{"id":6555,"date":"2025-10-20T04:45:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T04:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=6555"},"modified":"2026-04-08T04:48:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T04:48:04","slug":"standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Paul Jeffrey<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Charles Niece<\/a> graduated from Seton Hall University, he considered pursuing further studies. But first he wanted a change of scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy knowledge of Christian mission was confined to a classroom, formed by reading scholarly journals and writing research papers. I needed a year off with exposure to the real world,\u201d Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He applied to the Maryknoll short-term volunteer program, was accepted, and in 2019 flew to Taiwan, where he was assigned to work with Maryknoll Father Joyalito Tajonera<\/a> in Taichung, Taiwan\u2019s third-largest city. There Father Tajonera \u2014 known as \u201cFather Joy\u201d \u2014 runs a shelter for migrant workers housed in the Tanzi Catholic Church, a lively congregation centered in the Filipino migrant community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece helped out in the parish and studied Mandarin Chinese at Providence University. He also practiced what he called a ministry of presence, listening to Filipinos in the congregation and shelter. He soon started learning Tagalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before his one-year commitment was up, international travel ground to a halt as governments closed their borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>. Niece enrolled in a master\u2019s program in business administration at Providence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As migrant workers wrestled with the pandemic, Niece listened to their growing concerns. He wanted to do more than just refer them to the government\u2019s Ministry of Labor. He began helping the migrants carefully prepare the documentation they needed to prove allegations of abuse or unfair treatment. Often that meant preparing written complaints in English, as functionaries in the labor office rarely spoke Tagalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d save all relevant text messages that proved the employer or agent was threatening or deceiving the worker. I\u2019d review pay stubs and timecards to compute years of unpaid wages. And I\u2019d review bank statements revealing exactly when unauthorized deductions occurred,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Codes of conduct on paper that are not enforced<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During a business ethics class, Niece studied the infamous Rana Plaza factory collapse<\/a> in Bangladesh in 2013 that took the lives of 1,134 workers and injured more than 2,500 others. He learned about the Foxconn suicides in China, mostly in 2010 and 2011, which were proven to have been linked to exploitative conditions. These events illustrated how giant international brands failed to address human rights risks in their supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece also learned about supplier codes of conduct, the corporate policies that were supposed to guarantee basic rights in factories around the world. He had heard enough from the Filipino workers to know that the codes \u2014 achieved thanks to decades of shareholder activism \u2014 were not regularly put into practice in Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI began reading these spectacular codes of conduct and human rights policies from companies like Apple, Intel, HP and IBM. Like hundreds of other U.S. companies, they have strict policies against modern slavery<\/a>, including policies against charging recruitment fees, holding workers\u2019 passports and identity documents and setting dormitory curfews. Yet migrants were coming to the church every day for help with those exact issues,\u201d he says. \u201cIt left me wondering if U.S. companies sourcing from Taiwan really knew what was going on here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading the codes of conduct also made Niece question how Taiwan\u2019s government responded to complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter I helped workers document their cases, I\u2019d often accompany them to the labor office. I realized the Taiwanese government had low standards. At one hearing I raised concerns about international business standards, and the Taiwanese employer just laughed at me,\u201d Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gray areas of labor exploitation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of the practices proscribed by corporate codes of conduct \u2014 retention of passports, withholding wages, restrictions on freedom of movement \u2014 don\u2019t necessarily violate Taiwanese law, thus creating what Niece calls \u201ca gray area\u201d where local custom and corporate ethics collide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece decided to put the codes of conduct to a test. He identified two U.S. electronic brands that were the main buyers from a factory where workers had labor complaints. He then helped the workers contact those two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Filipina workers had previously reported their complaints to both the Ministry of Labor and the Philippines government<\/a> representative in Taiwan, but nothing had changed,\u201d Niece says. \u201cI convinced them to reach out to their factory\u2019s buyers. I was pessimistic anything would happen, but felt we should try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within two weeks, the two U.S. companies sent auditors to investigate and talk directly with the workers. Three months later, the illicit fee collection was suspended and dormitory policy changed. The company reimbursed over $800,000 to the nearly 300 workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As news of the workers\u2019 victory spread, more and more workers contacted Niece for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis movement starts with the workers, who are teaching each other about their rights,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last five years, Niece has helped workers file complaints of non-compliance with codes of conduct in over 40 factories in Taiwan, including companies that process food and make electronics, medical devices, apparel, bicycles, automotive parts and tools. That effort has led to reimbursement of more than $6 million in recruitment fees, over 600 bank accounts returned to workers<\/a>, and more than 2,000 passports and other identity documents returned to their owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Charles
Charles Niece, the director of human rights and supply chain transparency, a Maryknoll project based in Taiwan, talks with workers as they leave work at a camera lens factory in Taichung, Taiwan. (Paul Jeffrey\/Taiwan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yet as even as international buyers look closer at their suppliers and demand audits on code of conduct compliance, Taiwanese factory managers have resorted to cheating, Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA buyer\u2019s representative will come to interview workers, but the workers are sometimes given a script to read by their employer. And if they don\u2019t know how to answer the question, they\u2019re to respond, \u2018The company where I work follows the labor law<\/a>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece rattles off examples of audit deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn one case, the labor agency maintained two sets of bankbooks for the workers. In another, the agents began collecting fees in cash without receipts to avoid a paper trail,\u201d he says. In another case, during a virtual audit, \u201cthe plant manager stood behind the video camera to ensure the workers only gave an authorized version of events.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empowering people to report abuse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One factory returned workers\u2019 passports to them before an audit \u2014 only to snatch them back again afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, according to Niece, some corporate auditors aren\u2019t easily fooled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn several cases we\u2019ve helped facilitate off-site interviews between workers and corporate investigators, including at local convenience stores and the Tanzi Catholic Church. We\u2019ve had corporate auditors come to the Maryknoll House in Taichung,\u201d he says. \u201cThese for-profit multinational corporations are reaching out to the Church<\/a> because we\u2019ve built a genuine relationship with the migrant worker community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece believes that long term solutions to workplace abuse and worker mistreatment will only come as workers are empowered to speak up for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur role is behind the scenes, educating workers and helping them get connected. What\u2019s the email address of someone in this corporation? What information do we need to send them to convince them to investigate? What techniques of audit deception should we watch out for? Because at the end of the day, it\u2019s the workers who have skin in the game,\u201d Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorkers need to know what\u2019s happening throughout the process and be confident of their ability to effect change,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece points to a ball bearing factory where forced unpaid overtime and physical beatings had been commonplace for years. Workers accepted<\/a> the mistreatment as necessary to keep their jobs. But when a new worker was hired who had previously worked at a factory where Niece and workers successfully addressed grievances, he told his new coworkers that they didn\u2019t have to suffer in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revolution that was born from a text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gathering evidence was easy: the plant manager regularly texted workers ordering them to clock out and then continue working without pay. The workers saved those text messages. The factory settled out of court with a group of 13 workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll that came about because of one worker, someone who lost their fear and convinced others to speak up for their rights,\u201d Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany Filipino workers will put the company they\u2019re working for in their Facebook profile. So I\u2019d find all these people working in that company, and I\u2019d cold message every one of them. Sometimes it was 100 workers, sometimes 300,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But change can take time, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne February I wrote several workers at a factory, but it wasn\u2019t until four months later when a woman came back to me and said, \u2018I\u2019ve seen you before with Father Joy who is always talking about our rights. Can you really help us?\u2019 And that\u2019s how it began. Because that one woman responded, we now have a group chat with over 350 workers, and we\u2019re making progress on addressing their concerns. Only one worker was willing to speak up<\/a>. But that was enough,\u201d Niece says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Tajonera says even a single worker can spur change. He cites a text he received from a Filipina worker who was a liturgy volunteer in the Tanzi church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe sent me pictures of a new dorm. The beds were holes in the wall, like tombs they had to crawl into either head first or feet first, with no place to store their belongings. It was maybe acceptable for a few hours, but not a space you can live in for three years,\u201d Father Tajonera says. \u201cThose were the spaces for the foreign migrant workers, but the same dorm had rooms for Taiwanese workers that were much nicer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priest continues, \u201cSo I immediately protested on Facebook. I said it was totally unacceptable. Many in the media and government in Taiwan follow me on social media, so the word got out quickly. The building owner came and tried to pacify me. The Philippines government labor office also tried to bargain with me so I\u2019d stop making noise. But I said I would make sure that nobody moved into that building unless they changed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local church leading radical changes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scores of workers gathered in the church to organize. They contacted factory owners and got commitments that they wouldn\u2019t pressure their workers to move into the dorm. Finally, the building owner agreed to remodel the bedrooms, and the dormitory opened after a delay of more than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter more than 20 years of working in Taiwan with the migrants<\/a>, we\u2019re no longer crying out in the wilderness with no one listening. The government and the companies do listen,\u201d Father Tajonera says. \u201cBut we have to continually push the envelope because they\u2019ll inevitably try to go around us,\u201d he adds. \u201cBecause of our advocacy and Charles\u2019 work on supply chain issues, the employers now know that others are watching. We\u2019ll help the migrants to see the possibilities for change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niece has been named director of the Maryknoll Corporate Social Responsibility Office. Under the leadership of Maryknoll Father Joseph La Mar, who died in November of 2024, the New York-based office has for decades leveraged Maryknoll\u2019s investment portfolio to dialogue with corporations about their business practices, collaborating with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility in many successful campaigns to protect the environment, advance worker justice and create more equitable global supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Taiwan, Maryknoll\u2019s efforts to raise workers\u2019 voices<\/a> continue to spread. Last year, Maryknoll hired a part-time Vietnamese worker to reach out to Vietnamese migrants, who are charged higher fees than Filipinos and are more likely to remain in Taiwan without a visa, leaving them susceptible to manipulation by unscrupulous employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a migrant worker who finished his contract in Taiwan took a new job in Hungary. Within days, he messaged Niece about conditions in his factory there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image: Charles Niece, the director of human rights and supply chain transparency, a Maryknoll project based in Taiwan, talks with workers from a troublesome factory, advising them of their rights under Taiwanese law. They met in the Tanzi Catholic Church in Taichung, which also serves as a shelter for migrant workers in crisis. (Paul Jeffrey\/Taiwan)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Maryknoll volunteer in Taiwan empowers Filipino migrant workers in manufacturing to fight for more dignified working conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":6556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[672,1606,2615,2612,2613,2616,2614,147,2611,970,148,2617,2618],"class_list":["post-6555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-charles-niece","tag-dignity","tag-dignity-for-workers","tag-filipino-migrant-workers","tag-filipino-workers","tag-labor-exploitation","tag-local-church-in-taiwan","tag-maryknoll-father-joyalito-tajonera","tag-modern-slavery","tag-paul-jeffrey","tag-taiwan","tag-tanzi-catholic-church","tag-workers-abuse"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStanding Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Maryknoll volunteer in Taiwan empowers Filipino migrant workers in manufacturing to fight for more dignified working conditions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Maryknoll Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"910\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"535\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Jeffrey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Jeffrey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Jeffrey\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d39f859a126f53ea977016ef2bb94d16\"},\"headline\":\"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\"},\"wordCount\":2031,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Charles Niece\",\"dignity\",\"Dignity for workers\",\"Filipino migrant workers\",\"Filipino workers\",\"labor exploitation\",\"local church in Taiwan\",\"Maryknoll Father Joyalito Tajonera\",\"modern slavery\",\"Paul Jeffrey\",\"Taiwan\",\"Tanzi Catholic Church\",\"workers abuse\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\",\"name\":\"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg\",\"width\":910,\"height\":535,\"caption\":\"Charles Niece, the director of human rights and supply chain transparency, a Maryknoll project based in Taiwan, talks with workers from a troublesome factory, advising them of their rights under Taiwanese law. They met in the Tanzi Catholic Church in Taichung, which also serves as a shelter for migrant workers in crisis. (Paul Jeffrey\/Taiwan)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png\",\"width\":333,\"height\":68,\"caption\":\"Maryknoll Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d39f859a126f53ea977016ef2bb94d16\",\"name\":\"Paul Jeffrey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/pauljeffrey_avatar-96x96.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/pauljeffrey_avatar-96x96.webp\",\"caption\":\"Paul Jeffrey\"},\"description\":\"Paul Jeffrey is a photojournalist who works around the world with church-sponsored relief agencies. Founder of Life on Earth Pictures, he lives in Oregon.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/pauljeffrey\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine","og_description":"A Maryknoll volunteer in Taiwan empowers Filipino migrant workers in manufacturing to fight for more dignified working conditions.","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/","og_site_name":"Maryknoll Magazine","article_published_time":"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":910,"height":535,"url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Paul Jeffrey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul Jeffrey","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/"},"author":{"name":"Paul Jeffrey","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d39f859a126f53ea977016ef2bb94d16"},"headline":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan","datePublished":"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/"},"wordCount":2031,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg","keywords":["Charles Niece","dignity","Dignity for workers","Filipino migrant workers","Filipino workers","labor exploitation","local church in Taiwan","Maryknoll Father Joyalito Tajonera","modern slavery","Paul Jeffrey","Taiwan","Tanzi Catholic Church","workers abuse"],"articleSection":["Featured Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/","name":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan - Maryknoll Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-20T04:45:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-08T04:48:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/taiwan-2024-jeffrey-corporate-social-16ED-e1760986853574.jpg","width":910,"height":535,"caption":"Charles Niece, the director of human rights and supply chain transparency, a Maryknoll project based in Taiwan, talks with workers from a troublesome factory, advising them of their rights under Taiwanese law. They met in the Tanzi Catholic Church in Taichung, which also serves as a shelter for migrant workers in crisis. (Paul Jeffrey\/Taiwan)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/standing-up-for-foreign-workers-exploited-in-taiwan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Standing Up for Foreign Workers Exploited in Taiwan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#organization","name":"Maryknoll Magazine","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/cropped-MKFB_Logo_Transparet1.png","width":333,"height":68,"caption":"Maryknoll Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/d39f859a126f53ea977016ef2bb94d16","name":"Paul Jeffrey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/pauljeffrey_avatar-96x96.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/pauljeffrey_avatar-96x96.webp","caption":"Paul Jeffrey"},"description":"Paul Jeffrey is a photojournalist who works around the world with church-sponsored relief agencies. Founder of Life on Earth Pictures, he lives in Oregon.","url":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/author\/pauljeffrey\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6558,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6555\/revisions\/6558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}