VZCZCXRO6402
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #0222/01 0580635
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270635Z FEB 09 ZDK
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0994
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 4564
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8951
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 5190
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 3751
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 4457
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0269
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0759
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0789
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0739
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0544
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2974
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0114
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0401
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 2427
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 6923
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 24 TAIPEI 000222 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRIM, EUR/PGI, WHA/PPC, AF/RSA, 
EAP/RSP, NEA/RA 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
SUBJECT:  2008-2009 Tip Report - Taiwan 
 
REF:  A) STATE 2731 B) STATE 5577 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  001.2 OF 024 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Following is AIT/T's 2008-2009 TIP Report Submission. 
¶23.  Taiwan's TIP Situation: 
-- A.  Sources of Available Information on Trafficking in Persons 
(TIP): 
The Ministry of Interior (MOI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), National 
Immigration Agency (NIA), National Police Administration (NPA), 
Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), academics, human rights groups, 
women's rights groups, and advocacy groups for foreign labor and 
foreign spouses are the primary sources for information on 
trafficking in persons. These sources are all generally reliable. 
-- B.  General Overview and Changes 
Taiwan's geographic proximity to the PRC and Southeast Asia, large 
demand for foreign workers, and lucrative sex industry provide 
opportunities for traffickers to exploit victims.  Anecdotal 
evidence suggests an increase in the number of sex workers despite a 
ban on prostitution in 1999. Although prostitution is illegal, there 
are well-established bars where prostitution occurs. Some girls 
admit to having worked for several years at one bar. Locals say they 
can earn NT $40,000 each month for 30 hours of work per week just to 
talk to clients. Nearly 365,000 foreign workers and 407,800 foreign 
spouses live in Taiwan.  These large numbers make it difficult to 
obtain reliable estimates of the number of persons being trafficked 
within Taiwan. 
Taiwan is a source country for a limited number of women trafficked 
to Japan, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. 
According to the International Criminal Affairs Division of the 
National Police Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), local 
"employment agencies" place newspaper advertisements seeking women 
willing to work overseas as "public relations" personnel.  According 
to CIB, many if not all applicants understand this job description 
to be a euphemism for prostitution.  The "employment agencies" are 
front companies for small-scale brokerage operations, some with 
connections to criminal groups in the destination countries. 
Applicants are required to pay a small fee, usually less than $750, 
for the broker's help in obtaining a visa and making travel and 
employment arrangements. 
Many applicants prefer to go to Japan because Taiwan citizens do not 
need visas to enter Japan and brokerage fees are therefore lower. 
Brokers charge higher service fees to send women to Australia, the 
U.K., or the United States, where some form of visa is required, 
although in February the U.K. added Taiwan to their visa-waiver 
program, which will allow visa-free stays for up to six months. 
Prostitution is legal in Australia.  Brokers encourage women under 
thirty to use Australia's "working holiday" visa to enter.  Brokers 
encourage older women to go to Japan.  CIB confirmed that upon 
arrival in Japan some women were forced into prostitution or were 
subjected to exploitative working conditions to which they did not 
consent, including forced confinement or relocation, confiscation of 
travel documents, debt bondage, and withholding of pay.  Others were 
threatened with bodily harm to prevent them from going to the local 
authorities, or denied permission to return to Taiwan. 
Taiwan also appears to be a source country for limited number of 
women trafficked to the United States.  In 2007, AIT's consular 
section fraud prevention unit identified more than 100 Taiwanese 
women (and one man) who traveled to the U.S. in 2006 to work as 
prostitutes.  Investigations during 2007-08 by State Department 
Diplomatic Security, U.S. local law enforcement, and the 
International Criminal Affairs Division of Taiwan's Criminal 
Investigation Bureau (CIB) led to the arrest and indictment of six 
people on charges of forgery and offenses against public morals. NT 
$20 million in assets were frozen by the court of the first 
instance, which is expected to deliver its verdict in May or June. 
(Note: In Taiwan's judicial system, there are three successive 
trials at three different courts, each trying the merits of the case 
and delivering its own verdict.) 
Taiwan is a transit point for a small number of PRC citizens seeking 
to illegally enter the United States.  Taiwan criminal gangs use 
fraudulent Taiwan travel documents or fraudulently-obtained 
legitimate travel documents and Taiwan-operated vessels to smuggle 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  002.2 OF 024 
 
 
these illegal PRC immigrants into Taiwan.  Although these illegal 
aliens are voluntary migrants, some of them may become trafficking 
victims as a result of debt bondage, forced prostitution, or other 
schemes upon reaching Taiwan or the United States. 
Taiwan is principally a destination country for Southeast Asian and 
PRC men and women seeking economic opportunities.  Some of these men 
and women are trafficked into forced labor or sexual exploitation. 
Traffickers also lure women (mostly from the PRC and Vietnam) to 
Taiwan with promises of marriage to Taiwanese men.  Sometimes these 
marriage arrangements are fraudulent, and the foreign spouses are 
trafficked into forced labor or sexual exploitation. 
According to women's rights groups involved in rehabilitating girls 
and women rescued from Taiwan's sex industry, the number of 
trafficking victims under 18 years of age is low.  One NGO estimated 
200-300 minors were rescued from prostitution in 2008.  MOI 
statistics from 2006 indicate fewer than 650 minors were rescued 
from prostitution that year.  NGOs reported an increase in recent 
years in the number of boys rescued from prostitution, many caught 
during police investigations of on-line "social networking" sites 
suspected of being front operations for prostitution rings. The 
Ministry of Justice (MOJ), however, has no record of any minor boys 
being identified as trafficking victims. 
Significant changes: 
Comprehensive Trafficking Law Passed 
On January 13, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (LY) passed a comprehensive 
trafficking law which criminalizes sex, labor, and organ 
trafficking.  NIA expects the law will take effect mid-year, after 
all corresponding statutes and regulations have been amended to fall 
in line with the new law.  NGOs have lauded the passage of the TIP 
law, but complain that there are no provisions for punishing the 
recruiting, transportation, and brokerage of trafficking victims. 
Some NGOs, which drafted their own trafficking bill, also complain 
that sentences for offenders are too light. For example, the NGO 
draft called for a minimum three-year prison term for labor 
trafficking while the new law allows for a maximum jail term of 
seven years for the same offense. 
Extension of Labor Standard Law Coverage Unlikely 
Following its announcement in November 2007 of plans to extend Labor 
Standard Law (LSL) protections to all classes of workers by 2009, 
the CLA held several expert meetings and open forums in 2008 and 
¶2009.  According to CLA, these meetings highlighted the many 
difficulties in regulating the domestic service industry, such as 
distinguishing between working, standby, and off hours; the 
appropriateness of labor inspections in private homes; and the 
adverse financial impact on families of the elderly or disabled.  An 
estimated 169,000 foreign workers are currently employed as domestic 
helpers or caregivers. CLA was unable to provide numbers for local 
workers similarly employed. If covered by the LSL, they would be 
entitled to a minimum wage, overtime pay, mandatory minimum leave, 
and other benefits.  When asked about their previous commitment, CLA 
officials raised the possibility of extending specific protections 
currently offered under the LSL, such as one mandatory day off per 
week and minimum wage provisions, to these classes of workers with 
the support of experts and labor groups. Elder-care interest groups 
have lobbied against efforts to extend LSL coverage to domestic 
helpers and caregivers.  NGOs continued to express deep skepticism 
about CLA's commitment to fighting human trafficking on Taiwan. 
Amended Immigration Law 
On November 30, 2007 the Legislative Yuan amended Taiwan's 
immigration law to provide additional protections for trafficking 
victims.  The amended Act went into force August 1, 2008.  NGOs 
complained that, despite provisions under Chapter 7 of the Act which 
allow TIP victims to apply for temporary residency and work permits, 
none had been issued.  They also pointed out the difficulty in 
obtaining clear and consistent information on procedural 
requirements for various protection measures legally available to 
trafficking victims.  According to NIA officials, a TIP victim must 
first be issued a Witness Certificate by prosecutors.  This 
certificate would allow a victim to apply for a temporary residency 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  003.2 OF 024 
 
 
permit with the NIA and subsequently a temporary work permit from 
the CLA. Officials noted, however, that prosecutors had issued no 
Witness Certificates.  The renewable maximum period of validity 
would be six months for as long as the prosecutor's case against the 
traffickers is being tried. Once a verdict is reached, the victim 
would be repatriated.  The new trafficking law, however, eliminates 
the Witness Certificate requirement.  Some NGOs alleged that their 
ability to effectively advocate on behalf of foreign trafficking 
victims was hindered by authorities' failure to communicate in a 
broad-based and transparent manner with the NGO community and more 
broadly, with the public.  The 2009-10 Executive Yuan 
Anti-Trafficking Project Plan includes items on reviewing problems 
related to the issuance of temporary residency and work permits. 
MOJ Regulations on Anti-Trafficking 
The Ministry of Justice issued Regulations Governing the Prevention 
of Transnational Trafficking in Persons and Victim Protection, which 
took effect on November 6, 2008. These regulations outline victim 
protections and services, as well as mandate coordination between 
law enforcement and district prosecutors on the investigation of 
human trafficking cases.  Article 14 of the regulations outlines 
requirements governing victim applications for temporary residency 
and work permits.  The regulations do not mention a Witness 
Certificate requirement, although the current application procedure 
still requires judicial identification of the victim as a witness 
under Article 44 of the amended Immigration Act. Article 16 lists 
the circumstances under which the CLA may revoke or deny a victim's 
application for a temporary work permit (e.g., the temporary 
residency permit expires within 30 days, the victim provides false 
information on his/her application, the victim's temporary residency 
permit has been revoked or cancelled).  Counseling services and 
occupational training are included in the list of services offered 
to victims, though some NGOs allege that counseling services are not 
and have not been offered to victims. (Post is waiting for a 
response from authorities on the number of victims who have received 
such services.) NIA officials note that counselors are available at 
all detention centers to provide victims with necessary assistance. 
NIA Opens New Shelter in Yilan 
During the year, NIA renovated an existing building at the Yilan 
Detention Facility, which houses foreigners guilty of criminal or 
administrative offenses or those awaiting repatriation, and 
contracted with the NGO End Child Prostitution and Trafficking 
(ECPAT).  ECPAT opened the shelter for operation in August and 
received a total of 12 victims in 2008, ten victims of labor 
trafficking and two victims of sex trafficking.  Six of these 
victims were repatriated at the end of 2008.  Many NGOs criticized 
the NIA for proposing to locate the shelter in a refurbished 
detention facility.  Under the NIA plan, NGOs allege, trafficking 
victims at the shelter would be under constant NIA supervision, and 
denied privacy of freedom of movement, making the shelter 
environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a detention 
center.  ECPAT, however, said that victims are free to come and go, 
though the area in which the facility is located is inconvenient for 
public transportation.  ECPAT representatives acknowledged this 
difficulty and noted plans to purchase bicycles for use by shelter 
victims.  In the meantime, they said, shelter workers provided 
transportation to and from the nearby town. 
-- C.  Conditions Victims are Trafficked Into (See also 23 B & E) 
The Taiwan government acknowledges that fraudulent marriages are 
commonly used by traffickers to introduce foreign women into Taiwan 
for labor or sexual exploitation.  Of the fourteen trafficking cases 
uncovered in the past year, eleven involved fraudulent marriages, 
according to NIA. Many women from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and 
other Southeast Asian countries are willing to marry Taiwan men in 
hopes of enjoying Taiwan's higher standard of living, and earning 
money to assist relatives back home.  Traffickers disguised as 
marriage brokers exploit such motivations, luring many women to 
Taiwan with promises of marriage, only to force them into 
prostitution or exploitative labor upon their arrival. Taiwan 
authorities banned for-profit marriage broker agencies in 2008, 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  004.2 OF 024 
 
 
although there is a one-year grace period to allow existing agencies 
to close down operations. 
Non-PRC citizen foreign spouses can apply for residency immediately, 
which entitles them to work legally in Taiwan.  They cannot apply 
for full citizenship until they have resided in Taiwan for three 
consecutive years, and usually do not obtain citizenship until their 
fourth year of residence in Taiwan.  PRC spouses are eligible to 
apply for dependent resident status after two years, but cannot 
apply for permanent residence or permission to work until after six 
years in Taiwan.  Any foreign spouse without citizenship risks 
deportation if he or she divorces or does not live with his or her 
Taiwanese spouse.  Traffickers use the threat of deportation to 
coerce and control women brought into Taiwan under the guise of 
marriage. 
According to CLA, at the end of 2008 there were nearly 365,000 legal 
foreign workers in Taiwan, primarily from Indonesia, the 
Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Fifty-one percent of these 
workers were employed in the manufacturing industry, and forty-six 
percent were employed as nursing caregivers or domestic helpers. 
The Taiwan government grants commercial and private employers the 
right to employ a certain number of foreign workers per year. Larger 
employers, usually construction and manufacturing companies, sell 
these "quotas" to the highest-bidding brokerage firm, which then 
recruits foreign workers to fill the quota, often charging each 
worker unlawfully high job placement and brokerage fees.  In order 
to preserve lucrative relationships with employers, brokers often 
help to control troublesome employees through threats, physical 
abuse, and other forms of punishment.  Brokers also often help 
employers to forcibly deport foreign workers--the employer uses the 
broker to get rid of the problematic employee, and the broker 
benefits by filling the empty quota with a new foreign worker, who 
must pay the broker's fees.  The higher the turnover rate for 
foreign workers, the more money brokerage firms can make, since each 
new cycle of workers can be charged new placement and brokerage 
fees. 
All workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, including 
construction workers, fishermen, and caregivers employed by 
hospitals or other commercial institutions are covered by the Taiwan 
Labor Standards Law (LSL).  The LSL prohibits forced labor, 
establishes limits on premature contract termination, ensures basic 
minimum wage and overtime rates, sets limits on the work-day and 
work-week, and mandates daily breaks and minimum time off. 
With the recent economic downturn, many firms are laying off or 
furloughing workers, including foreign laborers. Many of these 
foreign laborers, despite being covered by Labor Standard Law 
protections that include severance pay, are forced to sign documents 
indicating they have voluntarily broken their contracts, thereby 
obviating the employers' need to provide severance benefits.  The 
CLA publicly announced plans to reduce the percentage of foreign 
workers who may be employed in the manufacturing and construction 
industries.  The CLA has also said that it would freeze the number 
of foreign laborers allowed to enter Taiwan for an unspecified time. 
NGOs voiced concerns that the CLA was not providing sufficient 
oversight to guarantee employers met their obligations to dismissed 
workers and that brokers would continue to import foreign laborers, 
creating an oversupply of workers. NGOs pointed out that such a 
situation could lead to greater exploitation and abuse of foreign 
workers. 
The protections offered by LSL do not extend to any of the 169,000 
foreign workers employed as private nursing caregivers or domestic 
helpers.  They are covered instead by the Employment Services Act 
(ESA), which does not guarantee a minimum wage or overtime pay, does 
not set limits on the work-day or work-week, and does not provide 
for minimum breaks or vacation time.  NGOs report many cases of 
foreign domestic helpers and nursing caregivers working 16-18 hours 
per day, and being given only one day or less per month of free 
time.  Some employers forbid their employees from leaving the 
employer's residence, except on days off.  In this forced isolation, 
domestic helpers and nursing caregivers are extremely vulnerable to 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  005.2 OF 024 
 
 
labor exploitation, physical and mental abuse, and sexual assault. 
The ESA does not afford local or foreign workers engaged as nursing 
caregivers or domestic help any protection against their employers' 
arbitrary termination of their contracts.  The CLA in early 2007 
imposed a requirement that any early termination of a contract must 
be reviewed and approved by a local Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) 
official before the termination will be enforced and the worker 
deported (see below). 
High brokerage fees and other charges frequently turn foreign 
workers into virtual indentured servants.  According to a 2006 NGO 
report, foreign workers must pay placement fees, service fees, and 
food and boarding charges totaling between NT $254,000-$433,000 (US 
$8,200-$14,000) for a three-year factory or construction job 
contract.  Factory and construction workers are covered by the LSL 
and are guaranteed a minimum monthly salary of NT $17,280 (US 
$557.00), plus overtime.  Regular overtime must be paid at 1.33 
times the regular hourly rate for the first two hours of overtime 
per day, and for every hour thereafter, special overtime must be 
paid at 1.66 times the hourly rate.  The average factory worker 
earning the minimum monthly salary plus 10 hours of regular overtime 
and 10 hours of special overtime per month would need 11.4 months to 
pay off average fixed debts of NT $343,500 leaving no money for 
himself. 
Domestic helpers and nursing caregivers typically do not receive the 
NT $17,280 monthly minimum salary nor overtime, since they are not 
covered by the LSL.  The same 2006 NGO report indicated that foreign 
workers must pay combined placement, service fees, and food and 
boarding charges of between NT $104,000-$293,000 (US $3,400-$9,500) 
to secure a three-year domestic helper or nursing caregiver job. 
With no prospect of overtime wages, the average domestic helper or 
nursing caregiver would need 11.5 months or more to pay off average 
fixed debts of NT $198,500, leaving no money left over for other 
expenses. 
Taiwan regulations allow an employer, with the foreign worker's 
consent, to deduct up to thirty percent of the foreign worker's 
monthly salary to be placed in a bank account in the worker's name. 
 The employer holds the bank book and the worker has no access to 
this account.  The money, which typically amounts to around $163 per 
month, is only returned to the worker at the completion of his or 
her contract.  If the company goes bankrupt, the worker loses the 
money.  This practice is called "forced savings" because if the 
worker does not consent to the arrangement, the worker is often sent 
home. 
Because the debts owed to brokers and employers are so great, most 
workers expect to save little or nothing during the first two years 
of their contracts.  In many cases, the financial pressure prompts 
workers to run away for their broker and employer in order to seek 
more profitable employment elsewhere.  Workers also flee to escape 
difficult or dangerous work, or to escape abuse by the broker or 
employer. 
Currently, Article 72 of the ESA gives an employer a chance to 
correct an illegal work situation within a specified period.  The 
worker is only entitled to a transfer (and his employer will only be 
punished) after the employer's second violation.  This puts the 
foreign worker in a catch-22: a worker reporting a first violation 
risks damaging his relationship with the employer, who can retaliate 
by canceling the worker's contract and deporting him.  If the worker 
chooses not to report the illegal work, he risks being caught by the 
police and deported for working. 
If a foreign worker leaves his or her legal employer for any reason 
not authorized by the ESA, the worker automatically enters "illegal 
status" and can be subject to immediate deportation.  According to 
Taiwan officials, foreign workers in illegal status can earn higher 
wages from illegal employers willing to hire them (US $800 per month 
versus US $557).  By hiring foreign workers in illegal status, 
illegal employers can circumvent the foreign worker quota system, 
taxes, and other financial burdens the government imposes on legal 
employers of foreign workers.  Although they may be able to earn 
more money, foreign workers in illegal status do not have a 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  006.3 OF 024 
 
 
contract, are not protected by the LSL or ESA, and are not covered 
by health or labor insurance.  Because they fear deportation, 
foreign workers in illegal status rarely report employer misconduct 
to law enforcement or other government officials.  This can make 
them vulnerable to employer abuse, including but not limited to 
physical or mental abuse and sexual assault.  Some illegal status 
foreign workers, desperate for any type of gainful employment, end 
up trafficked into forced labor or Taiwan's sex industry. 
NGOs reported that foreign workers often fell victim to labor 
trafficking--having contracted to perform one type of work but 
forced to perform another type of work upon arrival in Taiwan. 
Employers use this tactic to circumvent hiring limits on certain 
classes of workers, or workers from certain countries.  Employers 
and brokers both profit from it; brokers charge workers more to 
secure high-wage-plus-overtime factory jobs than they do for 
low-wage domestic caretaker jobs.  Employers can pay foreign workers 
bound by domestic helper contracts less than those who signed 
factory worker contracts.  Since they are performing work outside 
the scope of their work permits and original contracts, foreign 
workers often believe they are in illegal status. 
In the past, many of these workers would not report labor 
trafficking violations to authorities because they did not know 
their rights and were fearful of deportation.  CLA, NIA, and other 
agencies and NGOs, however, have stepped up public awareness and 
education campaigns over the past year.  Recent anecdotal evidence 
from those with direct interaction with foreign laborers suggests 
these campaigns have been effective in educating foreign workers 
about the risks and signs of trafficking and of their rights. The 
numbers of workers reporting trafficking complaints, however, remain 
relatively low because, according to one official, they worry they 
will not be able to find other employment.  Those who do call in are 
generally trapped in extreme circumstances or no longer able to bear 
the abusive situation. Foreign workers continue to come to Taiwan, 
however, for economic reasons. AIT contacts note a typical 
Indonesian worker can earn 11 months' salary and a typical 
Vietnamese worker can earn five months' salary working for one month 
on Taiwan. 
In any event, the ESA grants employers one chance to "cure" certain 
violations, including forcing an employee to perform unauthorized 
work or to work at an unauthorized location, without penalty (see 
above).  If the foreign worker reports the violation, he risks 
retaliation from the employer, who will likely not be punished. 
Taiwan has no law to protect foreign workers from being forcibly 
repatriated.  Under current laws, an employer can repatriate foreign 
workers at any time.  NGOs report that foreign workers who raise 
concerns or seek legal help are regularly deported without due 
process.  CLA changed its regulations to address this problem. 
Beginning November 1, 2006, employers who wish to terminate a 
foreign worker's contract before its expiration date must request 
and obtain approval from an appropriate local government labor 
official.  If the labor official discovers a labor-management 
dispute, or that the worker is being forcibly repatriated, the 
employer will not be able to recruit a new worker to fill the 
vacancy until the dispute is resolved. 
NGOs contend the NIA, NPA, and local law enforcement continue to 
view trafficking victims as violators, criminals, or runaways, 
without trying to evaluate whether the violation occurred as a 
result of abusive and exploitative circumstances. 
Dedicated Anti-TIP Budget 
In July 2007, the Executive Yuan approved the "Human Trafficking 
Prevention Implementation Plan," setting aside NT $390 million (US 
$11.8 million) for 2008-2010 for the construction and improvement of 
shelter facilities, education and training for government officials, 
and the expansion of international cooperation to combat 
trafficking.  From March 2007 to February 2008, the multi-agency 
task force charged with overseeing anti-TIP efforts has convened six 
times.  The task force recommended in late 2007 increasing funding 
for the implementation Plan to NT $690 million (US $20.9 million). 
This figure was revised to NT $490 million (US $14.8 million) for 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  007.2 OF 024 
 
 
the 2008-10 budget and approved by the EY in December 2008. 
In line with the new EY recommendations, the NIA's budget for 2009 
is NT $107.2 million, an increase of NT $1.2 million over the 2008 
budget.  Of this, the budget for construction and improvement of 
shelter facilities is NT $49.87 million, including NT $9.27 million 
specifically allotted for the new shelter in Yilan.  Authorities 
spent NT $4.72 million on victim assistance services in 2008, 
including shelter subsidies, counseling, transportation, and medical 
services.  In 2008, the CLA earmarked approximately NT $26 million 
for temporary shelters, which also house trafficking victims. The 
CLA also contributes funds to defray legal costs involved in the 
litigation of former employers by trafficking victims. The budget 
for this item in 2008 was NT $1.1 million. Only NT $100,000 of those 
funds were used in the 1,087 cases brought to court, which recovered 
NT $65 million for victims, according to the CLA. 
Despite CLA Plans, No Standard Form Contract Introduced 
Despite reports last year that the CLA planned to introduce a 
standard form for all foreign labor contracts in 2008, the CLA noted 
that, based on the principle of free contracts, no standard form 
contract was introduced. However, according to CLA, fees or loans 
not on the worker's contract would be unenforceable. NGOs contend 
that Taiwan courts have enforced fraudulent contract terms against 
foreign workers. According to NGO sources, after a foreign worker 
has paid his or her brokerage fee, the broker will often refuse to 
find the worker a job until the worker agrees to sign a contract 
which obligates the worker to repay "loans" which the broker never 
made. 
-- D.  Vulnerability to TIP (See also 23 E) 
The majority of Taiwan's population of economic migrants come from 
the PRC or Southeast Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, the 
Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. 
PRC citizens can only legally enter Taiwan to conduct tourism or 
business, or to become the spouse of a Taiwan citizen.  PRC citizens 
are not permitted to work legally in Taiwan, except in the fishing 
industry.  Taiwan fishing companies are permitted to hire male PRC 
nationals to work on Taiwan fishing boats; however, the PRC workers 
are not permitted to enter Taiwan, and must be housed in off-shore 
accommodations or in gated dormitories located near their assigned 
fishing port. 
Taiwan recorded 21,719 marriages to foreign-born spouses in 2008--a 
12 percent decrease over 2007.  Eighty-seven percent of the spousal 
visas issued in 2008 were issued to women, and thirteen percent to 
men.  Sixty-one percent of all spousal visas were issued to citizens 
of Hong Kong, Macau, or the PRC.   Nineteen percent were issued to 
citizens of Vietnam. 
-- E.  Traffickers and Their Methods 
Eighty-six percent of illegal PRC immigrants, male and female, come 
from Fujian province, situated only 90 miles across Taiwan Strait. 
Human smuggling groups in Fujian and Sichuan provinces actively 
recruit men, women, and girls willing to work in Taiwan.  PRC 
citizens seeking economic opportunities may themselves initiate 
contact with smugglers in furtherance of finding work in Taiwan. 
Chinese fishing boats are used to transport passengers to certain 
locations in the Taiwan Strait, where they are transferred to 
Taiwanese fishing boats.  Smugglers often force their passengers to 
discard luggage before boarding, in order to be able to fit more 
people into the boats.  After landing in Taiwan, most of the men and 
some of the women will seek illegal work on the Taiwan economy. 
According to NIA, 285 illegal PRC immigrants were arrested in 2008, 
a 36 percent year-on-year decrease.  The majority of those were 
apprehended on the island, with only 19 percent caught at sea.  The 
number of illegal PRC female immigrants smuggled by boat continues 
to drop, CGA officials say, because smugglers connected to Taiwan's 
sex industry are using other channels, including fraudulent 
marriages, to circumvent increased coastal patrols. 
Trafficking syndicates in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and other 
Southeast Asian countries also use fake marriages to circumvent 
restrictions on certain types of laborers from certain countries. 
The "brides" are typically promised jobs as caregivers or domestic 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  008.2 OF 024 
 
 
helpers and knowingly enter into false marriages in hopes of 
securing gainful employment.  Some of them are forced into 
exploitative labor, while others may be coerced into Taiwan's sex 
industry. 
In some cases, women, particularly from the PRC, knowingly enter 
into false marriages in order to work in Taiwan's sex industry. 
These women too are often subjected to exploitative working 
conditions to which they did not consent, including forced 
confinement or relocation, physical or mental abuse, and unfair 
withholding or pay. 
Some Taiwan men are willing to serve as bogus husbands because the 
financial rewards are significant and the risks relatively minor. 
Many traffickers solicit mentally or physically disabled or 
destitute men to serve as husbands.  Courts often punish such men 
with sentences of twenty days hard labor, which can be offset by a 
fine.  In facilitating a "bride's" residence in Taiwan, a typical 
"husband" can receive a free round trip to the bride's home country 
as much as US $1,000 per month for up to one year, deducted from the 
bride's earnings as a prostitute.  NGOs told AIT that women who are 
smuggled to Taiwan must pay between US $3,500-6,500 in fees to 
smugglers, and that local sex or labor traffickers can sell each 
woman for between US $5,000-6,000. 
¶24.  Setting the Scene for the Government's Anti-TIP Efforts: 
-- A.  Government Acknowledgement of TIP Issue 
The government recognizes that PRC and Southeast Asian men and 
women, and sometimes minors, are trafficked to Taiwan for forced 
labor and sexual exploitation. The government acknowledges that 
Taiwan is also a transit point for the smuggling of PRC nationals to 
other countries.  Taiwan authorities acknowledge that Taiwan is a 
source country for a small number of women trafficked to other 
countries, particularly Japan.  The central and local governments 
are actively working to prevent trafficking, to assist trafficking 
victims, and to punish traffickers. 
The Executive Yuan has acknowledged that, before the promulgation of 
the Action Plan, the Taiwan government "did not go far enough in 
identifying and protecting human trafficking victims."  The EY has 
admitted that traffickers have too often received only minor 
punishments.  The stated objective of the Action Plan is to 
rationalize and integrate the government response to the trafficking 
problem, coordinate interagency efforts to identify and protect 
trafficking victims, expand law enforcement capability to detect and 
interdict trafficking operations, and enhance punishments for 
traffickers. 
-- B.  Government Agencies Involved in Anti-TIP 
The following government agencies are involved in the fight against 
trafficking:  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of 
Transportation and Communication (MOTC), Department of Health, the 
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), 
the Government Information Office (GIO), the Council of Cultural 
Affairs, the Council of Indigenous People, the Council of 
Agriculture, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Coast Guard 
Administration, and the Ministry of Interior (MOI), which includes 
the National Immigration Agency (NIA) and the National Police 
Administration (NPA).  A Cabinet-level Minister without Portfolio, 
appointed by and responsible to the Executive Yuan, is charged with 
supervising the interagency implementation of an island-wide Action 
Plan to combat trafficking. 
-- C.  Limitations on Government's Ability to Address TIP 
Taiwan generally faces few budget or personnel shortages that would 
hinder its ability to combat labor and sex trafficking from South 
Asian source countries, although authorities point out that Taiwan's 
lack of diplomatic relations with its neighbors and others does 
impact its ability to more effectively and efficiently coordinate 
its crossborder anti-trafficking efforts and to participate in 
regional forum and international organizations.  Taiwan also has 
sufficient resources to provide adequate protections and services 
for trafficking victims. 
A central NGO complaint is that although the central government has 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  009.2 OF 024 
 
 
mandated that certain protections and services for trafficking 
victims be available island-wide, the treatment afforded to 
trafficking victims varies considerably from place to place.  NGOs 
told AIT that central government police and labor authorities often 
establish beneficial new policies or procedures that are only 
partially implemented or simply ignored by local labor and law 
enforcement officials.  This problem is especially marked in the 
more rural areas of Southern Taiwan.  Central and local government 
officials acknowledge this situation and emphasize government plans 
to counteract it through increased training and education on 
TIP-related issues. 
Foreign labor brokerage companies operate across national borders, 
and Taiwan's ability to restrain abusive practice in source 
countries is limited.  Brokers in Taiwan are in direct 
communications with their counterparts in Indonesia, the 
Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other source countries.  Source 
country governments often do not closely monitor the fees and other 
conditions imposed on workers by labor brokers in their territory. 
This gives foreign labor brokers in Taiwan and in the various source 
countries ample opportunity to exploit the workers through inflated 
fees, and to coerce them by threatening family or property left 
behind in the worker's home country.  The Taiwan government is 
working to improve cross-border cooperation with source country 
governments, but progress has been slow. 
Corruption may be impeding reform of the exploitative labor 
brokerage system.  Following the 2005 Kaohsiung labor riots, Taiwan 
politicians and media outlets investigated whether legislators and 
high-level government officials had received kickbacks from the 
brokerage companies involved in the scandal.  According to press 
reports from November 2005, elected officials at the central and 
local government levels had lobbied on behalf of 70 different 
foreign labor brokerage companies to obtain a portion of the foreign 
labor "quota" needed by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit project.  There 
was speculation that legislators, especially members of the 
legislature's Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee, 
were personally involved in and profiting from the importation of 
foreign labor to Taiwan. Sources have told AIT that legislators or 
local politicians frequently accompany employers or brokers to 
Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) mediation sessions with workers who 
have registered complaints. These sources surmised that these were 
thinly-veiled attempts to influence BLA officials and intimidate 
workers in order to achieve a favorable outcome for the employer or 
broker. 
In March 2008, the National Police Agency instituted a cash reward 
system for breaking up trafficking rings. Law enforcement officers 
could receive NT $10,000 for each trafficker arrested.  The 
incentive system was modified, however, in October to a point 
system, where officers could receive 1 or 2 points for each 
trafficker arrested.  The points would then be considered in an 
officer's performance evaluation and for promotions. 
Elder-care organizations, representing the interests of those 
families caring for elderly or infirm family members at home, remain 
a powerful force in opposition to extending Labor Standards Law 
protections to domestic helpers and caregivers.  In any case, CLA 
officials and legislators appear to lack the political will to 
extend LSL coverage to presently uncovered workers. 
-- D.  Government Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Efforts 
Taiwan now systematically monitors its anti-trafficking efforts on 
all three fronts--prevention, protection, and prosecution, although 
there still remains work to be done in tracking trafficking 
statistics.  The Action Plan requires the multi-agency task force to 
convene every two months to report to the presiding Minister without 
Portfolio, who is required to monitor and evaluate progress toward 
anti-TIP goals.  From March 2008 to February 2009, the multi-agency 
task force charged with overseeing anti-TIP efforts has convened six 
times. 
In January, Taiwan passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. 
However, it will not take effect until related regulations can be 
amended to comply with the law and the Executive Yuan promulgates 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  010.2 OF 024 
 
 
the law. In the meantime, prosecutors use existing sections of 
Taiwan's Criminal Code, labor and immigration laws, the Taiwan-PRC 
Relations Act, and the CYSTPA to punish labor- and sex-trafficking 
offenses.  Before 2007, the Ministry of Justice tracked 
investigations, prosecutions and convictions via the principal 
Criminal Code section or other law used to charge or convict the 
defendant.  This made it difficult to distinguish trafficking cases 
from "trafficking-related offenses" like smuggling and prostitution. 
 MOJ reports that, since July 2007, human trafficking cases have 
been classified as either "sexual exploitation" or "labor 
trafficking" cases. In the EY's approved 2009-2010 Anti-TIP Project 
Plan, the MOJ, MOI, and CGA will continue to compile and report 
trafficking-related statistics. MOJ reports that it is working on 
the establishment of a statistical mechanism following the passage 
of the Anti-Human Trafficking law. 
The Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) maintains and reports statistics 
on the number of requests for assistance received by the 24 Foreign 
Worker Service Stations located around Taiwan, and those received by 
the Foreign Worker Assistance Center located at Taiwan Taoyuan 
International Airport.  CLA tracks and reports the number of calls 
received by the various foreign workers telephone hotlines.  CLA and 
the MOI also track the number of foreign workers assisted by 
government-subsidized NGO shelters. CLA tracks and reports the 
number of employers and brokers fined for violating foreign worker 
labor regulations.  CLA also tracks and reports the number of 
foreign workers in "illegal status," according to their country of 
origin, and the number of workers referred to prosecutors in cases 
of suspected human trafficking. 
The National Immigration Agency (NIA), the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MOFA), the National Police Administration (NPA), and the 
Coast Guard monitor and report statistics on the number of illegal 
foreign immigrants to Taiwan, including those from the PRC, Vietnam, 
Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries.  MOFA and NIA also 
maintain and report statistics on foreign spouse visa interviews, 
refusal and issuance rates, and the number of spouses found to be in 
fraudulent marriages. 
The government began monitoring trafficking of minors in 1995.  The 
1995 Child and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA) 
created an interagency taskforce composed of the ministries of 
Interior, Justice, Defense, Economic Affairs, Transportation, 
Education, the Department of Health, the Mainland Affairs Council, 
and the Council of Labor Affairs.  Together with key NGOs, this task 
force continues to monitor implementation of the CYSTPA and provides 
guidance to member agencies through semi-annual written reports. 
According to the MOJ, 822 individuals were indicted and 875 
convicted in 2008 for violations of the CYSTPA, which criminalizes 
child prostitution and the possession and distribution of child 
pornography.  This is a 32 percent year-on-year decrease in 
indictments and 10 percent year-on-year decrease in convictions. 
MOJ notes there have been no cases of Taiwan nationals prosecuted 
for having sexual transaction with a minor while abroad under the 
CYSTPA since 2006. 
¶25.  Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers: 
-- A.  Laws Prohibiting Trafficking in Persons 
Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed a comprehensive trafficking law 
January 13, 2009. This law criminalizes sex, labor, and organ 
trafficking, but will likely not take effect until mid 2009. 
Currently, trafficking in persons is prohibited by the 1995 Child 
and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (CYSTPA) and Articles 
296 and 296-I of the Criminal Code. 
In 2004, Taiwan amended the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples 
of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (the "Act") to increase 
punishment for cross-Strait smugglers.  Article 79 of the Act 
stipulates that any person convicted of smuggling Mainland Chinese 
into Taiwan for profit in violation of Article 15 of the Act shall 
be sentenced to at least three and not more than ten years in jail, 
and fined up to US $150,000.  Under Article 79 and 80, boat owners 
and crewmembers involved in smuggling are subject to a prison term 
of up to 3 years and/or a US $30,000-$200,000 fine and confiscation 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  011.2 OF 024 
 
 
of the boat used in the smuggling operation. 
¶B.  Penalties for Sexual Exploitation-Related Trafficking 
Articles 23, 24, and 25 of the CYSTPA criminalize sexual 
transactions with minors.  Penalties range from prison terms of more 
than one year and a maximum fine of NT $3 million for engaging or 
facilitating the sexual transaction of a minor to a maximum prison 
term of ten years and a maximum fine of NT $10 million for a 
habitual offender who uses force, fraud, or coercion to cause a 
minor to engage in sexual transaction. 
Various articles (Chapter 26, Articles 296 and 231) of the Criminal 
Code specifically criminalize offenses against personal liberty, 
including slavery, as well as the buying, selling, or holding of 
another person or forcing another person to engage in sexual 
transaction.  Public officials involved in these kinds of crimes or 
in the concealing of such crimes may receive a heavier sentence (up 
to one and a half times the sentence received for committing the 
crime itself). 
According to MOJ, from April to December 2008 authorities filed 
charges against 481 individuals in 135 cases of suspected 
trafficking, including 35 cases of suspected labor trafficking and 
92 cases of suspected sexual exploitation. 
¶C.  Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses 
In Taiwan, labor trafficking offenses can be punished by 
administrative fines, jail time, or both.  Administrative 
punishments for labor trafficking are governed by Articles 44, 45, 
57, 63, and 64 of the Employment Service Act, and by Articles 5 and 
75 of the Labor Standards Law. 
Under Article 5 of the Labor Standards Law, "no employer may, by 
force, coercion, detention, or other illegal practice, compel a 
worker to do work."  Article 75 lays out the penalties for violating 
the provisions of Article 5, which include a maximum imprisonment of 
5 years, hard labor, and/or a fine of NT $50,000.  Post has heard of 
no reports of employers being sentenced to prison for violations of 
Article 5. 
CLA terminated operations of 24 brokerage companies in 2008 for 
violations of the Employment Services Act, including charging 
excessive fees, reporting false information, and illegal brokerage. 
 
According to CLA, local labor officials reported 25 cases of 
suspected human trafficking to local prosecutors for further 
handling.  CLA did not provide information regarding convictions or 
sentencing for these cases. 
-- D.  Prescribed Penalties for Rape or Forcible Sexual Assault 
Under Taiwan's Criminal Code (Articles 221-229), penalties range 
from prison terms of less than three years and no more than ten 
years for forcible sex, to death or life in prison for someone 
convicted of rape, forcible sex, or obscene conduct who has 
intentionally killed his or her victim. 
 -- E.  Law Enforcement Statistics 
Press reported several large busts of human trafficking operations 
over the past six months.  In one November raid, a labor brokerage 
executive and 23 of his agents were arrested and charged with money 
laundering, fraud, and forced labor.  The media reported the agency 
set up bank accounts for over 9,300 foreign workers and then seized 
their bank cards in order to confiscate their salaries. In February, 
over 300 suspects were arrested in connection with another labor 
brokerage firm. The agency was alleged to have illegally pocketed 
the majority of workers' salaries, forcing them to sign paperwork 
falsely stating they had run up NT $200,000 (US $6,060) in 
administrative fees. 
According to MOI, from April to December 2008 the authorities filed 
charges against 481 individuals in 135 cases of suspected 
trafficking, including 35 cases of suspected labor trafficking and 
92 cases of sexual exploitation. 
It should be noted that Taiwan's criminal justice system follows a 
complicated three-trial process, where each court of appeal reviews 
the merits of the case rather than a point of law and issues its own 
sentence, which may be lighter or heavier than those issued by the 
previous court. Defendants do not serve sentences until after the 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  012.2 OF 024 
 
 
final trial and conviction. 
According to CLA, local labor officials referred 25 cases of 
suspected human trafficking to local prosecutors for further 
handling.  CLA did not provide information regarding convictions or 
sentencing for these cases. 
-- F.  Specialized Training for Officials 
Over the last year, authorities sponsored several large-scale 
conferences to promote anti-trafficking efforts, including the 
"International Workshop on Combating Human Trafficking" on August 
27-28 and the "International Conference on Strategies for Combating 
Human Trafficking" on October 30. The Legal Aid Foundation also 
sponsored an "International Workshop on Human Trafficking Victims 
and Legal Aid" in November attended by prosecutors, judges, and 
defense attorneys. NIA also compiled and distributed an operations 
manual on human trafficking cases to law enforcement agencies as 
part of their on-the-job training. In addition, a delegation from 
the National Immigration Agency went to the U.S. to consult with the 
Department of Homeland Security as well as NGOs who support and 
shelter trafficking victims. Finally, authorities held ongoing 
specialized training seminars and workshops throughout the year for 
law enforcement, prosecutors, labor officials, and judges.  For 
example, from May to September 2008, NIA invited 2,656 officials 
from the National Police Administration, the Coast Guard 
Administration, and the MOJ to take part in its training programs. 
AIT delivered TIP-related speeches and briefings to several hundred 
immigration, law enforcement, NGO representatives, and the general 
public throughout the island during 2008. 
-- G.  Government-to-Government Cooperation 
The United States and Taiwan signed an "Agreement on Mutual Legal 
Assistance in Criminal Matters" on March 26, 2002.  With U.S. 
assistance, Taiwan prosecutors indicted an individual for smuggling 
PRC nationals into the United States. 
In early 2007 the fraud prevention unit of AIT's consular section 
identified more than 100 Taiwanese women who had traveled to the 
U.S. in 2006 to work as prostitutes.  After initial investigations 
by local U.S. law enforcement, AIT informed the International 
Criminal Affairs division of Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau 
(CIB) of the likely existence of a Taiwan-based criminal operation 
smuggling Taiwan women to the U.S. for prostitution.  Evidence 
obtained by U.S. local law enforcement suggested that while many of 
the women had agreed to work as prostitutes, many were subjected to 
exploitative working conditions to which they did not consent, 
including forced confinement or relocation, confiscation of travel 
documents, debt bondage, and withholding of pay.  Others were lured 
to the U.S. by promises of legitimate work, only to be confined to 
brothels and forced to perform sexual services.  Acting on AIT's 
information, CIB conducted its own investigation and ultimately 
arrested the suspected ringleader and five others. The first trial 
is expected to open in May or June. 
The CIB Police Liaison Department has offices in the Philippines, 
Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia.  CIB opened a 
Washington, D.C. office in 2008 as well. CIB officers work closely 
with local law enforcement in these countries as well as Taiwan visa 
and immigration officials to investigate suspected "fake" marriages, 
interdict trafficking rings, and to arrange the safe return of 
trafficking victims to Taiwan.  Spousal visa issuance rates have 
dropped significantly following CIB's participation in the interview 
and investigation process and refusal rates remain high. While 
higher visa refusal rates may indicate the discovery of more fraud, 
it is important to understand that such rates do not directly 
correlate to the interdiction of potential trafficking victims. 
Fraudulent marriages, however, are the most common method 
traffickers use to recruit and transport women to Taiwan. According 
to NIA, of the fourteen trafficking cases uncovered since April 
2008, eleven involved fraudulent marriages, while 666 mainland 
spouses (507 women and 159 men) and 248 non-PRC foreign spouses (221 
women and 27 men) were found to be in fraudulent marriages. 
-- H.  Extradition of Traffickers to Other Countries 
Taiwan has an informal repatriation agreement with the People's 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  013.2 OF 024 
 
 
Republic of China.  Under the Kinmen Accord of 1990, Taiwan and 
Mainland China repatriate convicted and suspected criminals, as well 
as illegal immigrants, to each other's jurisdiction. 
Taiwan has extradition agreements with Costa Rica, the Dominican 
Republic, Dominica, Malawi, Paraguay, South Africa, and Swaziland. 
Taiwan and the United States have agreed to a legal assistance 
framework. 
If the extradition candidate is a Taiwan citizen, Taiwan law 
requires the government to refuse the request, and refer the 
candidate to Taiwan's legal system for prosecution. 
According to the MOI and NIA, the lack of formal diplomatic 
relations with other countries from which persons are trafficked 
hinders Taiwan's ability to extradite those charged with trafficking 
offenses. 
-- I.  Evidence of Government Involvement or Tolerance of 
Trafficking 
There is no evidence of widespread government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking in persons.  However, NGOs report that the 
level of government competency and awareness of TIP, particularly at 
the local level is uneven.  NGOs also allege that many local 
officials are corrupt and work with brokers to turn a blind eye to 
trafficking. One NGO stated they were aware of allegations that some 
consular officers abroad colluded with foreign brokerage firms to 
traffic foreigners to Taiwan. 
-- J.  Government Efforts to End Participation by Officials in 
Trafficking 
There were no reported cases of government officials directly 
involved in trafficking.  The law provides enhanced penalties for 
government officials convicted of trafficking offenses. 
-- K.  Prostitution 
Taiwan criminalized prostitution in 1997, but it remained legal in 
Taipei City on a small scale until 2001.  It is believed that there 
are more than 50,000 prostitutes working illegally island-wide. 
Advocacy groups allege that criminalizing prostitution has increased 
sex workers' vulnerability to police abuse, coercion by criminal 
gangs, sexually transmitted diseases, drug and alcohol abuse, and 
poverty.  They also argue that USG pressure to criminalize 
solicitation would worsen matters for prostitutes in Taiwan, 
including those forced into the sex trade.  Advocacy groups continue 
to press the government to decriminalize prostitution.  No formal 
action has been taken by the central or local governments. 
According to Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Law (passed 
in 1991), anyone found to have traded sex for a reward, financial of 
otherwise, shall be punished with three days in jail, (or a fine of 
no more than NT $30,000 (US $910)). 
Article 80 is the statute most commonly used to punish those working 
as prostitutes.  According to the Collective of Sex Workers and 
Supporters (COSWAS), a local sex workers' rights advocacy group, 
Taiwan law enforcement officers view clients of prostitutes as 
witnesses, not participants, to the crime of prostitution. 
Therefore, if the client provides a witness statement to be used 
against the prostitute, police will typically let the client go 
without a citation or fine.  A client will sometimes resist 
providing testimony, usually because he or she is a "regular 
customer" or due to fear of retribution from the prostitute's pimp 
or other criminal associates.  According to COSWAS, police will 
threaten to inform the client's family or business associates if the 
client refuses to cooperate.  Occasionally, in exchange for a small 
bribe, the police will agree to ignore the incident entirely. 
COSWAS reported that police frequently threaten prostitutes with 
arrest and detention in order to obtain free sexual services. 
Brothel owners, pimps, and enforcers are also subject to the 
punishments prescribed in Articles 231, 231-1, and 232 of the 
Criminal Code. 
According to MOI, 221 female foreign nationals and 21 male were 
arrested for prostitution during 2008.  MOI did not maintain 
statistics on the nationality of those arrested. 
-- L.  International Peacekeeping 
Not applicable. 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  014.2 OF 024 
 
 
-- M.  Child Sex Tourism 
Taiwan does not have an identified child sex tourism problem.  The 
CYSTPA imposes criminal penalties on Taiwan citizens for having or 
attempting to have sexual relations with minors. MOJ reports 822 
individuals were indicted and 875 convicted in 2008 for violations 
of the CYSTPA, which also criminalizes possession and distribution 
of child pornography.  This is a 32 percent year-on-year decrease in 
indictments and 10 percent year-on-year decrease in convictions. 
There have been no cases of Taiwan nationals prosecuted under the 
CYSTPA for having sexual transaction with a minor abroad since 2006, 
according to MOJ. The Ministry of Tourism worked with the NGO ECPAT 
to design and launch a public awareness campaign at major tourist 
hotels and with tour operators in 2008. 
¶26.  Protection and Assistance to Victims: 
-- A.  Protection for Victims and Witnesses 
Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Law provides additional 
protections for trafficking victims.  Law enforcement agencies must 
protect trafficking victims' identities and personal information 
from public disclosure and are required to inform trafficking 
victims of the services and assistance available to them under the 
law. National and local government agencies must also ensure 
trafficking victims' personal safety, and provide them with 
appropriate housing, medical and psychiatric care, counseling 
services, translation assistance and legal counseling services.  If 
the victim is a minor, a social worker must be assigned to his or 
her case, and must be present during police questioning, all legal 
proceedings, and trial. 
If a trafficking victim cooperates with prosecutors by providing 
testimony or other assistance, the victim is entitled to the 
protections afforded by Taiwan's Witness Protection Law. 
Additionally, the law requires prosecutors and judges to take this 
cooperation into consideration by reducing or eliminating the 
victim's liability for any criminal or administrative violations. 
Victims who cooperate with prosecutors are entitled to receive 
temporary visas to remain in Taiwan up to six months, and can 
request extensions.  However, once the prosecutor closes the case, 
the trafficking victim will be repatriated. NGOs say trafficking 
victims are required to appear in court as witnesses and to stay on 
Taiwan until the conclusion of the cases, something officials deny. 
Trafficking victims typically end up staying on Taiwan anywhere from 
eight to 20 months, according to one NGO. 
The Taiwan authorities acknowledge that trafficking victims residing 
in Taiwan long-term should be permitted to work.  Article 44 of the 
amended Immigration Law authorizes the CLA to issue temporary work 
permits to trafficking victims for periods of up to six months 
depending upon the length of the investigation or trial in which the 
testimony of the trafficking victim is required.  However, no work 
permits have yet been issued to victims of trafficking under these 
provisions. 
NGOs argue that prosecutors are reluctant or too overworked to issue 
witness certificates to trafficking victims.  According to the NIA, 
witness certificates are required to apply for temporary stay 
permits from NIA. CLA requires victims to obtain temporary stay 
permits first before they may apply for temporary work permits. 
NGOs complain that the regulations stipulate temporary stay and work 
permits may not exceed six months, although they are renewable, and 
point out that by the time victims receive work permits, they must 
already go through the renewal process, creating a situation where, 
in fact, victims continue to be unable to work. The new 
anti-trafficking law would eliminate the witness certificate 
requirement, according to officials. 
The Home and Nations Committee of the Legislative Yuan also approved 
a revision to Article 31 of the Immigration Act, to allow foreign 
workers (and foreign spouses) to legally remain in Taiwan until 
pending claims against their employers are fully resolved. 
Taiwan's recently amended Immigration Act requires government 
agencies at the national and local level to ensure trafficking 
victims' personal safety, and to provide them with appropriate 
housing, medical and psychiatric care, counseling services, 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  015.3 OF 024 
 
 
translation assistance and legal counseling services.  MOI subsidies 
in 2008 for such services totaled NT $4.72 million (US $143,000). 
If the victim is a minor, a social worker must be assigned to his or 
her case, and must be present during police questioning, all legal 
proceedings, and trial.  Under the Immigration Act, law enforcement 
agencies are required to protect trafficking victims' identities and 
personal information from public disclosure. 
According to NIA, for individuals who have a valid passport and can 
pay administrative fines and a return airfare, deportation 
procedures are usually completed within 14 days.  In cases where the 
foreign national has overstayed for only a short time, and where no 
employer misconduct is alleged, deportation procedures are also 
usually completed within 14 days. When the foreign national does not 
have valid travel documents, is unable to pay assessed fines or 
return airfare, or has overstayed in Taiwan for an extended period 
of time, deportation procedures can take much longer.  Deportation 
procedures can also be prolonged in instances where alleged illegal 
conduct by the employer must be investigated.  NGOs state that 
because trafficking victims are forced to serve as witnesses and, as 
a result, spend many months on Taiwan unable to work as they wait 
for the cases to be closed, many victims would rather not come 
forward. If they are processed as immigration violators, they can be 
repatriated quickly and seek employment in their home country or 
elsewhere. Law enforcement sources stated trial length depends on 
the number of victims involved - the greater the number, the longer 
it takes to try the case.  For example, a case with only a few 
victims could conclude within four months, while one 2007 case 
involving more than 70 victims has still not concluded. 
CLA regulations exclude time spent at a shelter from a foreign 
worker's permitted stay on Taiwan. Foreign workers are allowed to 
work on Taiwan for up to three years at a time, for a maximum of 
nine years total.  Because foreign workers are not permitted to work 
while awaiting the outcome of a labor dispute and are in debt to 
their brokers, many choose to flee shelters to seek illegal work. 
Under Chapter 7 of the amended Immigration Act, if trafficking 
victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, who deem their 
cooperation necessary and useful to the prosecution, victims will be 
afforded all protections available under Taiwan's "Witness 
Protection Act."  The Witness Protection Act empowers the court to 
issue a protective order at the request of the witness, prosecutor, 
victim, defendant, personal counsel, the police, or an involved 
social welfare agency.  Protective measures can include a police 
protective detail, a restraining order against a specific person, or 
protective custody.  Trafficking victims are permitted to conceal 
their identity while giving testimony, and law enforcement officials 
must ensure the identity of the victim is protected in court 
documents and other case materials. 
-- B.  Victim Care Facility Access 
Under Taiwan's National Action Plan to combat trafficking, the CLA 
is responsible for providing shelter services to those trafficking 
victims who entered Taiwan on work visas, while NIA is responsible 
for all other trafficking victims. 
Under the law, all detainees must be provided food and shelter, 
medical assistance and psychological counseling, legal assistance, 
and entertainment activities.  NGOs are granted regular access to 
detainees and are allowed to conduct social and cultural activities. 
 NGOs acknowledge that detention center housing is adequate, if 
sometimes overcrowded.  NGOs also agree that detainees receive 
sufficient food and medical assistance. NGOs claim, however, that, 
aside from the limited services provided by the NGOs themselves, 
detainees have no access to psychological counseling and are not 
provided with information regarding their cases. However, officials 
state that counselors are stationed at all detention facilities and 
available to provide trafficking victims with all necessary 
counseling and assistance and that legal assistance is provided. 
NIA maintains four formal, long-term detention facilities, in Taipei 
(Sanhsia), Hsinchu, Yilan, and Matsu.  Several city- and 
country-level NIA offices also maintain smaller, temporary detention 
facilities.  During 2008, 5,688 detainees were held in long-term 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  016.2 OF 024 
 
 
detention facilities, including 822 women and 738 men at Sanhsia; 
1,394 women and 738 men at Hsinchu; and 1,309 women and 620 men at 
Yilan.  2,050 were from Vietnam, 1,758 were from Indonesia, 993 were 
from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau, 450 from Thailand, and 261 from 
the Philippines.   Of these detainees, eight were under the age of 
18 and 38 were pregnant. In 2008, an additional 10,273 detainees 
were held at NIA temporary detention facilities around Taiwan. 
On average, non-PRC detainees spent 45 days in detention before 
being repatriated and PRC detainees spent an average of 79 days in 
detention.  NIA does not keep average-time-of-stay data for its 
temporary detention facilities, but maintains that detention times 
in the temporary facilities are much shorter. 
In August 2008, NIA opened the Yilan shelter, located on the grounds 
of the Yilan detention facility.  The shelter is operated by the NGO 
ECPAT under a one-year contract and has a total budget of NT $5.8 
million. ECPAT will receive NT $529 per day per victim sheltered. So 
far, the Yilan shelter has housed 12 victims, six of whom were 
repatriated at the end of 2008. Of these, ten were victims of labor 
trafficking and two of sex trafficking. NGOs express concern that 
trafficking victims at the shelter may be under constant NIA 
supervision and denied privacy and freedom of movement, making the 
shelter environment virtually indistinguishable from that of a 
detention center. ECPAT, however, said that victims are free to come 
and go, though the organization acknowledged transportation to and 
from the facility is inconvenient. ECPAT representatives state they 
are currently looking into ways the shelter can meet victims' 
transportation needs. 
In 2008, CLA earmarked approximately NT $26 million for its 
temporary shelters. Among the 1,042 people placed in these shelter, 
22 were suspected trafficking victims. CLA also provides NGOs with a 
subsidy of NT $500 per day per victim sheltered. 
-- C.  Victim Care Services Access 
Local governments are legally required to provide economic and other 
assistance to identified victims of trafficking.  Assistance 
includes but is not limited to:  emergency housing subsidies, 
education subsidies for children, job placement assistance, legal 
aid subsidies, and medical and psychological treatment. CLA also 
contributes funds to defray legal costs for foreign workers involved 
in litigation against their employers. In 2008, CLA's available 
budget for these funds amounted to NT $1.1 million, of which NT 
$100,000 was used to defray costs associated with 1,087 cases 
brought to court.  Approximately NT $65 million was recovered as a 
result of these cases. 
According to MOI, local government and NGOs have been enlisted to 
provide psychological and legal counseling services, educational 
opportunities, and other services to identified victims of 
trafficking.  MOI reports that subsidies in 2008 for victim 
assistance services totaled NT $4.72 million. These funds provided 
assistance to 50 victims of trafficking, averaging NT $94,470 per 
person. 
CLA provides a subsidy of NT $500 (US $15) per person per day to 11 
NGO-operated shelters for trafficking victims. CLA's 2008 annual 
budget for temporary shelters was NT $26 million (US $788,000).  The 
Taipei and Kaohsiung City government fully fund one shelter each, 
operated by NGOs in their respective districts.  According to CLA, 
1,042 individuals were placed in these shelters during 2008, among 
them 22 suspected trafficking victims. 
CLA also supports 25 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers 
located around Taiwan.  The Centers, operated by local governments 
with CLA funding (NT $77.12 million in 2008), provide counseling, 
legal aid, and labor dispute resolution services to foreign workers, 
including those identified as victims of trafficking. According to 
CLA, Service Centers did not receive any complaints involving 
possible criminal charges, including trafficking, in 2008. 
If a trafficking victim is referred to an NGO-operated shelter by a 
Taiwan central or local government agency, the receiving NGO will 
automatically receive the daily per-person subsidy of NT$500.  NGOs 
must apply to the government to receive the subsidy for trafficking 
victims coming to the shelter through other channels.  This category 
 
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would include walk-ins, referrals from churches or other social 
organizations, and the "ad-hoc" referrals from local police 
departments. 
-- D.  Immigration Relief for Victims 
The Immigration Act also provides that victims who cooperate with 
prosecutors are entitled to receive temporary visas to remain in 
Taiwan up to six months. Extensions may be granted in six-month (or 
less) increments for the duration of the trial. Once the case is 
closed, the trafficking victim will be repatriated to his or her 
home country. 
Under the new trafficking law, which has not yet taken effect, 
victims whose lives may be endangered in their own countries for 
aiding in the investigation or trials of suspected traffickers, may 
be entitled to apply for permanent resident status. Other provisions 
in the trafficking law, however, also allow the authorities to 
refuse or revoke the temporary resident permits of victims who 
violate shelter regulations. 
-- E.  Long-Term Shelter Benefits for Victims 
The Taiwan central government subsidizes 11 NGO-operated shelters 
for trafficking victims; the Kaohsiung and Taipei City governments 
subsidize two more.  The NIA, CLA/BLA, national and local police 
agencies, and the national and local prosecutors' offices cooperate 
with NGOs and civic organizations to identify trafficking victims 
and to place them in appropriate shelter environments.  NGO 
representatives are permitted to accompany victims to police 
interviews, labor hearings, and court appearances, and to provide 
interpretation and other services.  Several NGOs have received 
permission from the NIA to monitor the living conditions of PRC 
women and girls detained while awaiting repatriation to mainland 
China, and to conduct social and educational program for them. 
Other regulations require local governments to provide identified 
trafficking victims with emergency medical assistance, living 
subsidies, learning opportunities, educational subsidies for 
children, job placement assistance, and subsidies for legal 
assistance.  CLA is also required to help defray the cost of legal 
services required by foreign workers involved in litigation, 
including civil suits to recover wages. NGOs consistently complain 
that medical and counseling services and legal aid for victims of 
trafficking are inadequate and unevenly distributed from place to 
place. NGOs agreed that authorities provided very little, if any, 
information on court cases in which trafficking victims were 
involved. This created a great deal of uncertainty and stress for 
victims who were already traumatized. Some NGOs argued that current 
shelter environments were designed more for short-term intervention 
and were therefore inappropriate for long-term stays. 
-- F.  Victim Referral Process 
According to officials, law enforcement must conduct an initial 
identification within 24 hours of law enforcement action.  A second 
evaluation should be conducted during detention intake and may also 
be conducted when the case file is sent to the prosecutor. However, 
NIA detention center officials contend their chief responsibility is 
to provide humane treatment to detainees while they await the 
prosecutor's decision to charge or repatriate them. 
NIA detention center officials insist that it is not the role of the 
detention center personnel to second-guess the police officer or the 
prosecutor on whether a detainee is or is not a victim of 
trafficking.  Nonetheless, regulations require NIA detention 
facility officers to interview all incoming detainees.  On rare 
occasions, NIA detention center officials will contact the relevant 
prosecutor's office to suggest reconsideration of a particular 
individual's case.  However, there is no procedure in place for NIA 
detention center officials to directly contact the prosecutor in 
charge of the detainee's case, causing weeks or months to go by 
before victims are identified and relocated to shelters. 
If a foreign worker reports illegal work, exploitative working 
conditions, or other abuse to the police, the police are required to 
refer the worker to the local Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA), which 
should then assume responsibility for the case.  In the event of a 
police referral, or if the worker complains directly to BLA, BLA is 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  018.2 OF 024 
 
 
required to arrange for a labor inspector and police officer to 
visit the worksite and investigate the alleged illegal work or 
abuse.  BLA will also refer the worker to an appropriate NGO-run 
shelter.  NGOs complain that the investigation can take longer than 
six months, during which time the foreign worker is forbidden from 
working. 
-- G.  Trafficking Victim Statistics 
Authorities were unable to provide statistics on victim 
identification (apart from those placed in shelters), participation 
in trials, or the number of victims who had charges against them 
dropped or suspended. 
According to MOI, local government agencies placed 69 trafficking 
victims with government-subsidized NGO shelters during 2007 and 65 
in 2008.  Of the 44 victims who possessed a working visa, five were 
identified as victims of sexual exploitation and 39 had suffered 
labor exploitation.  Among the remaining 90 victims, 42 were 
identified as victims of sexual exploitation and 48 as victims of 
labor exploitation.  According to CLA, 40 individuals (18 in 2007 
and 22 in 2008) holding working visas were placed with CLA-funded 
NGO shelters during 2007-2008.  All were identified as victims of 
labor exploitation. 
-- H.  Victim Identification 
Taiwan continued efforts to improve law enforcement's ability to 
investigate trafficking cases and to identify victims of human 
trafficking during the course of investigation. In 2008, the MOJ 
issued standard operating procedures governing the investigation of 
human trafficking cases. These procedures require law enforcement 
officials to conduct victim identification based on a simplified set 
of eight indicators. The case file is tagged as a trafficking case, 
the evaluation form is included, and a copy of the victim 
identification "norms" are attached so that all agencies have a 
standard basis on which to evaluate potential trafficking victims. 
 
Although Taiwan has a standard victim identification guideline and 
regulations require identification within 24 hours, implementation 
is not yet consistent and the process of referring victims from law 
enforcement custody to shelter facilities remained unreliable. NGOs 
continued to complain that trafficking victims remain unidentified 
and that authorities are generally unresponsive to NGO requests for 
re-evaluation and identification of suspected trafficking victims. 
Officials in the southern part of the island said that victim 
identification currently takes two months on average. 
Victim identification guidelines require the local prosecutor to 
review the arresting officer's report, and if necessary, conduct 
further investigation to determine whether the individual is a 
trafficking victim or an illegal immigrant.  However, NGOs reported 
that prosecutors usually accept the conclusions reached in the 
arresting officer's initial report and rarely undertake their own 
investigation.  NGOs and immigration officials agreed that if the 
arresting officer is unsympathetic or does not understand the 
definition of a trafficking victim, the officer might improperly 
classify someone as an immigration violator, or other form of 
criminal, instead of a trafficking victim.  Moreover, if the 
prosecutor is overworked, as is often the case, it is increasingly 
probable that trafficking victims will go undetected, and be treated 
as "criminals" rather than "victims." 
Prostitution is not legal in Taiwan.  However, Taiwan has a formal 
mechanism to identify trafficking victims from among those arrested 
for prostitution.  According to NGOs, Taiwan law enforcement 
agencies do not consistently apply this mechanism, resulting in the 
wrongful incarceration and punishment of trafficking victims for 
prostitution, immigration violations, and other crimes occasioned by 
trafficking. 
-- I.  Victim Rights 
Certain local police departments have referred suspected trafficking 
victims to NGO shelters on a number of occasions, but according to 
the NGOs, this is done on a largely ad-hoc basis. Of the more than 
80 victims identified in more than 400 suspected trafficking cases 
in 2007, 60 were identified by Keelung City Police Department and 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  019.2 OF 024 
 
 
sent to NGO shelters. Keelung Police have also worked with local 
prosecutors and businesses to find employment for trafficking 
victims. The Keelung City Police Commissioner previously worked as 
CIB Women and Children's Affairs Section Chief. In addition, the 
local BLA office in Taoyuan has established an informal policy that 
all victims of trafficking are to be sent directly to NGO shelters, 
are not to be incarcerated, and are not to be returned to the 
custody of their brokers or employers.  NGOs continue to lobby the 
CLA and local BLA offices to institute this practice island-wide. 
Some trafficking victims are treated as illegal immigrants or 
illegal laborers, and housed in formal, long-term detention 
facilities.  Some are held at smaller-scale, city- or country-level 
"temporary" detention facilities maintained by NIA or the local 
police.  Currently, all PRC detainees, regardless of their status, 
are detained in formal detention facilities.  The new trafficking 
law, however, specifically states that there should be no difference 
in treatment for trafficking victims from Taiwan, the mainland, or 
other countries. 
Both NGOs and officials alike recommend more practical training for 
law enforcement, prosecutors, and especially judges. NGOs say that 
many trafficking victims continue to be prosecuted and punished for 
immigration and labor violations, and for criminal offenses 
(including prostitution) committed in the course of their having 
been trafficked. They also contend that victims are forced to serve 
as witnesses and to stay on Taiwan without the ability to work for 
long periods. 
-- J.  Victim Participation in Investigation and Prosecution of 
Traffickers 
Chapter 7 of the Immigration Act provides that if trafficking 
victims agree to cooperate with prosecutors, who deem their 
cooperation necessary and useful to the prosecution, victims will be 
afforded all protections available under Taiwan's "Witness 
Protection Act." Prosecutors are instructed to waive prosecution for 
any crimes occasioned by the trafficking and to punish leniently 
other misconduct by the trafficking victim.  If a victim's testimony 
is required by prosecutors, the victim should be issued a temporary 
residence permit of six months or less, which should be extended if 
necessary.  The victim is to be returned to his or her home country 
safely upon conclusion of the trial.  The chapter encourages 
agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts to cooperate with NGOs 
and source country governments to promote anti-trafficking efforts. 
No work permits have been issued to date and victims are generally 
not offered a choice, but rather required to serve as witnesses. 
The Home and Nations Committee also approved a revision to Article 
31 of the Immigration Act, to allow foreign workers (and foreign 
spouses) to legally remain in Taiwan until pending claims against 
their employer are fully resolved. 
Trafficking victims may ask for compensation by attaching a civil 
suit to the criminal prosecution against the trafficker, but this 
happens infrequently.  Once they have been arrested, most 
trafficking victims wish to leave Taiwan as soon as possible and few 
wish to stay or take legal action against their traffickers or 
former employers, though there have been such cases.  Taiwan has 
increased funding to the Legal Affairs Foundation to assist 
trafficking victims with the pursuit of claims against traffickers. 
NGOs report that filing a civil suit is expensive, and that legal 
aid resources are not sufficient to defray the costs, rendering such 
actions impractical for most victims.  CLA reported that in 2008 NT 
$100,000 in subsidies was provided to offset costs associated with 
these types of civil suits. 1,087 cases were brought to court and NT 
$65 million in back wages were recovered, according to CLA. 
Taiwan entitles trafficking victims who have been injured, or the 
family of one who has been killed, to request compensation from the 
government.  With the exception of the PRC, this law extends to 
foreign nationals on a reciprocal basis.  Taiwan uses its anti-money 
laundering law to seize traffickers' assets, though these assets may 
not be used to satisfy trafficking victims' claims. Taiwan's new 
Anti-Trafficking Law contains a provision which will allow 
authorities to seize a convicted trafficker's assets to make 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  020.2 OF 024 
 
 
compensation available to his/her victims. 
Alleging criminal misconduct against an employer carries significant 
risk for a foreign worker.  Under current law, if the prosecutor 
decides not to indict or prosecute the employer, or if after 
prosecution fails to convict the employer, the foreign worker is 
automatically repatriated. 
-- K.  Specialized Training for Officials 
According to MOI, a total of five interagency workshops have been 
held since March 2008. In addition, authorities held ongoing 
training throughout the year on investigating trafficking cases and 
victim identification and treatment for immigration officials, local 
police, coast guard personnel, labor officials, social workers and 
medical personnel, interpreters, and tourist industry personnel. 
CLA and BLA regularly train local government labor inspectors and 
counseling personnel how to identify and protect trafficking 
victims.  All inspectors and counselors attend special training 
sessions to identify and assist victims of trafficking, and are 
provided with guidelines and standard operating procedures for 
identifying trafficking victims. 
MOJ prosecutors periodically train police, immigration officials, 
and other law enforcement personnel how to identify and protect 
trafficking victims during investigations and how to conduct 
trafficking investigations to increase the probability of conviction 
at trial. 
MOFA conducts regular training of its consular officers to assist 
them in detecting and preventing the fraudulent use of marriage 
visas to traffic women into Taiwan. 
NIA and NPA regularly conduct training of immigration and police 
officers to improve their ability to detect and assist trafficking 
victims. 
The NIA, CLA/BLA, national and local police agencies, and the 
national and local prosecutors' offices cooperate with NGOs and 
civic organizations to identify trafficking victims and to place 
them in appropriate shelter environments.  NGO representatives are 
permitted to accompany victims to police interviews, labor hearings, 
and court appearances, and to provide interpretation and other 
services. 
NGOs, in particular End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT), 
Garden of Hope, and Taiwan Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF), 
regularly conduct training seminars for police, prosecutors, labor 
and immigration personnel to improve their understanding of Taiwan's 
trafficking problem and to increase their ability to identify 
victims of sex and labor trafficking. 
Nevertheless, these and other NGOs continue to report that 
officials, particularly local authorities, prosecutors, and judges, 
do not fully understand what human trafficking is, or what 
distinguishes a trafficking victim from an "illegal immigrant."  As 
a result, NGOs report, sentences are light or cases dismissed and 
trafficking victims are regularly misidentified as criminals, placed 
in detention facilities instead of shelters, and prosecuted for 
immigration, labor, and criminal violations occasioned by their 
having been trafficked.  NGOs assert the government must do much 
more to ensure that law enforcement and judicial personnel around 
Taiwan fully understand the seriousness of human trafficking as a 
crime and are able to identify trafficking victims and provide 
consistent access to mandated services.  NGOs also recommend the 
standard of proof required to obtain "victim" status be lowered, to 
increase the probability that trafficking victims receive the 
shelter, social services, and other assistance they need as quickly 
as possible. 
-- L.  Assistance to Taiwan Victims of Trafficking 
Authorities provide medical and financial assistance, counseling, 
and other aid to Taiwan victims of trafficking.  The new 
Anti-Trafficking Law will provide assistance to all victims of 
trafficking, regardless of their nationality or household 
registration. 
-- M.  International Organizations 
Taiwan authorities have a good working relationship with a number of 
NGOs and other civic organizations involved in anti-trafficking 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  021.2 OF 024 
 
 
efforts. The Taiwan government sponsors NGO participation in 
international anti-trafficking meetings and exchanges.  Taiwan's 
overseas offices cooperate with NGO representatives overseas and 
provide them as much assistance as possible.  MOFA subsidizes 
domestic NGOs that assist the safe return of trafficking victims to 
their home countries.  Domestic NGOs that conduct exchanges with the 
PRC to reduce PRC-to-Taiwan trafficking are also eligible to apply 
for subsidies. 
The Garden of Hope Foundation, End Child Prostitution, Pornography 
and Trafficking (ECPAT) Taiwan, the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation 
(TWRF), Hope Worker's Center, the Center for Migrants' Concerns, the 
Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office (VMWBO), the Taiwan 
Grassroots Women Workers' Center, the Taiwan International Workers' 
Association, the Stella Maris International Service Center, the 
Catholic and Presbyterian Churches, and other religious and secular 
NGOs are at work in Taiwan to provide shelter, counseling, legal, 
medical, and financial assistance, public advocacy, social and 
cultural activities, repatriation assistance, and other services to 
Taiwan's foreign worker community, including victims of sex and 
labor trafficking.  Taiwan authorities have a strong working 
relationship with some NGOs and are generally open to their input 
and criticism.  NGOs also receive funding from central and local 
government authorities to perform services for trafficking victims. 
Taiwan's 2009 anti-TIP Action Plan requires MOI, MOJ, NIA, and other 
involved government agencies to include NGO representatives in 
regular policy-making discussions and to incorporate NGO 
recommendations into a "comprehensive and integrated" anti-TIP 
strategy. Government agencies are also required by the Action Plan 
to include NGO input in anti-TIP informational materials, 
educational seminars, and other activities. 
NGOs contend that although they have been included in anti-TIP 
policy discussions, too few of their suggestions have been adopted. 
Many NGOs also assert that authorities fail to consistently, 
promptly, and transparently disseminate information related to 
trafficking victims, including victim identification procedures as 
well as the process by which trafficking victims may obtain services 
outlined in various regulations and statutes.  Some NGOs, critical 
of the commitment by authorities to combat trafficking on Taiwan, 
comment that authorities hold many conferences and pass many 
regulations but fail to implement them or, at times, to even 
establish the practical procedures necessary to deliver assistance 
promised in these regulations. 
¶27.  Prevention: 
-- A.  Government Anti-Trafficking Public Awareness and Education 
Campaigns 
The Taiwan government conducts anti-trafficking information and 
education campaigns that target potential and actual victims of 
trafficking, both domestically and abroad, as well as the public. 
During 2008, the authorities launched a multimedia campaign to 
increase public awareness of Taiwan's human trafficking problem, and 
to solicit public assistance in identifying and assisting victims of 
sex and labor trafficking.  As part of this campaign, the MOI 
printed 30,000 pamphlets and provided 3,000 informational pens and 
the CLA printed 209,000 pamphlets for foreign workers.  Local 
governments held 12 seminars for employers and brokerage firms and 
1,667 people attended. Posters depicting victims of sex and labor 
trafficking were posted at community centers and park billboards 
around Taiwan.  The NIA hotline provided counseling to 11,765 
callers in 2008. 
As part of an ongoing campaign to prevent child sex trafficking, the 
government displayed public service announcements at 680 cinemas 
island-wide.  The announcements were also broadcast on six 
nationwide television stations, and included on online chat-rooms 
frequented by Taiwanese youth. 
The authorities also initiated an outreach program to enhance 
foreign workers' understanding of their rights, and resources 
available to them under Taiwanese law.  In addition to the 
multi-language emergency contact number cards disseminated at public 
facilities around Taiwan, the authorities also published public 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  022.2 OF 024 
 
 
service announcements in several foreign language publications, 
including the Vietnamese, Filipino, and Indonesian newspapers widely 
circulated among Taiwan's foreign worker population. 
Taiwan continues to operate the nationwide toll-free hotline for 
foreign spouses seeking assistance.  The hotline provides consulting 
services in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, and 
Cambodian, and topics include employment services, health care 
services, immigration procedures, and adjustment to life in Taiwan. 
CLA funds special service counters at Taiwan Taoyuan International 
Airport as well as the international airport in Kaohsiung. These 
counters disseminate labor rights information to arriving workers, 
hear grievances, and provide emergency assistance to laborers about 
to depart Taiwan.  According to CLA, no reports of suspected 
trafficking cases were received or referred from these counters. 
NGOs assert that the location of airport service counters outside 
immigration security leaves workers vulnerable to unscrupulous 
brokers and that service counters are staffed by a consortium of 
labor brokers. CLA officials respond that service counters offer 
pick-up service for employers, handle homebound foreign workers' 
complaints, and distribute guidebooks that outline workers' rights. 
CLA officials add that regulations state service staff may not be 
involved in the brokerage of foreign labor and cannot have had any 
violations of the Employment Services Act over the past year. 
CLA supports 25 Foreign Labor Consultant Service Centers located 
around Taiwan.  The Centers, operated by local government with CLA 
funding, provide counseling, legal aid, and labor dispute resolution 
services.  The Centers also publish and disseminate worker rights 
handbooks, conduct legal seminars and language training courses, 
host social and cultural events, and sponsor radio and television 
programs and advertisements to inform foreign workers of their 
rights and remedies under Taiwan Law. CLA disseminates employer 
handbooks and foreign worker handbooks, translated into English, 
Vietnamese Indonesian, and Thai.  CLA provides funding to city and 
county governments to defray expenses associated with foreign labor 
affairs reporting, reform of foreign labor regulations, and training 
conferences for local law enforcement and social services 
personnel. 
MAC has expanded its "Mainland Spousal Guidance Program," which uses 
townhall-style meetings, social events, information hotlines, 
websites and printed handbooks to inform Mainland-born spouses of 
their rights under Taiwan law. 
-- B.  Monitoring of Immigration and Emigration Patterns 
The NIA, NPA, MOFA, and other government agencies collect and 
compile statistics on legal and illegal immigration to study human 
trafficking trends and to formulate future policy.  NIA and NPA also 
record and report the number of foreign citizens arrested for 
various kinds of offenses, including prostitution, and the number 
and nationality of those foreign citizens deported each year.  CLA 
tracks and reports the number of foreign workers in "illegal 
status," according to their country of origin.  MOFA maintains and 
report statistics on foreign spouse visa interviews, refusal and 
issuance rates.  NIA and NPA track the number of foreign spouses 
found to be in fraudulent marriages.  Government officials use all 
of these indicators to try to gauge the scope and nature of human 
trafficking in Taiwan, but do not have reliable estimates. 
In order to discourage the fraudulent use of marriage visas to 
traffic women into Taiwan, spouse visa applicants from the PRC, 
Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam 
must undergo interviews in their home countries before departing for 
Taiwan.  All foreign spouses and their prospective mates must 
undergo a second interview process upon their arrival in Taiwan. 
Those who fail the interview process are barred from entering Taiwan 
and are immediately returned to their countries of origin. 
-- C.  Interagency Coordination Mechanisms 
Taiwan has established an official mechanism to exchange information 
at the national level regarding trafficking in persons.  The Action 
Plan requires MOI, MOJ, MOFA, NIA, NPA, CLA, and other government 
agencies to convene every two months to coordinate and evaluate 
ongoing anti-trafficking efforts.  A Cabinet-level Minister without 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  023.2 OF 024 
 
 
Portfolio oversees the task force.  The MOI has also appointed a 
vice minister to serve as the single point of contact for 
TIP-related inquiries.  In practice, the NIA has served as AIT's 
chief point of contact for TIP-related information. 
Taiwan has an interagency taskforce aimed at preventing the 
trafficking of minors.  This taskforce is composed of the Ministries 
of Interior, Justice, Defense, Economic Affairs, Transportation, 
Education, the Department of Health, the Mainland Affairs Council, 
and the Council of Labor Affairs. Together with key NGOs, this task 
force monitors implementation of the 1995 statute and provides 
guidance to member agencies through semi-annual written reports. 
In addition to the interagency taskforce stipulated by the CYSTPA, 
the Foundation of Women's Rights Promotion and Development (WRP) 
also serves as a platform to discuss all women-related issues.  The 
WRP is an NGO funded by the Executive Yuan (EY).  It is chaired by 
the Premier and includes the ministers of Interior, Education, 
Justice, Personnel Administration, Government Information Office, 
Health, and Labor as well as academics and representatives of NGOs. 
The Taiwan High Prosecutor's Office maintains an Anti-Corruption 
Center dedicated to investigating and prosecuting corruption cases 
involving legislators, government ministers, and other senior 
government officials, including high ranking military officers. 
-- D.  National Action Plan 
The Executive Yuan approved the "Human Trafficking Prevention 
Implementation Plan," setting aside NT$490 million for 2008-2010 for 
the construction and improvement of shelter facilities, education 
and training for government officials, and the expansion of 
international cooperation to combat trafficking.  From March 2008 to 
February 2009, the interagency taskforce charged with overseeing 
anti-TIP efforts has convened six times. 
MOI is overseeing an interagency effort to establish a common 
trafficking database, which would include resources such as 
government interpreters to be made available to foreign workers in 
need of translation services related to employment disputes or other 
legal matters. 
Taiwan published the "Executive Yuan Action Plan for Suppressing 
Trafficking in Persons" (the "Action Plan"), on November 8, 2006. 
Thirteen government ministries and agencies and NGOs cooperated in 
drafting the Plan, which directs:  (1) strengthening Taiwan's 
existing net of anti-trafficking laws; (2) implementing an 
island-wide standard procedure to identify trafficking victims; (3) 
exempting trafficking victims from punishment for non-violent crimes 
occasioned by their victimization; (4) allowing trafficking victims 
to switch jobs or employers; (5) assigning special task forces and 
special prosecutors to increase the investigation, prosecution, and 
conviction of traffickers; and (6) enhancing penalties for convicted 
traffickers.  The Action Plan requires MOI, MOJ, NIA, CLA, and other 
involved government agencies to include NGO representatives in 
regular policy-making discussions, and to incorporate NGO 
recommendations into a "comprehensive and integrated" anti-TIP 
strategy.  Government agencies are also required by the Action Plan 
to include NGO input in anti-TIP informational materials, 
educational seminars, and other activities. 
The government's 2009-2010 Anti-Trafficking Plan focuses on 
facilitating interagency cooperation as well as cooperation with 
NGOs in order to strengthen legislation and anti-trafficking 
operations for the purposes of protecting human rights and improving 
Taiwan's international image. 
-- E.  Government Measures to Reduce Commercial Sex Demand 
Prostitution is illegal. During 2008, the authorities launched a 
multimedia campaign to increase public awareness of Taiwan's human 
trafficking problem, and to solicit public assistance in identifying 
and assisting victims of sex and labor trafficking. As part of its 
ongoing campaign to prevent child sex trafficking, the government 
displayed public service announcements at 680 cinemas island-wide. 
The announcements were also broadcast on six nationwide television 
stations, and included an online chat-rooms frequented by Taiwanese 
youth. 
-- F.  Government Measures to Reduce International Child Sex Tourism 
 
TAIPEI 00000222  024.2 OF 024 
 
 
by Nationals Abroad 
MOJ reports there have been no prosecutions for sexual transaction 
with a minor abroad under the CYSTPA since 2006. 
-- G.  Government Measures to Ensure International Peacekeeping 
Forces Do Not Participate in Trafficking 
Not applicable to Taiwan. 
Taiwan does not contribute international peacekeeping forces. 
¶2. (SBU) Time Spent on Report: 
FP-06, 36 hours 
FO-02, 90 hours 
FO-01, 2 hours 
¶3. (U) Post TIP Point of Contact: 
Deanna G. Kim 
Political Officer 
American Institute in Taiwan 
Taipei, Taiwan 
Phone: (011) (886) (2) 2162-2086 
Fax: (011) (866) (2) 2162-2241 
Email: KimDG@state.gov 
 
WANG 
1