Washington, June 28 (CNA) Taiwan has obtained a top-tier ranking for the ninth consecutive year in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. State Department on Thursday.
Taiwan was listed in the Tier 1 category because its authorities fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, the 2018 report said.
It said that in the past year, Taiwan continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts such as sharply increasing the number of trafficking prosecutions, identifying a significantly higher number of victims and providing improved service for such persons compared with previous years.
However, the report said, the separation of purview between the Ministry of Labor and the Fisheries Agency continued to impede efforts to address forced labor on Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessels in the highly vulnerable distant water fleet.
Also, authorities at times did not pursue appropriate legal action against Taiwan individuals reported to have subjected migrant workers to forced labor on fishing vessels, according to the report.
Lack of awareness and dissuasive performance evaluation systems in the judiciary continued to drive lenient sentencing for traffickers, and domestic workers and caregivers remained at elevated risk due to a stalled domestic worker protection bill, it added.
In addition, certain provisions of Taiwan's child sexual exploitation laws appeared insufficient to criminalize all forms of the crime, the report said.
It recommended that Taiwan increase its efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers under the anti-trafficking law and sentence convicted traffickers to sufficiently stringent punishments.
Taiwan should also increase oversight of and prosecute the owners of Taiwan-owned and -flagged fishing vessels suspected of forced labor in the distant water fleet, and enact legislation that would address gaps in basic labor protections for household caregivers and domestic workers, the report recommended.
The report further said that as in last five years, Taiwan remains a destination for individuals subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.
Taiwan women and children are subjected to domestic sex trafficking, as part of an increasing trend in which traffickers induce and take advantage of drug addictions among foreign and local victims, it said.
In addition, there have been reports of Taiwanese citizens engaged in illegal business operations overseas that indicate human trafficking, including telecom scams targeting Chinese victims, according to the report.
(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Y.F. Low)
Enditem/pc