00:00An official investigation into Taiwanese bicycle maker Giant has found evidence of forced labor at his local factories.
00:07But it says Taiwan's laws have fallen behind on flagging these kind of infractions.
00:12This comes after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked all imports of Giant's Taiwan products last fall.
00:19The CPP says Giant uses forced labor practices in his factories.
00:24These include abuse of vulnerability, abusive working and living conditions, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and excessive overtime.
00:50It's the first time the U.S. has imposed a ban on Taiwanese exports for human rights reasons.
00:55That's as the U.S. tightens control on foreign trade under the Trump administration.
01:00Earlier this year, the U.S. launched a new investigation into whether several trade partners are importing goods made with
01:07forced labor.
01:08And that list includes Taiwan.
01:10For Giant and other major exporters that rely heavily on U.S. buyers, officials here urge them to abide by
01:17international standards,
01:18which are much more stringent than Taiwan's labor laws.
01:21Responding to the probe, the labor ministry says it's partnered with the economy ministry to actively guide firms to meet
01:27these rules.
01:28It's looking to ban employers from holding onto workers' identity documents
01:32and to stop companies from demanding their workers pay costly upfront security deposits.
01:37Though it will take some time until the legislature can pass an amendment to prevent similar cases in the future.
02:10Taiwan Plus has reached out to Giant for comment on the U.S.
02:13the Control Yuan probe but has not heard back.
02:16Giant's case is still under review by U.S. authorities.
02:20The Control Yuan investigation is not legally binding,
02:24but a domestic probe like this may put some pressure on Giant and other Taiwanese manufacturers
02:29to improve foreign worker conditions.
02:31Fu Hua Hong and Irene Lin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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