"Providing 3.35 Million KRW Monthly Just for PC Typing"… 5,000 Taiwanese Disappeared in Southeast Asia

Taiwanese police arrested members of an organization involved in large-scale human trafficking in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar.
[Photo by Twitter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A large-scale human trafficking ring that lured people with promises of good jobs in Southeast Asia and forced them into criminal activities has been caught by Taiwanese police. Some speculate that the number of Taiwanese victims may reach thousands, raising questions about the responsibility of the Tsai Ing-wen administration.

According to the British daily The Guardian, Taiwanese police recently arrested 67 members of an organization involved in large-scale human trafficking in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar.

The members targeted young people desperate for jobs. They mainly posted recruitment ads on social networking services (SNS), claiming to help 18-35-year-old talents find work in Southeast Asian countries on a large scale. The ads reportedly included statements such as "Basically, if you can use a computer and type, you can work" and "We offer a salary of about $2,500 (approximately 3.35 million KRW)."

Victims deceived by the false advertisements were confiscated of their mobile phones and passports and confined in accommodations upon arrival. They were then forced to participate in fraud crimes. The victims were mainly tasked with randomly sending emails or making phone calls to lure other potential victims by telling them there were good jobs in Southeast Asia. One victim stated, "If the lure failed, we were beaten and denied food." Notably, some members of the organization were connected to local crime groups and reportedly trafficked the victims' organs.

As a significant number of victims were confirmed to be Taiwanese, the Taiwanese government immediately formed a special investigation unit and launched a large-scale inquiry. They succeeded in rescuing some of the kidnapped nationals, but about 300 victims are still believed to remain in the region. Authorities recently revealed that around 5,000 Taiwanese nationals had traveled to Southeast Asia and subsequently disappeared, suggesting the number of victims may increase.

Meanwhile, the incident is becoming a political issue within Taiwan. Since the Tsai Ing-wen administration has actively promoted Southeast Asian diplomacy under the New Southbound Policy, this incident is being criticized as a policy failure. The opposition party has harshly condemned the ruling party's lack of measures, citing the large number of Taiwanese victims, according to the U.S. Washington Post (WP).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.