Over 300 experts and officials have attended a global workshop on the prevention of human trafficking hosted by Taiwan. Participants in Wednesday’s workshop came from eleven countries including the US, England, Switzerland, and Australia.
President Tsai Ing-wen organized anti-trafficking efforts in Taiwan when she was vice premier in 2006. Taiwan has seen much progress in stopping human trafficking since. On Wednesday, Vice President Chen Chien-jen said that Taiwan has signed agreements with 16 countries on working to fight human trafficking. He called on people and nations to work together in this effort:
"I’d like to call on the countries of this world to strengthen prevention of human trafficking and to support the United Nations International Anti-Human Trafficking Day on July 30," Chen said. "We also hope every nation will accept Taiwan as a member of international organizations so that Taiwan can contribute more to international society."
The US State Department has given Taiwan a “Tier 1” ranking in its latest trafficking in persons report. A Tier 1 ranking indicates the greatest efforts in the fight against human trafficking. This is the seventh year in a row Taiwan has received a Tier 1 ranking. Chen said that Taiwan has become a model in Asia in terms of prevention, investigation and protecting the rights of victims.