VZCZCXRO6529
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #1804 2220129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100129Z AUG 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6324
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7117
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 1278
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2028
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5997
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0457
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8362
UNCLAS TAIPEI 001804
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AIT/W, EAP/TC, INR/EAP, G/TIP
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: Southern Taiwan Showing Signs of Transformation in
Combating TIP
REF: 2007 Taipei 1561
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY
1. (U) Summary: AIT/K has offered a variety of TIP events to
Southern Taiwan audiences, resulting in increased awareness of the
victim-centered approach. Local government agencies and
non-governmental organizations have eagerly accepted TIP seminars
and training events, but concede that they must do more to better
address trafficking issues. Additional training from AIT would
help. Local law enforcement officials have broken with past
practice and have begun to recognize exploited laborers as
trafficking victims. End Summary.
2. (U) Audiences in southern Taiwan have eagerly accepted AIT/K's
offer to share effective methods in handling TIP cases. To date,
thousands of southern Taiwan police officials (street-level officers
and high-ranking officials), hundreds of staff from the
newly-established National Immigration Administration Bureau, and
dozens of prosecutors have received instructions on how to identify
potential TIP victims and better act on TIP cases.
3. (U) Recent roundtable discussions and meetings in coordination
with G/TIP Senior Coordinator Mark Taylor's visit to Kaohsiung
(REFTEL) facilitated open dialogues between local law enforcement
officials, NGOs, and prosecutors. Digital video conferences
sponsored by Taipei in coordination with AIT/K have provided a
platform for inter-agency communication. As a result, many southern
Taiwan officials have expressed to AIT that the island's current
response to the trafficking problem is still inadequate. AIT
continues to encourage our Taiwan partners to pursue a comprehensive
anti-trafficking act to protect TIP victims and to adequately punish
traffickers.
4. (SBU) Two recent events in Chiayi County, where AIT/K has strong
TIP contacts, demonstrate that a transition is beginning to take
place. On July 30th, Chiayi County police identified a group of
foreign workers as victims of labor exploitation. Rather than
following the past practice of placing them in detention centers,
the victims were placed into shelters and are being provided legal
aid. Wang Mei-chuan, Division Chief of the Chiayi County Foreign
Affairs Police, who has complained about the difficulty of
distinguishing victims from law breakers, called AIT/K to report
that this group would be treated as confirmed victims. The Chiayi
District Prosecutors Office has also been an active partner,
granting those foreign workers protection in accordance with the
witness protection law as well as assisting them to claim
compensation and pursue restitution of their withheld salaries.
5. (U) Demonstrating their commitment to rooting out the official
corruption which enables traffickers to escape prosecution, on
August 6th, the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office took into custody
NIA Chiayi Branch Office Director Lin Shun-dang. Lin is suspected
of colluding with brokers and traffickers to warn them of impending
raids. Lin is further suspected of strong-arming, even arresting,
foreign laborers that brokers found difficult to control.
6. (U) Comment. Many southern Taiwan officials have expressed a
desire to punish traffickers, while adopting the victim-centered
approach in their dealings with confirmed victims. While these
signs of progress at the local level are promising, local officials
complain about budget shortfalls. At the local and national level,
the Taiwan authorities must do more to better identify and protect
victims of trafficking. Additional training from AIT and other USG
agencies would help. End Comment.
Pierre-Louis
Young