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Cambodia's former king is demanding that brides from the country
be returned from Taiwan, where many have been abandoned by local
men and led into prostitution or harsh labour deals to keep their
visas.
The demand casts new light on the darker side of a preference by
many Taiwanese men for brides from less developed Asian countries,
including China and some Southeast Asian nations.
"Taiwanese 'gentlemen' have brought Cambodian women to be
their 'spouses'," former King Norodom Sihanouk said in his
country's newspapers. "Today, these Khmer women have been thrown
into the streets by these very arrogant and contemptuous false
husbands."
Sihanouk, though he has held no government title, is one of the
most respected figures in Cambodia. Sihanouk's son Norodom
Sihamoni is now king of the impoverished nation.
About 4,500 Cambodians live in Taiwan on spouse visas, according
to government statistics. Taiwan men, unable to find brides at
home, often look to Southeast Asia, where many women want to live
in modern societies such as Taiwan's.
But some marriages go bad and some are fake, leading women to
prostitution or other forms of illegal labour to keep their Taiwan
residence permits.
This week Taiwan rebuffed the former king's request, arguing
that the Cambodian brides came to the island legally and can leave
whenever they like.
"We're a free country. We're not going to say 'you've got to
come,'" said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman David Wang.
"From Taiwan's point of view, the issue is whether they cleared
immigration legally."
Source: Reuters
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