The report commended Taiwan's immigration and labor authorities for fully complying with standards for the elimination of trafficking by continuing to “prosecute and punish trafficking offenses, including both forced labor and forced prostitution,” and noted how the nation has sustained “strong victim protection efforts, continued to train law enforcement and other government officials, and raised public awareness on trafficking offenses.” Taiwan has also educated its people on human trafficking issues through TV and online advertisements, and helped migrant workers to better understand their rights, the report said.
Human trafficking has become one of the biggest human tragedies internationally. The International Labor Organization, a U.N. body, and activists Kevin Bales and Siddarth Kara say there may be 10 million to 30 million people living in slavery around the world, according to a CNN campaign against what it calls “modern-day slavery.” The U.N. estimates the total value of the human trafficking market at US$32 billion.
Creating such “market value” are usually the most vulnerable people in the world, children, people forced or conned into the sex trade, low-skilled foreign labor mistreated to the point of torture, and others from the margins.
Taiwan has done a good job in doing its part fighting a major global problem. It is not only the right thing to do but can also help Taiwan join the global community by showing its commitment to protecting the human rights of not only its citizens but of all people. That's why despite the top-tier ranking, Taiwan should still work harder.
According to the U.S. State Department's report, trafficking victims in the island are mostly migrant workers employed through recruitment agencies and brokers to perform low-skilled work in the manufacturing and fishing industries and as home caregivers and domestic workers from such countries as Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, mainland China, Cambodia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and India.
Other victims include women and girls from the mainland and Southeast Asia lured “through fraudulent marriages and deceptive employment offers for purposes of sex trafficking and forced labor,” the report pointed out. In addition to identifying victims and prosecuting traffickers, Taiwan also provides government as well as NGO-run shelters offering victims “with medical and psychological services, legal counseling, vocational training, small stipends, and repatriation assistance.” Local immigration authorities also provide interpreters to help foreign victims at court.
While Taiwan has been robust in tackling human trafficking through these efforts and its Human Trafficking Prevention and Control Act enforced in 2009, as well as other anti-trafficking regulations, the report does point out opportunities for improvement. Taiwan's Labor Standards Acts does not cover nearly 160,000 foreign nursing caregivers and domestic workers, about half of the foreign work force. Further protection of migrant rights through expanded Labor Standards Act will be welcomed.
In addition to better training for law enforcement, interpreters, immigration and labor-related civil servants, and to expand judicial protection, the country should also make long-term plans to address Taiwan's cultural tolerance. While the Taiwanese people are famous for their friendliness and despite having long history of multicultural exchanges, this society is still mainly Han Chinese culture-oriented. Foreign workers, especially low-skilled ones, mostly do not interact, not to mention integrate, with Taiwanese society — not least because they are often kept by their employers from leaving their dormitories, a fact the U.S. report mentioned. While centralized control of migrant workers might make managerial sense and is not uncommon internationally, such practices and others that isolate migrant workers do Taiwan more harm than good in the long run by perpetuating the “foreignness” of foreign workers. As an island nation with a graying population, and therefore an increasing need of foreign workers, Taiwan should move fast to create a society that values migrant workers for who they are — not hired guns but contributors to Taiwan's development just like any other hardworking locals.
Source: The China Post
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