal or administrative 
violations.  Victims who cooperate with prosecutors are 
entitled to receive temporary visas to remain in Taiwan up to 
 
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six months, and can request extensions.  However, once the 
prosecutor closes the case, the trafficking victim will be 
repatriated to his or her home country. 
 
According to the MOI, the amended Immigration Act was 
approved by the Executive Yuan (EY) on December 26, 2007. 
According to NIA, 37 other laws and regulations need to be 
amended before the amended Immigration Act can go into 
effect.  The EY is scheduled to complete this work by June 
¶2008.  At that time, the EY will also decide the date the 
amended Immigration Act will go into effect. 
 
For-Profit Marriage Brokerages Banned 
 
The revised immigration law also bans for-profit marriage 
brokerage agencies.  When the amended Immigration Act goes 
into effect, it will prohibit marriage agencies from 
advertising their services or asking for fees.  The law 
provides a one-year period for existing marriage agencies to 
wind up their operations.  Violators will face fines between 
NT$200,000 and NT$1 million (US$6,250-$31,250) for failure to 
comply.  Non-profit groups will be allowed to arrange 
marriages between foreigners and Taiwan residents. 
 
NGOs criticize the new immigration law as providing 
inadequate protections for childless foreign spouses who are 
victims of domestic violence, who will only be afforded an 
extended stay to handle the divorce, not permanent residency. 
 
Direct Hiring Service Center 
 
On January 1, 2008, the CLA opened its first Direct Hiring 
Service Center (DHSC) in Taipei.  Foreign caregivers working 
for local employers can apply to the DHSC to renew their 
existing contracts, without paying a broker.  If all 
documents are in order, the foreign caregiver can depart 
Taiwan for his or her home country, obtain a re-entry visa 
there, and return to Taiwan to resume work within days. The 
simplified procedure replaces a process which typically 
required three to eight weeks to complete, plus additional 
broker placement fees of NT$30,000-$100,000.  CLA intends to 
gradually extend the service to factory workers and other 
categories of foreign workers.  See 
http://dhsc.evta.gov.tw/eng/home-eng.html 
 
Ban On Service Fees Deduction 
 
On January 3, 2008, CLA announced that employers were no 
longer permitted to deduct "service fees" payable to labor 
brokerage firms from foreign workers' monthly pay.  Violators 
faced maximum fines of NT$300,000 (US$9,279) and be barred 
from hiring foreign workers for two years.  Under previous 
regulations, labor brokers were barred from collecting 
brokerage fees from foreign workers, but were permitted to 
collect a "service fee" of NT$1,800 per month for the first 
year of the contract, NT$1,700 per month during the second 
year, and NT$1,500 per month during the third.  Brokerage 
firms relied on the employers to deduct and transfer these 
fees.  On January 28, labor brokerage firms from around 
Taiwan protested the change, claiming it threatened their 
livelihood.  CLA issued a press release stating that labor 
brokerages should abide by the law and charge a single, 
reasonable brokerage fee to be paid directly by the foreign 
worker upon his or her entry to Taiwan.  Brokers should not 
charge a service fee, the CLA press release added, unless a 
service has actually been performed. 
 
Dormitory Safety Requirements 
 
On January 3, 2008, CLA also amended its regulations intended 
 
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to ensure that dormitories provided by employers are safe. 
The new regulation stipulates that employers who hire foreign 
workers for construction, manufacturing, or caretaking work 
must submit documents to local government authorities within 
three days of the worker's arrival in Taiwan proving that the 
worker's lodgings are legally permitted structures. 
 
Simplified Employment Transfer Rules 
 
On February 29, 2008, the CLA simplified the process for 
foreign workers seeking to change employers.  Under the new 
regulations, if the losing and gaining employer and the 
foreign worker all agree, the foreign worker can apply 
directly to CLA for the transfer to the new employer, without 
consulting his or her broker or registering with the local 
employment agency.  Moreover, in cases where the employer's 
misconduct was the basis for terminating the foreign worker's 
original contract, only the worker and gaining employer need 
agree.  Under the old system, foreign workers seeking to 
change employers had to first apply to a local employment 
center to find a new employer.  The worker's broker would be 
contacted to locate a new employer.  The foreign worker would 
be charged additional fees for the broker's services.  The 
old process would often take 4-8 weeks. 
 
In order to increase hiring opportunities for foreign workers 
transferring to new employers, the CLA on February 29 also 
lifted restrictions which had prevented workers from shifting 
from one industry or geographic region to another. 
Transferring workers now also have up to sixty days to find a 
new employer before having to depart Taiwan, two weeks longer 
than before. 
 
NGOs and academics assert that the government should lift all 
remaining restrictions on employment transfers, enabling 
foreign workers to leave employers who mistreat them or do 
not pay well.  NGOs contend that many foreign workers flee 
their employers, in violation of immigration and labor laws, 
because they cannot bargain for better pay or working 
conditions. 
 
NIA Shelters Approved 
 
Under Taiwan's National Action Plan to combat trafficking, 
the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) is responsible for 
providing shelter services to those trafficking victims who 
entered Taiwan pursuant to a legal work visa.  The National 
Immigration Agency (NIA) is responsible for providing shelter 
services to those trafficking victims who entered Taiwan via 
other legal or illegal means, including but not limited to: 
foreign spouses, tourist and business visa overstays, and 
illegal immigrants smuggled into Taiwan. 
 
In December 2007, the NIA solicited NGO bids to operate a 
shelter for trafficking victims.  NIA's solicitation 
attracted no bids, NGOs contend, because the budget allocated 
by NIA was insufficient to cover expected operating expenses. 
 Because the NIA did not find an acceptable bidder, the 
Legislative Yuan cut shelter funding from the NIA's 2008 
budget during the final legislative session of 2007.  NGOs 
have further criticized the NIA for proposing to locate the 
NGO-operated shelter in a refurbished detention facility. 
Under the NIA plan, NGOs allege, trafficking victims at the 
shelter would be under constant NIA supervision, and denied 
privacy or freedom of movement, making the shelter 
environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a 
detention center. 
 
Paragraphs 27 A-E are contained in Part One.  Paragraphs 28 A 
through 29 D are contained in Part Two.  Paragraphs 29 E 
 
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through 30 I are contained in Part Three. 
YOUNG