US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI4796

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 004796 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS AIT/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, TW, Human Rights/TIP, Domestic Politics, Cross Strait Politics, Foreign Policy 
SUBJECT:  TAIWAN TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CONFERENCE: 
PRODUCTIVE TALK, HOPE FOR MORE ACTION 
 
1.  Summary:  Taiwan recently hosted an international 
conference on combating human trafficking which included 
representatives from law enforcement, government, NGOs, and 
academia.  Taiwan, downgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in the 
Department's 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, 
indicated that human trafficking is a relatively new yet 
increasingly critical problem, and acknowledged that more 
must be achieved, particularly with regard to implementing 
legislation.  Local participants in the U.S. 
government-funded conference were appreciative of the 
opportunity to discuss issues with their international 
counterparts, and several emphasized that the unique 
cross-Strait situation has complicated Taiwan's efforts to 
eliminate trafficking of persons into Taiwan.  End Summary. 
 
Overview 
-------- 
2.  On November 28-30, 2005, Taiwan NGO Garden of Hope 
Foundation and Washington, D.C.-based NGO Vital Voices Global 
Partnership hosted an international conference on "Strategies 
for Combating Human Trafficking from Southeast Asia to 
Taiwan."  More than 100 people from Taiwan, the U.S., 
Australia and Southeast Asian countries attended the 
AIT-funded conference and participated in workshops on 
distinguishing and assisting trafficked victims, increasing 
public awareness, and legal approaches to anti-trafficking. 
Following are highlights of the conference. 
 
AIT Welcoming Remarks 
--------------------- 
 
3.  AIT Deputy Director laid out U.S. concerns to conference 
participants in his welcoming remarks, noting the 2000 U.S. 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Bush 
administration's continued efforts to strengthen U.S. 
anti-trafficking activities and legislation.  He noted that 
the Department's TIP Report has been a major channel through 
which the U.S. has been able carry on useful dialogues with 
countries around the world and has been the impetus for 
serious action by the U.S. and other countries.  He praised 
Taiwan's progress and efforts in combating human trafficking, 
particularly in intercepting criminal syndicates responsible 
for trafficking from Mainland China, Thailand, Cambodia, and 
Vietnam.  Finally, the Deputy Director urged Taiwan to do 
more by instituting a comprehensive trafficking law to ensure 
greater preventive measures and victim protection, and he 
reiterated the U.S. commitment to working with Taiwan on this 
very serious issue. 
 
Keynote Speech by Vice President Lu 
----------------------------------- 
 
4.  In her keynote address, Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu 
stated that human trafficking has become an increasingly 
important problem in Taiwan, largely because of frequent 
exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and loopholes in the 
regulation of these exchanges which human traffickers 
exploit.  She cited Interior Ministry statistics reporting 
over 8,000 arrests of illegal immigrants between 2001 and 
2004.  Some 5,000 of these were women, 44 percent of whom 
were involved in the sex trade. Vice President Lu called for 
greater efforts and cooperation to solve the problem of human 
trafficking in the region. 
 
Human Trafficking from Mainland China to Taiwan 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5.  Noting that the U.S. 2005 TIP report had downgraded 
Taiwan from Tier 1 to Tier 2, Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council 
Chairman Joseph Wu acknowledged that trafficking victims in 
Taiwan do not have adequate protection.  Wu, however, argued 
that the 2005 TIP report failed to take into account national 
differences, pointing out that many smaller countries, such 
as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, are in Tier 2, while larger 
countries like Canada and Australia are in Tier 1.  Wu stated 
that he thinks U.S. standards for the report are too high and 
do not take into consideration the unique cross-straits 
situation.  Mainland China, he explained, has refused to work 
with Taiwan on the human trafficking issue even though China 
has cooperated with other countries on this issue.  Taiwan, 
thus, is itself "a victim of Mainland China," Wu argued.  He 
acknowledged that greater inter-agency cooperation is needed 
in Taiwan, but pointed out that although Taiwan has no formal 
anti-human trafficking laws yet, penalties for 
trafficking-related activities have been increased. 
Regarding the repatriation issue, Wu indicated that although 
Taiwan signed the Jinmen Accords with Mainland China, China 
has not been accepting victims back as had been agreed. 
Taiwan, therefore, has been "stuck" because of Mainland 
China's unwillingness to cooperate or negotiate. 
 
Policy and Law in Countering Human Trafficking 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6.  G/TIP Senior Coordinator Mark Taylor discussed the 
problems of defining trafficking in persons and the forms of 
trafficking in Asia.  He stressed that the definition of 
trafficking does not depend on movement across borders since 
many victims are exploited within their own home country. 
Taylor indicated that Asia is the leading source of victims 
brought to the U.S., particular with regards to forced labor 
activity.  He also discussed the issue of invisible coercion 
and stressed the need for laws to address these subtle forms 
of coercion. 
 
7.  Legislative Yuan (LY) member Bikhim Hsiao spoke at length 
about her efforts to pass legislation to counter human 
trafficking.  She noted that the August 21 Thailand worker 
revolt in Kaohsiung had forced the Taiwan authorities to 
focus on foreign guest worker issues and brought about 
modifications in Taiwan's immigration law.  While the Thai 
workers had garnered a lot of public sympathy, she noted, PRC 
victims do not garner the same reaction due to Taiwan's 
complicated and political relationship with the Mainland. 
Hsiao described China's relationship with Taiwan as "hostile" 
and lamented that Taiwan has no access to the Chinese legal 
system, and no direct communication with the mainland that 
could facilitate repatriating victims in a more timely 
fashion.  Beijing, she insinuated, is not in a hurry to 
welcome its victims home from Taiwan.  Legislator Hsiao also 
mentioned Taiwan's isolation from the greater international 
community, noting that Taiwan had been omitted from the 2000 
UN Protocol on Human Trafficking.  She expressed appreciation 
to the U.S. for passing relevant information gathered at 
international conferences to Taiwan and stressed that the 
present conference was very important since it was being held 
in Taiwan. 
 
8.  Regarding legislation, Legislator Hsiao said that in 
terms of the "3 Ps" ( prosecution, protection and 
prevention), prosecution is currently a lower priority in 
Taiwan since it already has heavy penalties for sex crimes 
against minors and servitude.  She noted that she is 
currently working on protection and has proposed an amendment 
to Taiwan's Immigration Law.  Prevention, Hsiao explained, is 
a major challenge for Taiwan since it involves an 
international cooperation and the majority of victims come 
from the PRC.  She noted that due to Taiwan's Special Laws, 
victims from Mainland China encounter special "citizenship" 
problems, since a mainland Chinese is treated somewhere 
between a citizen and a foreigner.  Hsiao said that although 
there are 3 proposals currently under discussion on this 
topic, there is no agreement with local NGOs on what an 
anti-human trafficking bill should incorporate.  Due to LY 
"inefficiency and gridlock", she explained, an 
anti-trafficking bill would be difficult to get passed. 
Hsiao told the conference that she feels "alone" in the LY, 
where human trafficking is not a top priority.  Noting that 
usually she does not appreciate "foreign pressure" on Taiwan, 
Hsiao said in the area of human trafficking it is helpful, 
and emphasized her pride that Taiwan has been responsive. 
 
Identification of Probable Human Trafficking Victims 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
9.  Explaining that most trafficking victims in Taiwan come 
from the PRC, Taiwan National Police Administration 
Director-General Hsieh Ing-dan outlined areas where Taiwan 
needs to improve, including:  strengthening government 
relations with NGOs, providing humanitarian assistance to 
victims, collaborating more closely with Southeast Asian 
neighbors, improving local shelters by adding counseling and 
recreational facilities, and improving differentiation 
between victims and culprits.  Hsieh indicated that Taiwan 
has been strict regarding immigration laws but will focus on 
the investigation phase of human trafficking cases and try to 
obtain clearer details of the chain of events. 
 
Comment 
-------- 
10.  Conference participants agreed that human trafficking is 
a global issue requiring NGO and local government cooperation 
within Taiwan and within the Southeast Asia region.  Taiwan 
appears to be working to come to grips with its human 
trafficking problem as both a source country and a receiving 
country, particularly in terms of PRC victims. Local 
authorities admitted that Taiwan is in need of concrete 
anti-trafficking legislation.  Local authorities and NGOs 
both agreed that they should cooperate more closely, 
particular on identifying victims.  Local and international 
NGO attendees, aware of and sensitive to the cross-Strait 
issues, expressed their hope that the Taiwan authorities will 
focus on short-term actions that will help address this 
growing problem, including setting up an inter-ministerial 
Anti-Human Trafficking Committee, and strengthening and 
enforcing existing laws. 
KEEGAN