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Article

31 Oct 2023

Author:
By Peter Bengtsen, The Diplomat (USA)

Taiwan: Migrants employed by manufacturers supplying to major automobile, satellite & electronics multinationals experience rights violations

See all tags Allegations

…more forced labor risks have come to light in Taiwan’s electronics and car industries. And as workers express no hope for assistance by local authorities – how could they, when excessive fees to foreign recruiters, mandatory service fees to Taiwanese labor brokers, and even passport withholding are not illegal in Taiwan? – they must rely on multinational buyers’ social responsibility, again…

…one of SpaceX’s biggest foreign suppliers, the Taiwan-based Lioho Machine Works…

Lioho Machine Works … employs hundreds of migrant workers from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia in its Taiwanese factories. We spoke with more than 10 workers…

…Vietnamese workers were charged over $5,000 – equal to 2.5 years of Vietnam’s minimum wage – while Filipino and Indonesian workers paid from $1,300 to $4,500….

…HughesNet’s supplier, the Taiwanese manufacturer U. D. Electronic Corp, include 25-30 Vietnamese migrants. Workers said they paid over $6,000 to Vietnamese recruiters …

SpaceX and Echostar did not reply to requests for comment…

Other customers of U. D. Electronic Corp include the American electronics giant Flex and the two Taiwanese multinationals, Wistron and Pegatron…

Ford and GM promised action when informed about LMW’s labor practices….

Kuozui, the Toyota maker, confirmed recruiting foreigners but said that “we will refrain from providing detailed responses regarding recruitment fees at this time.”…

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