Taiwan

Police uncovered a Taiwanese trafficking ring and arrested Lee Min Long, as he left for Taiwan with a suitcase packed with pictures and personal documents of 400 Vietnamese women. According to the police, from 1993 to 1998, Long traveled 23 times to Vietnam to organize a network selling Vietnamese women to Taiwan. Through local accomplices working at karaoke bars, restaurants and hotels, Long found young girls, generally from the countryside, and lured them with the prospect of marriage to a wealthy Taiwanese businessman. ("Women trade to Taiwan cracked down," HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network, 15 July 1998)

A Taiwanese man, Chen Chin En, 48, was arrested and charged with the procurement of Thai women for prostitution in Taiwan. A Thai man complained to police in July 1998, that his wife had been told by Chen she would work as a housewife in Taiwan, promising her a salary of Baht 15,000 per month. His wife had to register for a marriage certificate with another Taiwanese man in Thailand to apply for a visa. When she arrived in Taiwan she was taken to a brothel in Kaosung and forced into prostitution. Police said more than 500 Thai women had been lured into prostitution in Taiwan under the same method used by the gang. ("Taiwanese Œprocurer¹ held," The Nation, 29 July 1998)

In 1991, Taiwanese women were being sold in Japan, often to the Yakuza, at $2,400 to $18,000 each. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

Mail Order Brides

There are more than 400 women in Tungkang who have come as "brides." Filipinas top the list, followed by Indonesians. Those from Vietnam and Thailand are also increasing. One Tungkang man paid NT$300,000 (US$10,909) for a Filipina wife. Of that figure, only NT$9,000 (US$327.27) went to his in-laws as required by tradition, while the remainder was pocketed by marriage brokers in both the Philippines and Taiwan. (Yeh Sheng-yi, a Tungkang police officer responsible for foreign affairs, Sofia Wu, "Foreign Brides Bring Exotic Flavor to Taiwan Fishing Town," CNA, 10 April 1997)

"Floating brothels" are a booming business off the coast of Quemoy, Taiwan, just out of the reach of the Coast Guard. Men wade into the water and board the fishing boats, about 165 feet off shore from the island of Quemoy. ("Floating Brothels Popular in Taiwan," Associated Press, 22 July 1998)

There are 60,000 female child prostitutes aged 12 - 17 in Taiwan. Most of these are sold into prostitution by their parents. (Chi Hui-jung, Deputy Director, Garden of Hope)

There are 30,000 minors in prostitution in Taiwan. (Government's estimation)

40% of young prostitutes in the main red-light district are aboriginal girls. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

Health and Well Being

Brothel owners have made girls under 13 undergo hormone injection to hasten their physical development. (CATW - Asia Pacific "Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific" (27)

Policy and Law

Prostitution was declared to be illegal in September 1997 by the Taipei City Council and Taipei City Mayor Chen Shui-bian. There were 128 registered prostitutes that lost their legal status. ("128 Legal Sex Workers in Taipei Declared Illegal by the Government," October 1997)

Laws are inadequate in Taiwan to protect prostituted children. Police often release men without punishment after a brief detention. (Chi Hui-jung, Deputy director Garden of Hope)

Official Response and Action

544 former child prostitutes accepted therapy from the Taipei city government between 1989 and October 1997. 30% were under 15 years of age. (Interior Minister Wu Poh-hsiung, Taiwan)

In traditional Chinese societies, only men could disown their wives -- for adultery or failure to give birth to male heirs. Divorced women were outcasts who spent the rest of their lives in disgrace, if not poverty. But as Taiwanese women gain education, economic clout and the self-confidence from taking part in their land's economic boom, the stigma is fading. Taiwanese women account for 40 percent of the work force and on average earn about 70 percent of what a man does. Increasingly, women are opting for divorce instead of staying with men who are abusive or have affairs. ("Taiwanese women rebelling by filing for divorce," Associated Press, 26 August 1998)

Twenty years ago, just one in 17 marriages in Taiwan ended in divorce. Now the figure is one of the highest in Asia -- one divorce for every 4.3 marriages. While there are no statistics on the gender of who initiates divorces, women are noticeably taking action. Lee Hsiu-yen, a divorce counselor, estimates about 40 percent of divorces are now filed by women. Attorney Chi Kuan-ling said judges are predominantly male, and although old laws favoring men have been abolished, they are inclined to give the custody of children to fathers. ("Taiwanese women rebelling by filing for divorce," Associated Press, 26 August 1998)

Some people still abort girl fetuses, preferring boys to carry the family name and deny their husbands excuses for a divorce. ("Taiwanese women rebelling by filing for divorce," Associated Press, 26 August 1998)

Prospective husbands are benefiting from increasing business and personal contacts with mainland China. While the communist revolution guaranteed equality of the sexes there, many mainland women are willing to give it up to marry a prosperous Taiwanese. ("Taiwanese women rebelling by filing for divorce," Associated Press, 26 August 1998)

There are women who marry men who rape them because they fear no one else will want them. "Virginity is not a matter of morality, as it would seem," said Feminist Shih Chi-ching. "To women, it's merchandise that could gain them husbands, and for men it's a means to control women." ("Taiwanese women rebelling by filing for divorce," Associated Press, 26 August 1998)