Taiwan abuses foreign workers ― a serious problem!   
        The entry or reentry "international workers" are "foreign laborers", mostly

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Taiwan

                Taiwan

 abuses foreign workers for years

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★ LaborRights.org,  2022-4-7 (laborrights.org/publications/comments-concerning-ranking-taiwan-united-states-department-state-2022-trafficking):

In 2022, the SWG finds that Taiwan should be downgraded to Tier 2 due to the government’s failure to meet the minimum standards as set forth in the TVPA, particularly in the following key areas: (1) failure to systematically identify trafficking victims; (2) inherent risks of human trafficking in the current employment system for migrant workers; (3) failure to regulate recruitment agencies and practices; (4) an impractical human trafficking law that prevents prosecution; and (5) and limited and ineffective partnerships with local and international NGOs. 

Due to the existence of several policies that discriminate against migrant workers and provide insufficient protection, the migrant worker population has long been considered one of the most vulnerable groups in Taiwan. Most workers in Taiwan, regardless of their nationality, are protected by the Labor Standard Act (2020). However, migrant fishers working on Taiwanese distant water fishing vessels, as well as migrant domestic workers, have been left out by this law and are given fewer legal protections. Compared with nationals, these workers are at a much higher risk of forced labor and human trafficking. Despite NGOs’ reporting and the media coverage on migrant workers being abused and exploited, the Taiwanese government has taken a relatively passive attitude towards ensuring their rights and prosecuting those involved in exploiting these workers

The government officials only consider superficial indicators of human trafficking and do not review potential trafficking in persons cases in-depth and holistically.  As a result, cases of suspected forced labor or human trafficking are labeled as mere labor disputes between employers and employees...

PROSECUTION :  These numbers seem impossibly low

Year/Type of trafficking Sex trafficking  Labor exploitation
2017 108 37
2018 95 38
2019 111 32
2020 130 29
2021 80 18

　

★ The GreenPeace Org., 2022-9-29: Taiwan-caught fish once again on Department of Labor's (DOL) List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor,which sends a solid alarm to the Taiwanese government and the distant water fishing industry.  Although Taiwan made some commitments,  it's far from enough to change this current system that is seemingly designed to exploit people and our ocean.  Some fisher was reportedly beaten and threatened with knives onboard a vessel, while others reported having only four hours of sleep a day on a different vessel. greenpeace.org/usa/news/taiwan-caught-fish-once-again-on-department-of-labors-dol-list-of-goods-produced-by-child-labor-or-forced-labor/

　

  The yellow card from the E.U. in 2015 eventually prompted Taiwan to make some changes to its fisheries regulation.
★  However, it is far from good enough。Taiwan never really wants a change !
　
nGreenPeace, 2022-4-25: The high seas fishing industry uses cost-cutting and illegal fishing tactics, forced labor, and other human rights abuses to stay profitable.  To prevent such tragedy from happening again, Taiwan must amend its related laws and regulations and conduct port inspections on both Taiwanese-owned and -flagged, as well as Taiwanese-owned and Flag Of Convenience vessels. In particular, Taiwan should ensure its laws and regulations are in line with the International Labour Organisation’s C-188 convention, set minimum working standards for all fishers, and conduct law-binding labor inspections in its ports. greenpeace.org/international/press-release/53401/nine-indicted-abusing-crew-taiwan-fishing-vessel-dawang/

nCTS News (華視)  , 2022-10-2:Taiwanese fishing goods have been included in the list of goods produced by child labor or forced labor like XinJiang cotton and blood diamonds.  Some fishing vessels are "convenient vessel" (registered in some Pacific island country to avoid some restrictions) which are associated with illegal boats, and not only those vessels made mistakes.  The workers accused the captain of beating and electrocuting the crew members, and even an Indonesian worker died for that. Some foreign media named Taiwan's fish-catch as "sweaty seafood"; A migrant worker accuses that his boss hits their back-neck, kicks them, even throws them a sharp-point object... they sleep 3 hours per day, have no enough food to eat...  youtube.com/watch?v=883RKbiz6X0
 nTaiwan News, 2021-1-4: Only four fishing vessels worldwide on blacklist, all owned by Taiwanese companies; ...seafood products can be at high risk of being harvested by forced labor, which is a form of modern day slavery,”; "It shows that the Taiwanese government failed to protect the migrant fishermen working on Taiwanese distant water vessels as a result of loopholes created by the country's regulations。 the existing Labor Standards Act (勞基法) is not applicable to employment on deep-sea fishing vessels...  taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4093552
 nSeaFoodSource, 2020-10-1:  Taiwan had largely overlooked the rights of migrant fishers  -   immigrant workers with an average of just 2 to 3 hours sleep. If no fish were caught, they were forced to work up to 34 hours straight. ...experienced beatings from his captain, and at times, from fellow crew members who were ordered to do so by the captain ... also witnessed the deaths of fellow migrant fishers from abusive working conditions, their bodies wrapped up and stored in the freezer or thrown into the sea.That lack of oversight, is part of why laborers still often face human rights abuses.  seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/us-includes-taiwan-on-forced-labor-list-due-to-fishing-industry-abuses
　

　

★ justsecurity.org, Focus Taiwan, Taipei Times, etc, 2022-5-13: Invited by Taiwan's government, an international human rights experts panel conducted a five-day review from May 9-13 in Taipei of the country's implementation of two United Nations' human rights-related covenants, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
　

Taiwan’s failure thus far to incorporate the Convention on Migrant Workers or to adopt a domestic workers protection law is of additional concern given the vulnerability of these workers — many of them women who provide crucial long-term services to the elderly and disabled — to adverse, discriminatory measures related to the pandemic. Their precariousness is further underlined by their low pay, lack of union representation, and the subordination of their bargaining power to the interests of the governments of their home countries because of Taiwan’s reliance on a Philippines-style labor-export model.

Many of these workers are identifiable as observant Muslims because of their dress, and are of Southeast Asian (primarily Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian, and Vietnamese) origin, which differentiates them from most of the population in Taiwan and could make them susceptible to forms of discrimination that are not regulated – hence the need to incorporate the convention’s terms into law. The committee also noted the need to bring migrant workers within the protections of Taiwan’s overall system of labor regulation and received multiple reports regarding limitations on migrant workers’ rights to change employment, to obtain permanent residency, and bars to the migration of family members, resulting in the induced separation of families. The committee also noted its concerns regarding widespread reports of abuses against the conditions of labor for fisheries workers. Many of these are also migrants.

 ★ United Daily, 2022-11-2: The number of migrant workers is reducing, which is killing long-term care families /  In the past 2 years, applying for a foreign care-giver takes one year.  In hospital, you can not get a care-taker, no matter legal or illegal, even offering very high price.    udn.com/news/story/7339/6732218?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7339_pulldownmenu_v2 葉琇姍

★ TTV news, 2023-1-11:  Humanized Care ? / According to statistics, 822 thousands of Taiwanese need Long-term care service, but the number of long-term care users is 561 thousands, which accounts for 68.34%.
Those disable (elders) can only has resident care-giver to come when he or she wakes up and goes to bed. The rest of the time, due to economic factors, he cannot hire one to take care of him. For example, the urine bag must wait for the care-giver to come.
The disable who need 24 hours service can live in institutions, but those with a disability level of 8th are only given  subsidy NTD 5,000 per month, which is far from enough. Only 30% of them are willing to enter institution.  By 2022, the total number residential long-term care institutions (an annual subsidy of NTD 60,000  was given to more than 40,000 people in 2021), senior citizen welfare institutions, nursing homes, and veterans homes is , in total, 1,669.
Taiwan's long-term care policies must be constantly updated to meet diverse needs.  ttv.com.tw/videocity/video_play.asp?id=646517

★ The Guardian, 2022-5-9: Taiwan is now dealing with an “Omicron tsunami”. In factories, migrant workers have once again been discriminated against with unequal rule enforcement and eased restrictions  (theguardian.com/world/2022/may/09/once-a-zero-covid-poster-child-taiwan-learns-to-live-with-the-virus)

★ US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 2022-4-12 (state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/taiwan/):
nForced labor occurred primarily in sectors reliant on migrant workers, including domestic service, fishing, farming, manufacturing, meat processing, and construction. Foreign workers were often reluctant to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate their contract, subjecting them to possible deportation and leaving them unable to pay off debts to recruiters
 nMigrant fishermen reported abuses by senior crewmembers, including beatings, withholding of food and water, retention of identity documents, wage deductions, and noncontractual compulsory sharing of vessel operational costs to retain their labor. These abuses were particularly prevalent in Taiwan’s large distant-waters fishing fleet, which operated without adequate oversight.
 nForeign workers were often reluctant to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate their contract, subjecting them to possible deportation and leaving them unable to pay off debts to recruiters.
 nForeign fishermen were commonly subjected to mistreatment and poor working conditions. NGOs reported that foreign fishing crews in the distant-waters fishing fleet generally received wages below the required minimum...
nAuthorities estimated that more than 53,000 migrant workers were concentrated in the domestic work and manufacturing sectors. NGOs reported that some migrant workers legally employed as domestic workers were in fact informally employed outside the home...◎
★ RT TV news (Russia), United Daily (Taiwan, udn.com/news/story/121707/6057053), 2022-1-24: Two Indonesian migrant laborers got penalty fine in the amount of NY$100,000 (about USD 3,300) for stepping out of their CovID-19 quarantine hotel room for about one minute.  Another migrant laborer from Philippine were fined same amount USD 3,300 for leaving his quarantine hotel room for 8 seconds.

　

★  illegal migrant workers at large, the government sit aside
United Daily, 2022-8-5 one out of ten migrant workers became illegal workers, a loop-hole of underworld gangs or drug dealers   vip.udn.com/vip/story/122367/6515571?from=udn-category
United Daily, 2022-7-31 The agents urge Taiwanese government to take lessons from Singapore and no longer assist foreign laborers in running away - many of care-givers dropped the vulnerable who need to be cared most   vip.udn.com/vip/story/121942/6500874?from=vipudn_recommendation 
United Daily, 2022-7-31 Taiwan police disclose that their superiors are unhappy about arresting run-away migrant workers
 vip.udn.com/vip/story/121942/6501037?from=vipudn_recommendation
United Daily, 2022-7-24 90% families applying for foreign care-givers have been waiting, some lucky ones will worry the care-giver is going to escape as soon as they got one.  Does our government still sit aside to see these happen again and again ?  vip.udn.com/vip/story/121942/6484067?from=vipudn_recommendation 

　

★ TTV news (台視 新聞"熱線追蹤") , 2022-7-16  3:42pm: Although the number of nurse-aides to home has risen, the supply could never meet the demand.

　

★ TTV news (台視 新聞) , Taiwan, 2022-6-23  8:44am:
　

 migrant workers policy comparison
Taiwan Japan S. Korea
monthly salary NT$ 17 thousands, after 6 years $24 thousands, 5 more years later, entitled to apply for permanent residency salary NT$ 43 thousands, 2 days off per week salary NT$ 36 thousands, plus welfare

　

　

　

             
 pic. right: The websites group was ranked No.1  "foreign laborers in Taiwan"  on Yandex of Russia by keyword , 2023-1-11, 2021-9-12, 2021-5-17; No.2 at 2022-6-16   pic. :  No.1 "international laborers in Taiwan" on Yandex Russia, 2023-1-11, 2022-10-3
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pic. left: No.1 "international workers in Taiwan" on Bing, 2023-1-28, 2022-10-3, 2022-7-4, 2022-6-23; No.2  "international workers in Taiwan"  at 2023-1-11  pic.:  The websites group was ranked No.1  "international workers in Taiwan" on Yandex of Russia , 2022-7-4, 2022-6-16, 2019-5-13;  No.2 at 2023-1-11 

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media comments 　
United Daily,  2021-12-07 Taiwan's labor gap must be filled by migrant workers.  Most needed are always very hard-working manual jobs.   The salary of care takers is lower than basic salary, unable to apply for dependent visa for families or couple, almost 24 hours stand by on call, and need to do housework as well udn.com/news/story/6841/5943054
China Times,  2021-12-9 The declining birthrate in Asia is becoming more and more serious.  Since Japan's and South Korea's openness of foreign migrant workers policy by higher wages, Taiwan is facing challenges chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20211209000013-260410?chdtv
Yahoo, NowNews, 2021-12-31 There is a big gap between 230,000 foreign care-takers and 760,000 disabled vulnerable people. In the future, employers are even more difficult to find care-givers,  wait longer time, pay more, those agents might use the opportunity to collect various fees, etc. Besides, many care-givers will transfer to factory workers for higher income. tw.news.yahoo.com/日韓搶工-台灣移工難題有解-001245476.html  
Diplomat, 2021-12-30 complaints about migrant workers being forced to stay in overcrowded dormitories with insufficient facilities and almost no private space, exposing them to physical health problems due to the confined and sometimes squalid environments.   Workers also face harsh conditions on the job, often taking on undesirable 3D (dirty, dangerous and difficult) jobs, particularly in manufacturing and construction...forced overtime has been an enduring issue thediplomat.com/2021/12/addressing-challenges-faced-by-taiwans-migrant-workers/
CW, 2021-11-30  a buyer market turns into a  seller's market.  The elderly and disabled are ignored by money-oriented foreign laborers.   Some agents jack up price up to NT$ 60 thousands per month ... cw.com.tw/article/5119096


★ United Daily,  2022-6-22: Recently, the fatality rate of the nursing home or Residential Long-term Care Institutions already reaches 2.2% which is 15 times of average rate of all ages.  The care takers are insufficient, and the price was jacking up to NT$ 10 thousands per day, part of the patients or the elderly's families can not afford the high price, expert urges recruiting more sataffs ... udn.com/news/story/120940/6405663?from=udn_ch2cate6638sub120940_pulldownmenu_v2    udn.com/news/story/120940/6405687?from=udn_ch2cate6638sub120940_pulldownmenu_v2 
★ China Times, 2022-7-4 (chinatimes.com/opinion/20220703002742-262101?chdtv):  <長照殺人悲歌 政府不能視而不見>: Experts say that Taiwanese government's "Long-term Care Policy" (LTC 2.0) (「長照2.0計畫」) allowance is far less than demand from the public。Taiwanese "disability rate" (失能率,  difficulty in any activity of daily living (e.g., eating, bathing, to toilet, putting on/taking off clothes, getting in / out of bed, walking indoors, (ADL)) is 13.3%，total number of the disabled population probably has reached 700,000；and the number will be increasing day by day.  Living in "nursing institution" sort of places (安養機構) costs you USD 1300 ~ 1700 per month, currently the government only offers allowance USD 2,000 per year, many elderly still can not afford it, therefore, like Japanese records, suicide and killing cases increased year by year.
    Taiwan should open foreign care-takers market for more SE Asian countries or mainland China, at present we only accept migrant workers from few countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Thai. ; However, mainland Chinese care-givers suppose are in better or much better price therefore can save more elderly and vulnerable people.   In 2021, Taiwan considered giving vaccination priority to younger local workers instead of those vulnerable for Taiwan's economics, some day if we don't have enough foreign laborers, will Taiwan government sent foreign workers to factories ahead of the elderly and the disability ?      

　

★ The New York Times, 2021-6-18 (nytimes.com/2021/06/18/world/asia/taiwan-migrant-labor-covid.html): ... In Taiwan, some foreign tech workers are confined indoors to tackle an outbreak; Activists say that the measures discriminate against migrant laborers.  Some workers expressed concern that the conditions in the cramped dormitories, ... at quarantine centers. In some of those facilities, activists say that workers were served spoiled food or had no running water. Migrant-labor advocates have criticized the Miaoli government for provoking further fear and stigmatization of foreign workers.

★ Financial Times (UK), 2021-6-22:  Taiwan accused of locking up migrant workers /  “It has now become extremely common for employers to lock their migrant workers up... ”Electronics groups including Japan’s Canon and Innolux, an affiliate of Apple supplier Foxconn, have been accused of locking up migrant workers in Taiwan as an outbreak of Covid-19 hits the country ... A survey  found that 60 per cent of migrant workers are forbidden from going out in their free time, ... “Discrimination of migrant workers in Taiwan is systemic, but the pandemic has made it a lot worse,”... even warned them against chatting. No central government official has spoken up against the restrictions on foreign workers. Some employers are resorting to scare tactics (your family will not even be able to see your body, etc).   ft.com/content/4269650e-7660-4b80-b294-f81b4368784c

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★ Heritage Org. heritage.org/index/ , 2021 Index of Economic Freedom

In "Labor Freedom" index, Taiwan ranks No. 91 worldwide, compared with other Asian countries -   No.1 Singapore,  No.4 New Zealand,  No.8 Australia,  10. UAE,  14. Japan,   2.8 Mongolia,   No.30  Malaysia,   47.  Bangladesh,  60. Qatar,  63. China,    67. Thailand,   71. Saudi Arabia,   73. Cambodia,   74. Vietnam,   112.  Korea.

★ The Guardian (UK), 2021-5-16 (theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/lockdowns-and-panic-buying-in-taiwan-as-covid-cases-rise): ... the district of Wanhua, where a cluster of at least 100 CovID-19 cases so far has centred on hosted bars and teahouses connected to the sex work industry.   Many foreign laborers from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, entered Taiwan by the name of care-taker but actually illegally worked in these porn parlors in Taipei's Wanhua district, now many have escaped to their 'boss' places in middle and southern Taiwan to avoid corona-virus test, which is a very serious situation, Taipei city-councilor 鍾小平 said, according Next TV news, Formosa TV, 2021-5-18, etc.

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★ Brookings, 2021-6-25, brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/06/25/taiwans-vitality/  : the harsh lockdowns in crowded dormitories of mostly Southeast Asian workers at some technology manufacturing companies have underscored the discrimination that has long been present in Taiwan against peoples of certain nationalities, especially when coupled with low socioeconomic status. The temporary stay granted to these workers, as well as those who work in elder care and other critical jobs, is rarely a permanent welcome.

　

★ Equal Times org., 2021-7-30 (equaltimes.org/taiwan-s-foreign-factory-workers?lang=en#.YQSC6i7iu70)

brief :   Taiwan’s foreign factory workers face rights violations amid latest Covid outbreak.  “We feel like prisoners. It’s like the company controls every aspect of our lives !"    The company confined migrant workers at its Miaoli plant to their dormitories when off duty and imposed epidemiologically questionable quarantine methods.  a worker at KYEC, says she was put into quarantine in early June in a room where co-workers infected with Covid-19 had stayed right before she and her other colleagues moved in.  “The rooms were dirty and not properly disinfected"...when workers need help with improving their living conditions or defending their rights at work, the brokers are often absent. “It is a real system of control.   Even though the government denies targeting lockdown measures towards migrant workers, it did not stop the authorities and companies that did from doing so.

★ Business Insider, 2021-5-20:  Taiwan ... double standards and stigma still found their way. Notably, in late 2020, a migrant worker from the Philippines was fined 100,000 Taiwan dollars ($3,500) for breaking the mandatory 14-day quarantine for just eight seconds, whereas four visiting DJs were each fined just NT$10,000 ($350) for leaving quarantine to dine and rehearse together.    businessinsider.com/taiwan-covid-19-paradise-health-politics-policy-cdc-2021-5

★ International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2021 Global State of Democracy

(idea.int/gsod/sites/default/files/2021-11/spotlight-on-taiwan-gsod2021.pdf)
SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN     Taiwan’s human rights victories soar no higher than the abhorrent labor conditions—and a bipartisan disinterest in improving them— endemic in Taiwan’s fishing, manufacturing and caregiving sectors.  Stung by recurring criticism, notably from Taiwan’s ombudsman body that the authorities continued to show scant regard for the migrant labour force...

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★ US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 2021-3-30 : Forced labor occurred primarily in sectors reliant on migrant workers including domestic services, fishing, farming, manufacturing, meat processing, and construction. Some labor brokers charged foreign workers exorbitant recruitment fees and used debts incurred from these fees in the source country as tools of coercion to subject the workers to debt bondage.   Migrant fishermen reported senior crewmembers employ coercive tactics such as threats of physical violence, beatings, withholding of food and water, retention of identity documents, wage deductions, and noncontractual compulsory sharing of vessel operational costs to retain their labor. These abuses were particularly prevalent in Taiwan’s large distant-waters fishing fleet, which operated without adequate oversight. 

Foreign workers were often reluctant to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate their contract, subjecting them to possible deportation and leaving them unable to pay off their debt to recruiters.   Foreign workers generally faced exploitation and incurred significant debt burdens during the recruitment process due to excessive brokerage fees, guarantee deposits, and higher charges for flights and accommodations.  Brokerage agencies often required workers to take out loans for “training” and other fees at local branches of Taiwan banks in their home countries at high interest rates, leaving them vulnerable to debt bondage. NGOs suggested the authorities should seek further international cooperation with labor-sending countries, particularly on oversight of transnational labor brokers.   Foreign fishermen were commonly subjected to mistreatment and poor working conditions. Domestic labor laws only apply to fishermen working on vessels operating within Taiwan’s territorial waters. Fishermen working on Taiwan-flagged vessels operating beyond Taiwan’s territorial waters (Taiwan’s distant-waters fishing fleet) were not afforded the same labor rights, wages, insurance, and pensions as those recruited to work within Taiwan’s territorial waters. For example, regulations only require a minimum monthly wage of $450 for these foreign fishermen in the distant water fleet, significantly below the domestic minimum wage. NGOs reported that foreign fishing crews in Taiwan’s distant-waters fishing fleet generally received wages below the required $450 per month because of dubious deductions for administrative fees and deposits. ... estimated 35,000 migrant workers are employed in Taiwan’s distant-waters fishing fleet. The majority of these fishermen are recruited overseas, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines.  The results suggested that 24 percent of foreign fishermen suffered violent physical abuse; 92 percent experienced unlawful wage withholding; 82 percent worked overtime excessively. There were also reports fishing crew members could face hunger and dehydration and have been prevented from leaving their vessels or terminating their employment contracts.

★ National Geographic, 11-25-2020 : Wildlife crimes and human rights abuses plague Taiwanese fishing vessels ...illegal dolphin catching, shark finning, and physical and verbal abuse ...  The assaults,  Indonesian worker Supri says, included his being locked in a freezer when he was still wet from having taken a shower, and being beaten, sprayed in the face with a hose, and shocked with an electric stun gun. In a recent report, the EJF said that abuse of crew members—along with illegal fishing for sharks and dolphins, among other species—is common in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet, one of the world’s largest with more than a thousand vessels. China and Taiwan represent nearly 60 percent of the world’s distant-water fishing vessels. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/11/taiwan-fishing-vessels-perpetuate-illegal-fishing-human-rights-abuses/ 

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★ , 3-16-2021: the U.S. Labor Department placed Taiwan on its 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor... Greenpeace was one of 34 organizations which last November sent a letter to Taiwan’s parliament seeking action on forced labor it said it uncovered in the country’s distant-water fishing fleet. Greenpeace has called for all migrant fishers on Taiwanese vessels to come under the administration of the Ministry of Labor instead of the Fisheries Agency, as it claims the latter doesn't have labor expertise.   seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/taiwan-fishery-agency-response-to-us-dol-blacklisting

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★ , 4-3-2021: Taiwan responds to NGO reports on forced labor within its fishing fleet  /  the Taiwan Fisheries Agency said in its statement it has “endeavored to improve the protection of the rights and benefits of the crew members through institutional guarantees.” The agency provided no additional details to SeafoodSource on the scale of these inspections, Yet the agency also stated elsewhere that its actions are limited because recruiting agents are often based in other countries that do not provide adequate oversight of the practice. However, there are still significant gaps between the well-intended legal reforms and the reality at sea,” Trent told SeafoodSource. “EJF's investigations continue to uncover allegations of bonded labor, excessive working hours, verbal threats, physical abuse, and illegal fishing. Taiwanese distant-water vessels are able to use 32 overseas ports around the world, but only eight have a designated Taiwanese official to conduct inspections. Even at these eight ports, the officials have very little training in detecting human rights abuses.”...Taiwan, insufficient efforts are being made to enforce rules through victim-centered inspections,”  seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/taiwan-responds-to-ngo-reports-on-forced-labor-within-its-fishing-fleet 

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pic.: The websites group was ranked No.1 on US Bing by keyword "foreign laborers in Taiwan" and "international workers in Taiwan" , 2022-1-9, 2021-9-12, 2021-5-17, 9-25-2019, 5-12-2019, 2-28-2019, 11-28-2018; No.3 "foreign laborers in Taiwan"at 2022-6-16

     

No.1   "foreign laborers in Taiwan" on Yahoo search engine , 2022-1-9, 2021-5-17, 3-26-2020, 2-11-2020 

 No.1 "international workers in Taiwan" on Google, 2021-7-31, 1-29-2021 ;  No.3 at 2022-1-9

No.1 "international laborers in Taiwan" on US Google, 2022-1-9, 2021-7-31, 2021-6-23; top 4 at 2022-6-16; The websites group was ranked No.1 on DuckDuckGo by keyword "foreign laborers in Taiwan" , 2021-9-12, 2021-5-17

　
　
　

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★  US  state government - 2019 Trafficking in persons report, Jun. 2020 

Although Taiwan met the minimum standards, significant challenges remained unaddressed. Official stakeholders operated under disparate and often ineffective victim identification procedures, complicating some victims’ access to justice and protective care. Insufficient staffing and inspection protocols continued to impede efforts to combat forced labor on Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessels in the highly vulnerable Distant Water Fleet (DWF). Thousands of migrant domestic caregivers remained at higher risk of exploitation in the absence of specific legislation ensuring their labor rights

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TRAFFICKING PROFILE
As reported in the last five years, human traffickers subject foreign men and women to forced labor and sex trafficking in Taiwan, and traffickers subject local men and women to forced labor and local women and children to sex trafficking. Taiwan women and children are subjected to domestic sex trafficking, including as part of an increasing trend in which traffickers induce and exploit Taiwan and foreign women’s and children’s drug addictions. Taiwan traffickers increasingly use the internet, smartphone apps, livestreaming, and other such online technologies to conduct recruitment activities, often targeting child victims, and to mask their identities from law enforcement. Taiwan traffickers also exploit persons with disabilities in sex trafficking. Traffickers lure women from China and Southeast Asian countries to

 Taiwan through fraudulent marriages and deceptive employment offers for purposes of sex trafficking. Many trafficking victims are migrant workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and, to a lesser extent, individuals from China, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. Taiwan is host to more than 700,000  foreign workers, most of whom are hired in their home countries through recruitment agencies and brokers—including some from Taiwan—to perform low-skilled work as home caregivers and domestic workers, or in farming, manufacturing, meat processing, construction, and fishing. In order to pay brokers’ often exorbitantly high recruitment fees and deposits, some foreign workers incur  ubstantial debts, which the brokers or employers use as tools of coercion to obtain or retain their labor. After recruitment fee and guarantee deposit repayments are garnished from their wages, many foreign workers in Taiwan earn significantly less than the minimum wage. Foreign workers who leave their contracted positions—nearly 50,000 at any given time— are at particularly high risk of trafficking because they lose their immigration status and access to formal sector employment; some of them initially flee due to abusive work conditions, including forced labor. Domestic workers and home caregivers are also especially vulnerable to exploitation,  since they often live in their employers’ residences, making it difficult to monitor their working and living conditions. One NGO survey found that 90 percent of all migrant domestic caregivers have their travel and identity documents withheld by their employers as a coercive measure. Brokers in Taiwan sometimes assist employers in forcibly deporting “problematic” foreign employees should they complain, enabling brokers to fill the empty positions with new foreign workers facing continued debt-based coercion. Some traffickers use Indonesian-owned stores in Taiwan as illegal  remittance channels, confining Indonesian workers and subjecting them to sex trafficking. Traffickers reportedly take advantage of Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy” visa-simplification program to lure Southeast Asian students and tourists to Taiwan and subject them to forced labor and sex trafficking. According to NGOs, more than 200 forprofit universities in Taiwan have begun aggressively recruiting foreign students—particularly Indonesians—and subsequently placing them into exploitative labor conditions under the pretense of educational opportunities. These students are often unaware of the work component prior to arrival and reportedly experience contract switching, prohibitive working hours, and poor living conditions contrary to their original agreements. Documented and undocumented Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Vietnamese fishermen working on Taiwan-owned and -flagged fishing vessels experience non- or under-payment of wages, long working hours, physical abuse, lack of food or medical care, denial of sleep and substandard safety equipment, and poor living conditions while indebted to complex, multinational brokerage networks. Migrant fishermen have reported senior crewmembers employ such coercive tactics as threats of physical violence, beatings, withholding of food and water ... full text : https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report-2020/

◎

★ CTS News,  1-21-2021 : US Trafficking in Persons Report (since 2015) has criticized Taiwan's long-time exploitation of foreign fishing workers.  CTS: Taiwan government keeps covering those Taiwan's fishing businesses

CTS TV News special report, 1-21-2021  8:00pm ~ : US Trafficking in Persons Report (since 2015) has criticized Taiwan's long-time exploitation of foreign fishing workers, about 20,000 immigrant workers are not under protection of Taiwan's laws.  

pic. upper left:  a foreign workers working on Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet for 8 years accused - he has never expected his folk died at front of him.   pic. upper right: a foreign laborer's half side of body fails to move for overwork (slept only 2 hours per day for a long time)  , but the Taiwanese boss did not get a Doctor for him.    pic. left & right:  Expert: Taiwanese government keeps covering those fishing fleet bosses and ignoring human rights.
　

★

★ United Daily 11-30-2020 : Foreign care-giver policy needs to be updated in that secretly transferring "care givers" to "factory workers" ， market chaos ― Taiwanese labor government seems already acknowledged tacitly human trafficking (勞動部默默同意的人口販賣)， now the most urgent thing is to independently manage care givers working for patients with serious illness  https://udn.com/news/story/7339/5053501?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2張姮燕／國際勞工暨雇主和諧企進協會顧問、大學教授
 ★

★ United Daily 12-7-2020 : Foreign laborers' (foreign workers) dorm is like a concentration camp with inhumane environment for years. (brief)  udn.com/news/story/120940/5070384?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

★

★ GreenPeace, 9-16-2020: Taiwan has ignored human rights of foreign workers in total 22,550 on Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleets for years   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxeA_fQQ5M

★
 ★ news:  Minneapolis Star Tribune 8-20-2020: US halts imports linked to Taiwan-based fishing vessel

Accounts of abusive conditions and forced labor have prompted the U.S. to halt imports from a Taiwan-based fishing vessel that reportedly has supplied the global tuna trading company that acquired Bumble Bee Seafoods this year.  https://www.startribune.com/us-blocks-imports-linked-to-taiwan-based-fishing-vessel/572173572/

◎

★  US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 3-11-2020 :  Foreign workers were most susceptible to forced labor, especially when serving as crew members on Taiwan-flagged fishing vessels. Some labor brokers charged foreign workers exorbitant recruitment fees and used debts incurred from these fees in the source country as tools of coercion to subject the workers to debt bondage.  The Ministry of Labor may also permit foreign workers to transfer to new employers in cases of exploitation or abuse.  foreign workers often were reluctant to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the contract and deport them, leaving them unable to reimburse debt accrued during the recruitment process.  The approximately 703,000 foreign workers, primarily from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, were vulnerable to exploitation. Foreign workers generally incurred significant debt burdens during the recruitment process due to excessive brokerage fees, guarantee deposits, and higher charges for flights and accommodations. Brokerage agencies.   Abuse was common in domestic service; there were several reports of employers raping foreign domestic helpers.  Mistreatment and poor working conditions for foreign fishermen remained common. Foreign fishermen recruited offshore were not entitled to the same labor rights, wages.   
 ★ US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 3-13-2019 : The approximately 600,000 foreign workers, primarily from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, were vulnerable to exploitation.  Foreign workers generally faced exploitation and incurred significant debt burdens during the recruitment process due to excessive brokerage fees, guarantee deposits, and higher charges for flights and accommodations.  Mistreatment and poor working conditions for foreign fishermen remained common. Foreign fishermen recruited offshore were not entitled to the same labor rights, wages, insurance, and pensions as those recruited locally.   The Ministry of Labor may also permit foreign workers’ transfer to new employers in cases of exploitation or abuse.   Brokerage agencies often required workers to take out loans for “training” and other fees at local branches of Taiwan banks in their home countries at high interest rates, leaving them vulnerable to debt bondage.

★

　

　

         

pic. left: The websites was ranked No.1 "comment Taiwan migrant workers" on US Yahoo, 2022-6-23  (Chinese version), No.2 at 2022-7-4; pic. : No.1 on ecosiaof Germany, 2022-7-4, 2022-6-23 (Chinese version)

　

　

　

pic. : The websites group was ranked No.1 on US Google by keyword  "foreign laborers in Taiwan" (Chinese version), 2021-5-17, 2-2-2021, 1-26-2020, 1-20-2020  (images No. 1~4 )

　

　

　

★  US  state government - 2019 Trafficking in persons report, Jun. 2019

www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report-2/taiwan/

Although Taiwan met the minimum standards, separation of purview between the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and the Fisheries Agency (FA), coupled with insufficient inspection protocols, continued to impede efforts to address forced labor on Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessels in the highly vulnerable Distant Water Fleet (DWF).  Authorities detained, investigated, and in some cases charged dozens of Taiwan individuals formally designated by a foreign government as victims of forced criminality.

As reported in the last five years, human traffickers subject foreign men and women to forced labor and sex trafficking in Taiwan, and traffickers subject local men and women to forced labor and local women and children to sex trafficking. Taiwan women and children are subjected to domestic sex trafficking, including as part of an increasing trend in which traffickers induce and take advantage of Taiwan and foreign women’s and children’s drug addictions to subject them to sex trafficking. Taiwan traffickers increasingly use the internet, smartphone apps, livestreaming, and other such online technologies to conduct recruitment activities, often targeting child victims, and to mask their identities from law enforcement.

Traffickers lure women from China and Southeast Asian countries to Taiwan through fraudulent marriages and deceptive employment offers for purposes of sex trafficking. Many trafficking victims are migrant workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and to a lesser extent, individuals from China, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.

Documented and undocumented Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Vietnamese fishermen working on Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessels experience non- or under-payment of wages, long working hours, physical abuse, lack of food or medical care, denial of sleep, and poor living conditions while indebted to complex, multinational brokerage networks. Migrant fishermen have reported senior crewmembers employ such coercive tactics as threats of physical violence, beatings, withholding of food and water, and pay deductions to retain their labor.
★

　

　

pic.:  Next TV news (壹新聞), 1-30-2021: a bad living environment for the laborers.
 roaches are everywhere in the dorm for foreign workers from Philippines and Vietnam

　

★★

　 　


pic.:  NEXT TV news (壹新聞), 1-30-2021: Taiwanese crowds protest Indonesian care-givers' regarding critical patients as a stepping stone, they may ask to transfer to another patient or just run away after coming Taiwan, this may harms patient's health because the next care-giver come usually after 6 months or even a year.  Taiwan government has never spent efforts on arresting illegal care-givers. 
The website urges (1) Taiwan should broaden source-countries to avoid Indonesia dominating the market and rising the price sometimes ( some laborers may damage your property to pressure you, secret camera may not catch them ), at present around 80% care takers are Indonesians  (2) establish a resume system so that new boss can have opinions from previous bosses,  therefore the gov. can kick out those bad laborers out of the country  (3) Since old weak ill patients are hard to take the burden of proof, the judicial systems should work better.

　

pic.:  NEXT TV news (壹新聞), 1-30-2021:  Taiwanese crowds lift "uncivilized barbarous policy" banner to protest the Indonesian's unilateral new policy requiring Taiwan's boss to pay extra NT$40,000~70,000 (USD 1300~2300)  

　

  

pic. left :  NEXT TV news (壹新聞), 1-30-2021: Taiwan's demand increases, pic. right : Taiwanese are harder to afford Indonesian care-givers

　

★

★ Formosa TV (民視英語新聞) English News at 3-25-2019:   In 2018, a total of 500 people in tour groups ran off...   All workers from Southeast Asia know that in Taiwan there are no consequences for getting caught, so why not run for it?  Even on social media, they openly say that Taiwan is the perfect place to run away... construction, agriculture and caretaking are the main sectors where escapees end up ... Brokerage fees are not the main cause for escaping.  That's an erroneous assumption.  Over half of the workers that run away are caretakers.   Many workers flee in hopes of finding better-paying jobs.   But after running away, many end up realizing that the promises of higher wages were all lies.   They paid same wages (as working legally), but gave laborers harder work to do.      illegal migrants  New !   UDN 2-6-2020: illegal foreign workers might be loophole of Taiwan's CoronaVirus epidemic prevention.   At Feb. 26, 2020, within 5 hours Taiwan police arrested an illegal foreign worker who took care of a CoronaVirus patient a number of days ago, but, without CoronaVirus involved, Taiwanese officials catch no illegal migrant workers, you can tell whether or not Taiwan gov. is part of crime structure?  

★

★  United Daily (聯合報),12-28-2019:  Foreign laborers' first concern is not the laws (法律不是外勞 的第一優先考量).

★
★ a 140-meter Bridge collapse in Taiwan at Oct. 1, 2019 , all dead are foreign laborers or migrant workers (fishermen) / HK01.com, 10-5-2019

　

　

              

◆  New York Post,  10-3-2019 : The dead, 3 Indonesians and 3 Filipinos, were drawn to work in Taiwan vast fishing fleet where condition can be difficult ...
 ◆  CNN, 10-1-2019 : bridge collapse send tanker trick plummeting into boats ...

◆  UDN Taiwan, 10-6-2019: why do foreign fishermen human rights problems happened repeatedly ?  two key points are (1) part of the law and decrees, measures are no good (2)  not well enforce the law and decrees

◆  Economic Daily, United Daily, 7-10-2019:  Taiwan gov. statistics in recent 3 years show that about one foreign laborer suffered occupational injury in every single day, one died every other day, 1065 disabled in recent 3 years. 

★

　

pic.: The websites group was ranked No.1 on US Google by keyword  "international workers in Taiwan", 3-26-2020, 1-21-2020,  9-25-2019, 9-1-2019, 6-15-2019, 5-12-2019, 2-28-2019, 11-1-2018

　

　

pic. : No.1   "foreign laborers in Taiwan" on US Google , 3-26-2020, 1-30-2020 

　

The websites group was ranked No.1 on US Google by keyword  "international laborers in Taiwan", 11-26-2020, 8-8-2020, 1-25-2020, 11-11-2019, 9-25-2019, 8-26-2019, 6-15-2019, 5-12-2019, 2-28-2019, 11-1-2018

　

　

pic.: The websites group was ranked No.1 on US Google by keyword  "international workers in Taiwan", 11-11-2019
　　

pic. right: The websites group was ranked top 2 on ASK by keyword  "international workers in Taiwan" , 9-26-2019, 5-13-2019
　 ★

◎★

　

★  Apple Daily (蘋果日報),  2-28-2019
 50 thousands of foreign laborers run away and became illegal workers,  for low salary (30%), not getting along well with their boss (27%), heavy work load, environmental problems, and high agency fees.
The number of  Indonesian labor : 268576 (run away 20418), Vietnamese labor 223300(31642), Philippines 154209 (1581), Thai 60764 (1932).

　

　

pic. left: about 1/7 Vietnamese laborers, 1/12 Indonesian laborers run away and became illegal workers in Taiwan, mainly for getting illegal high pay. / Apple Daily, 2-28-2019

　

★ The site urges Taiwanese government should act strictly in accordance with the law (◆  run away illegal migrants ), and open the care-givers market for  more countries so as to push them to compete with each other, and eliminate those ◆ foreign laborers with bad work attitude, illegal behavior, bad professional skills, etc.  Certainly, get migrant workers escaped caught !  Many foreign laborers are potential criminals.

　
　 　

   ★

★

★  Green Peace, 5-2-2019:  It remains our view that Taiwanese fisheries still have many serious problems, both environmental and social, and that the need for reform is clear and urgent.

　

★  Economic Daily, United Daily, 7-10-2019
     According to gov. statistics in recent 3 years, about one foreign laborer suffered occupational injury in every single day, one died every other day, 1065 disabled in recent 3 years. 

　

★  United Daily, 7-15-2019, topic
     Agriculture business hired more and more illegal foreign laborers for being short of legal workers, part of about 50000 "run-away" foreign laborers worked and then moved from one place to another in search of NTD120 hourly payments.

　

★  Lowy Institute & <the interpreter>, 5-2-2019: The Taiwan-flagged Wen Peng...allegedly killed one Filipino and one Indonesian. Six other foreign crew members were reportedly forced to jump into the sea and were never found.

★

★ UDN(聯合報), 11-10-2019:  The number of Taiwan's migrants' (foreign laborers') babies who lack "hukou", official household registration is a controversy, government's statistics is just a tip of the iceberg, some media reported the number is more than 50000.

　

　

              

◆


pic.:  Taiwan's migrant workers hide in mountains to give birth or got abortion ...... to avoid being deported

　

★
　

　

　

　
　

 ★ Apple Daily (蘋果日報), 8-30-2019, headline news : KMT presidential candidate, Han Kuo-Yu, used a sarcastic comment "chickens in " to mock or describe foreign laborers.   Taiwan has the phenomenon of discrimination against foreign laborers since before.
  ★ Liberty Times (自由時報), 8-30-2019, headline news : KMT presidential candidate's "phoenix out, chickens in" means "talents out, labor in".    The entry or reentry all are labor, talents leaving this country is a serious problem.
      Taiwanese society as a whole has the phenomenon of discrimination against foreign laborers, Mr. Han just mirrored Taiwanese collective social consciousness and general mentality (社會普遍心態、會集體意識基礎)。

　

★
 ★

★  United Daily, 3-5-2019, head-page news, Apple Daily (蘋果日報),  3-5-2019
        Philippines college students became "slaves" in Taiwan, Taiwan's university forced 52 Philippines students to part-time work illegally, the administration gave punishment to the univ.
      United Daily, 8-10-2019, Control Yuan corrects Ministry of Education for that foreign students of many universities and colleges became illegal sweat-shop workers which seriously damage the image of Taiwan.

  

★  Apple Daily (蘋果日報),  3-8-2019

        Taiwanese rising star politician 韓國瑜 clarified 'discriminating Philippines' controversy...  ( " foreign labors became English teacher ?" "瑪麗亞怎變老師?")  

  

★

　 　

　

No.1 rankings by Chinese keywords on best search engines, ~ 2019

         

pic. : The sites group was ranked No.1 by Chinese keyword "comment foreign labor in Taiwan"
 on Google  ,  9-4-2019, 5-12-2019  (items above are ads)

　

　

            

 The sites group was ranked No.1 commenting "Foreign laborers in Taiwan"
on US Bing  , Yahoo Taiwan
 5-12-2019, 2-28-2019, 11-28-2018  (in  Chinese version)  No.3 on Bing, 2022-6-16

　

　

　
　

　

　

● 2018 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( released at 4.20.2018 ) : One of  principal Taiwan's human rights problems was exploitation of foreign workers, including forced labor.

● 2017 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( released at 3.13.2017 ) : One of  principal Taiwan's human rights problems was exploitation of foreign workers, including foreign crewmembers on long-haul fishing vessels and household caregivers.

● 2016 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( released at 4.13.2016 ) : principal human rights problems were labor exploitation of migrant workers by fishing companies, exploitation of domestic workers by brokerage agencies, and official corruption. 
● 2015 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( released at 6.26.2015 ) pointed out  Taiwan's principal human rights problems includes labor exploitation of migrant workers by fishing companies.
● 2014 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( issued 2.27.2014 ) comments Taiwan still suffers from the exploitation of migrant workers and from corruption in high places.

● 2013  <international human rights review panel> visiting Taiwan urged improving rights for Taiwan's migrant workers, indigenous people, women, gay, etc.
 ● 2012 annual report by <Amnesty International> (London, UK) criticizes Migrant-workers rights status in Taiwan.
●<2011 USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( issued April 11, 2011 ) comments one of Taiwanese major human rights problems is : abuses of foreign/international laborers/workers,  
Taiwan government's foreign laborer policy and systems exploit int'l workers' rights to resist, hence, abuses of international workers happened again and again.
 ★

　  ●   Foreign laborers' crimes, violence ... click !!
◎

comments by international/local media :

◎
●

★  Apple Daily (蘋果日報),  11-15-2018,  Focus (深度專題報導) :  The number of "hidden rape (性侵黑數)" is huge,  estimate 1 case happens per 4 days,  foreign laborers endured for money sake;  Taiwan government is very behind on maintaining human rights of foreign laborers in Taiwan.
      ★

★  United Daily News (聯合報)  8-12-2018, headlines
       Run-away foreign laborers have been hiding in hospitals as care givers, illegally, and suspectedly - low-quality services  (失聯移工竄入醫院  違法當看護  照顧品質堪虞)

　

★  RTI (中央廣播電台 Radio Taiwan International )  12-26-2018,

        Control Yuan at 8-9-2018 corrects Immigration Agency (gov.) for doing a bad job on investigating illegal agents and employers, and worsening run-away foreign laborers situation (行蹤不明外勞仍未呈下降趨勢；移民署對於非法雇主及非法仲介查察不力，或無法掌握確切事證).

　

　 　

　

Taiwan's exploitation

　

pic.: USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices: 
Most salary of foreign laborers in Taiwan were
deducted by the
agent-brokers / Apple Daily ( 蘋果日報), 4-22-2018

　

ps: without government's or state machine's agreements, little agent-brokers dare to do this?

    

       

　

　

pic.: The US human rights report:  The salary that foreign laborers in Taiwan really get in each month is
 only 6.7% of official poverty gap ratio / China Times (中國時報), 3-5-2017

　

　

　

　

pic.: None to mention "illegal exploitation",  "legal exploitation" alone makes foreign laborers
in Taiwan work more than one year for nothing.  / Wealth (財訊)

　

　

　

　

　
　

　

　

　

★

★  Apple Daily (蘋果日報),    12-19-2018,  special report :  Taiwan was involved in transnational human trafficking (人口販運風暴)
       Taiwan government failed to master the hidden crewmembers  ("幽靈漁工") on long-haul fishing vessels， the dark number is at least some thousands ，Taiwanese government was questioned being failed to really guard and check the human trafficking issue ，the head of Fisheries Admin. expressed local government should do the check, but, Kaohsiung city gov. said they can not do anything about it  (brief)

★

★ The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices , released at   4-20-2018

       One of  principal Taiwan's human rights problems was exploitation of foreign workers, including forced labor.
       Labor laws do not cover domestic workers, leaving them vulnerable to labor exploitation. Forced labor occurred in such sectors as domestic services, fishing, farming, manufacturing, and construction. Foreign workers were most susceptible to forced labor, especially when serving as crew members on Taiwan-flagged fishing vessels. Some labor brokers charged foreign workers exorbitant recruitment fees and used debts incurred from these fees in the source country as tools of coercion to subject the workers to debt bondage
       Household caregivers and domestic workers are not protected under the law and are not covered by a mandated minimum wage, overtime pay, limits on the workday or workweek, minimum breaks, or vacation regulations. Brokerage agencies often require workers to take out loans for “training” and other fees at local branches of Taiwan banks in their home countries at high interest rates, leaving them vulnerable to debt bondage......  foreign workers often were unwilling to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the contract and deport them, leaving them unable to reimburse debt accrued during the recruitment process. ●

●

★ 

★ The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices , released at   3-3-2017

       One of  principal Taiwan's human rights problems was exploitation of foreign workers, including foreign crewmembers on long-haul fishing vessels and household caregivers.  Types of exploitation included migrant workers becoming victims of domestic violence and official corruption.   Human rights groups had long protested that the law left migrant workers open to exploitation from third-party brokers.

●

★ <The China Times>, Taiwan, 9.19.2017 

       Taiwan's judicial system has not put enough efforts on exploitation of  foreign workers on fishing vessels, therefore this kind of case happened again and again. 

●

★ The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices , released at 4-13-2016

　

Principal human rights problems were labor exploitation of migrant workers by fishing companies, exploitation of domestic workers by brokerage agencies, and official corruption.   Migrant workers, including those from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand, were vulnerable to exploitation.  NGOs asserted that foreign workers often were unwilling to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the contract and deport them, leaving them unable to reimburse debt accrued to brokers or others.

●

★ The Reporter & Indonesian 《Tempo Magazine》, 12-19-2016

Apple Daily News head-page (12-19-2016) : Shame of Taiwan, the kingdom of long-distance fishing -  Taiwanese ocean-going vessels exploited 10 thousand foreign laborers every year.  <The Reporter> (https://www.twreporter.org/a/far-sea-fishing-indonesia-fishermen-death) looks into the case an Indonesian imported fisherman worker was suspicious of  being abused to death.

 ★★

★ <The United Daily>, Taiwan, 2.27.2017,  http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201702270013.aspx

   Shocks ! The number of social welfare immigrant workers grows 3 times.
   Shocks !! How many immigrant workers were abused !
   The unspoken secret -  In Taiwan, foreign caregivers are everywhere, people can see them taking out the trash, cleaning the garbage, accompanying the boss window-shopping, working as baby-sitter ...... but, according to the official files, there are only 2000- immigrant workers are housemaids ( home-helpers, domestic workers ), hence it's within reason to suspect that many of them are actually care-givers ? The government should look into this issue. 

 ★★

★ <USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> ( released at 6.26.2015 )

      Taiwan's "principal human rights problems" includes "labor exploitation of migrant workers by fishing companies"... and it mentions foreign laborers' real wage is lower than the standard.

US report2015◎   
 "Regulations require intensified inspection and oversight of foreign labor brokerage companies. NGOs reported that some labor brokers and employers regularly collected high fees or loan payments from foreign workers, using debts incurred in the source country as a tool for involuntary servitude. At the end of June, 517,187 documented migrants worked in Taiwan; of these, 222,571 were from Indonesia, 100,203 from the Philippines, 59,806 from Thailand, and 134,600 from Vietnam. At the end of May, a total of 43,772 undocumented foreigners were working in Taiwan, according to National Immigration Agency statistics. NGOs asserted that foreign workers often were unwilling to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the contract and deport them, leaving them unable to pay back debt accrued to brokers or others.

A June BBC report quoted migrant fisherman and NGOs describing exploitative conditions aboard Taiwan-owned fishing vessels. According to this report, in April a Cambodian court sentenced the manager of the Taiwan fishing company Giant Ocean and five associates to 10 years in prison and ordered them to pay compensation to 150 victims. On August 14, Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Kor Vandy affirmed the sentence and ordered the offenders to pay compensation to 180 victims.

An employer may deduct only labor insurance fees, health insurance premiums, income taxes, and meal and lodging fees from the wages of a foreign worker. Violators face fines of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 ($1,940 to $9,700) and loss of hiring privileges. Critics, however, complained that violations continued and that the Ministry of Labor did not effectively enforce statutes and regulations intended to protect foreign laborers from unscrupulous brokers and employers.

In addition to a Ministry of Labor-operated Foreign Worker Direct-Hire Service Center that allowed local employers to rehire their foreign employees, the ministry operated a direct-hire web platform to allow local employers to hire foreign workers online without having to go through a broker. NGOs, however, asserted that complicated procedures and restrictions on use of both the Service Center and the online service prevented widespread implementation, and they advocated lifting restrictions on transfers between employers. The maximum time foreign workers were allowed to stay in Taiwan was 12 years.

The service center also permitted the direct rehiring of foreign workers engaged in manufacturing, fisheries, construction, and other industries."

　


  ◎
★ <Heritage Foundation> & <WallStreet Journal>, 02-02- 2016  （2016 Index of Economic Freedom）

       The score of Labor Freedom (53.8) is down in this year's report, The rigidity of the labor market and lingering corruption continue to hold back overall economic freedom...

　

★ <The Liberty Times>, Taiwan, 4.16.2015

      Taipei city council (4.15.2015), a councilor/alderman(歐陽龍) : "Using foreign laborers in improper or illegal way has already been a reality in our society... everywhere in Taiwan".

◎

★ <The United Daily >, Taiwan, 12.14.2015
      about 1000 foreign laborer demonstrators in a parade demanded for no harms/injuries/wounded by each other and no exploitation of both sides ―  patients (the disabilities) and laborers.   Some laborers can't have one day off even they're wounded. (brief)
      <The China Times>, 12.14.2015     A Vietnamese laborer has not had one day off for 12 years.

◎

★ <United Daily News>, Taiwan, 1.12.2015
     editorial column "the poison of hatred and revenge"
     ... During this global counterterrorism moment, we urge Taiwanese should not maliciously treat Islam people particularly Indonesian foreign laborers  ... 

◎

★ <USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices, 2013> ( issued 2.27.2014 )

　

      Foreign household caregivers and domestic workers in Taiwan are unable to enjoy the same rights enjoyed by their Taiwanese counterparts, including a minimum wage and/or overtime pay, limits on workdays and/or workweeks, break entitlements, as well as vacations.

◎

★  CNA, Taiwan, 11-23-2014

    

       Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla announced Friday a plan to freeze female labor exports in five years to protect Indonesian women.

       ... because ... many Indonesian women are forced to travel overseas to seek better prospects, but many end up victims of mental or physical abuse. (ps)

◎

★ March 1, 2013  <international human rights review panel> visiting Taiwan.
The members of the review panel includes Philip Alston, law professor at New York University; Eibe Riedel, former member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Jerome Cohen, law professor at New York University; and Nisuke Ando, professor emeritus at Kyoto University.

  The review panel urged improving rights for Taiwan's migrant workers, indigenous people, women, gay and transgender people, and people with disabilities.

◎

　

★  TOP TV , Taiwan (高點電視),  Oct. 13/14, 2012

　

A TV  informal discussion meeting/a symposium/a forum ( participants including Taipei City Council's councilor namely 林瑞圖 , government official, famous people, etc) mentioned:

    1) The number of runaway(escaped) foreign workers and home-care maids in Taiwan is up to 30000~40000,  Vietnamese ranked 1st, Indonesian 2nd, many workers're ripped off by high-position officials/people in power, e.g., city mayor, County Magistrate, city/county councilors, legislators( sort like senators/congressmen in the US), and so on.

   2) They took Vietnamese as example, those workers usually earned only about NT 2000 (about USD65) per month in their country (so they willing to be workers overseas), but before coming to Taiwan they need to pay NT180000-240000 (about USD 5800-7800) to agencies, so they are in bad situation.

　

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★ Aug. 13, 2013, <the Liberty Times>, <the China Times>, <華視>, <Youtube>, etc
  Taiwan's legislators questioned that Taiwanese government together with Philippines government help the agency to exploit migrant workers ―  Filipinos workers were forced to sign some unnecessary document ( promissory notes for overcharged agent-fee) so that the agency can request the court to (enforce) deduct laborer's salary, hence some workers even can't have enough food and clothing.

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★ 2012 <Amnesty International>, London, UK,  annual report The State of the World's Human Rights 2012, May 24, 2012

Migrant workers were unable to freely change employer. Domestic migrant workers and care-givers were often forced to work without adequate rest. The media exposed abuse and exploitation of migrant workers by government officials and celebrities.


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This page ranking No.1 on English google by the keyword "international workers in Taiwan",
 test at  1-7-2015, 10-28-2015, Dec. 3, 2014
also ranking No. 1 on google by keyword "international laborers in Taiwan", test at 10-29-2015
　

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台灣的外勞foreign laborer in Taiwan
 No.1 on English Google by keyword "Taiwan foreign laborer" at July 7, 2014,  9-1-2017
No.1 on yahoo by keyword "foreign laborers in Taiwan", 10-29-2015

　

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No.1 on Yahoo by keyword "Taiwan foreign laborer" at July 7, 2014

　

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No.1 on Yahoo by keyword "international workers in Taiwan"
at Jan. 7, 2015, Dec. 3, 2014, July 31, 2013
　

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★  2011 human rights report <USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices> USA , issued April 8, 2011

       There were still problems with corruption, violence and discrimination against women and children, as well as human trafficking, abuses of foreign workers.

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★  <Amnesty International>, London, UK,  annual report The State of the World's Human Rights 2011, May 13, 2011

Taiwan was criticized over issues to do with the death penalty, freedom of expression, justice and migrants' rights (It also voiced concerns over the slow progress to enact a judges' act to address corruption scandals involving high court judges and over the working conditions of migrant workers.). 

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★ <the China Times> editorial  2013.03.08

It's human rights issue for Taiwanese old people & children having better home-care by foreign maids, but  It's still too difficult for them (particularly Taiwanese old people) legally apply for a foreign maid to take care of them, Taiwan's government should modify the law concerning this issue... 

　

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★  <Liberty Times> Taiwan,   Sept. 17, 2012

Many foreign workers and group from Indonesia, Philippines protest for a red line set up in central hall, Taipei main station, they think it's a discrimination against them for stopping their gathering in such a convenient location.   A researcher said the protest also tried to highlight foreign workers'  long vacation, leisure issues, etc.
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★  <Taipei Times> Taiwan,   Dec. 10, 2010

       Illegal laborer brokers set to get tougher penalties .... Council statistics show about 34000 runaway foreign workers in Taiwan ... Sept. 6 deaths of 6 runaway foreign workers, ... illegally employed ... on the No. 6 freeway.
         <Taiwan Post> : ...the government believes brokers must take major responsibility for the problem of runaways ...
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★  <China Times> Taiwan,   Oct. 2, 2010

     Without being treated as human beings, 35,000 foreign workers run away.   ( total number of foreign laborer/workers: 372,146,  Taiwan's population : 23,000,000 or so)
       Sometimes international workers earn less than NT3000 (US$ 90) per month.

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★ BBC website, the Straits Times (Singapore), Associated Press, AFP, ABS-CBN TV (Philippines),
    India Times, and DailyMail of UK,  the Jakarta Post (May 14, 2010), etc.

A Taiwanese Co. employer forced three Muslim Indonesian women to eat pork (this violates Muslim religion) over a seven-month period.

Indonesian government condemns such action ( forcing foreign-laborer/workers to consume pork) as it was against appropriate values, calling upon the Taiwanese government to pay “serious attention” to the case.

ps: <United daily News>   May 13, 2010  reported a Taiwanese int'l labor union leader said that those workers accused salary problems, instead of having pork.

　

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★ <三立新聞>  TV morning news，  7:45am ， 9/15/2012

 'Indonesian worker accused amid tears for being abused -  foreign home care workers became "Roustabout" '「Chinese caption: 看護工變打雜工、 印勞泣訴遭虐」

 A steak shop illegally used Indonesian worker, from 6 am early morning till 12 am late night,  and the boss gave expired medicine to the foreign worker ......

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★  USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices, issued Mar 11, 2010 

      Human Rights Reports : Taiwan        

NGOs reported that laborer brokers and employers regularly collected high fees or loan payments from foreign workers, frequently using debt as a tool for involuntary servitude, and that foreign workers were unwilling to report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the contract and forcibly deport them, leaving them unable to pay back debt accrued to brokers or others.

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★ WikiPedia Human trafficking in Taiwan               Sept. 2010

◎ Taiwan is primarily a destination for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced laborer and sexual exploitation. It is also a source of women trafficked to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Women and girls from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) and Southeast Asian countries are trafficked to Taiwan through fraudulent marriages, deceptive employment offers, and illegal smuggling for sexual exploitation and forced laborer.

◎ Many foreign workers remain vulnerable to trafficking because legal protections, oversight by authorities and enforcement efforts are inadequate.

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Ranking No.1 on Yahoo by keyword "Taiwan foreign workers", tests at July 31, 2013.
　

　
　
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 ★   <Dept. of Education> Taiwan ROC government        May 28, 2010
Human rights library
Human rights Education advisory and resources center
　
　
Taiwan government assigns those works that Taiwanese unwilling to do to foreign laborer ... total number of international laborers and "new immigrants" is nearly 700 thousands, which is more than that of aboriginal (about 440 thousands）。
 
Quite a lot of Taiwanese employers have abused foreign laborer for a long run ―  i.e., no vacation permitted,  no socialization permitted ( going out alone not allowed ...）, no home phone calls permitted ... workers almost work for nothing in the first 2 years, .....  ―   they treat foreign laborer as slaves.

News stories regarding foreign laborer in main stream media almost are negative  ―   int'l workers run away, rob, steal ......　so as to strengthen Taiwanese prejudices and fears to foreign workers, therefore, Taiwanese people prefer to keep a safe distance with foreign laborer/workers.

 
In nature, there's no big difference　between Today's Taiwan and the US  taking racial apartheid policy before 1960 ... （i.e., no eating on the same table, no laundry together, etc）...
 
As for Taiwan's government,  discrimination control happened again and again  ―   workers need "too" many health examinations, no blood donation permitted （assume international workers are dirty, and being inferior to Taiwanese）, government acquiesced employers to exploit those workers.
 

All above are the tip of a big iceberg  .....  

(Chinese written by 王乾任)

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★      <United daily News>  Taiwan,  May 13, 2010

Taiwan nice to white people, but despises int'l laborer

Taiwan's laborer system led to lots of abuses of international workers.

Taiwan is very friendly to or even has brown nose (toady to, flatter) to white people, but looks down upon color people, .......  Taiwanese often feel they faced discrimination while overseas, but Taiwanese also treat in similar way to other little countries' people .....

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★    <Taiwan News>   May 4, 2010   issue no. 397

Cheap laborers can save Taiwan's economy ?    

The "PM" of Taiwan stated foreign laborer/workers don't have basic/min wage  ―   they have at most NT8000 - 9000 per month. 【written by 陳文哲】

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★  Several illegal foreign laborer/workers died in an accident   ―   sprawling network of scaffolding collapsed on a construction site of the national freeway in Taiwan.    

    ◎  <Taipei Times>   Oct. 3, 2010   

      Council statistics show that ...... the number of recorded runaway foreign workers has reached more than 90,000.

      While about ......  more than 30,000 people (ps: escaped/undocumented foreign workers) still unaccounted for, official tallies show.

      According to figures from the council’s Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, ......  the 372,146 migrant workers in Taiwan at that time.


    ◎  <CTS> Taiwan, evening news Oct. 1, 2010   7:10pm

       "Police failed to find those illegal foreign workers dying in a national freeway accident (a headline news in Taiwan), we can see how serious Taiwan's int'l laborer problem is."(English interpretation)

    ◎  <CTV> Taiwan, evening news Oct. 1, 2010    7:28pm

      The number of runaway illegal international workers in Taiwan is around 33,000 (ps Apple Daily: 33510, China times: 35000)

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★  <TVBS> of Hong Kong in Taiwan, Oct. 7, 2010     6:55 pm evening news

     Female foreign workers feel uncomfortable, for dormitory video camera near wash-room taking pictures on them (some persons pass some pictures within group).  

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★ <Apple Daily News> Taiwan    Oct. 20, 2009

5 Vietnamese workers (age 20+ yrs old) cried for being "slaves" in Taiwan   ―     working 16 hours per day,  each taking care 10+ old men,  being forced to do medical treatment/actions (i.e., pulls out the phlegm) , with salary only NT 2000 (about US$ 65),  besides, their boss often threatened them that the employer would terminate their contracts and forcibly deport them,  and locked them together with old men inside the house without freedom .... 

Some foreign worker was wounded by cat paws bad-guys after a County Representative concerned this issue. ( now already a courthouse case )
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According to UN's statistics, int'l Human trafficking relates at least 4 million people, with money value US$ 7000 - 10000 million, and has grown with high speed each year.

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This page ranked No.1 in Google by Chinese keyword "Foreign workers Taiwan", test at Feb. 14, 2011 & Dec. 16, 2010 

　

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★  TV news (2010-09-13 23:20)  mod.cht.com.tw   PTS  

 Int'l workers protest Taiwan police's strong law enforcements regardless of human rights                      

A police "wrestled & touched down" and straddled a female international workers,  that is questioned as an over-reaction law enforcement.  

Today about 70-80 furious international workers on protest at front of the <Chung-Cheng> police station declared that Taiwanese police discriminated and didn't treat South-eastern Asian workers as human beings,  and asked police to apology in public.

They also expressed that Taiwanese police like to interrogate and examine them in the street, instead, treat white people in totally different way. 

★ <Apple Daily News>  Taiwan,   May 14, 2010  

Is Taiwan still a civilized society ?    int'l workers' residence place  ―  like  "prison/concentration camp".

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★ KMT political Party official website,  Sept 25, 2010

Who did this?！ exploit foreign workers' human rights,  and don't care Taiwanese workers' survival？ 

A riot protest by Thailand workers in Aug.'05  shocks  Taiwan by its dark sides behind foreign-laborer exploitative systems.

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★ <United daily News> Taiwan,    Sept. 6, 2009 

A Taiwanese high ranking official sexual assaulted a girl foreign worker in office building.

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ps:   Certainly there're good and bad int'l workers, besides, part of the laborer system bad for Taiwanese needs improvements too, i.e., a very old man may live alone for a long queue (time) for a new worker   ―  because the previous worker escaped for certain reason not employer's fault.  Taiwan's Apple Daily News (Sept. 15, 2012) reported a foreign worker went for happy shopping and left very old person ( she should take care of ) alone in the street.   My personal experience ... an irresponsible foreign laborer from Indonesia!

ps:  abstract from major media article & reports                        

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　  ●   Foreign workers' crimes, violence on the disability ...  click !
　 ★ For precise meanings pls. refer to Chinese language version  article ...

　
　

　

　

 　
    
    Taiwan abuses foreign workers ― a serious problem!
     The entry or reentry "international workers" are "foreign laborers", mostly

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