China In The Pacific
Prostitution Up As Factories Close
Chinese Workers Most At Risk
| The recent closure of four garment factories on Saipan, leaving thousands
of alien workers unemployed, has resulted in a "significant increase" in
the number of prostitution cases in the Northern Marianas, according to
commonwealth officials. Nearly all the prostitution-related arrests involved
women from China. Other non-resident Chinese women are forced into prostitution
after arriving on legitimate business visas for certain jobs only to find
those jobs are non-existent.
Prostitution is not new in the Northern Marianas. Many cases were prosecuted in the late 1980s and 1990s when local bars were bringing in workers from the Philippines and mainland China. But the practice continues, and has picked up now that the garment factories-which at one time employed 15,000 alien workers-began downsizing or closing down entirely. - ADVERTISEMENT -
Sandy Tudela, the commonwealth's commissioner of public safety, told Pacific Magazine that he has seen a "significant" increase in the number of arrests since garment factories started reducing staff or closing. "They have sophisticated operations including prostitutes using cellular phones and moving from one area to another," Tudela says. The biggest number of arrests occur at west Garapan where the main hotel district is located, he adds. Some of the prostitutes are physically accosting tourists, in some cases approaching Japanese tourists in the presence of their wives. The Marianas Visitors Authority, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas have all called for stronger enforcement of anti prostitution laws. In fact, because of increased prostitution, the current Legislature enacted an "anti-loitering" law as one more measure to enhance powers of law enforcement. Tudela says prostitutes are more afraid of Immigration Officers because of the possibility that they may be deported immediately if caught. The Department of Public Safety, Immigration Office and the Department of Labor are combining their forces to crack down on prostitutes roaming the streets on Saipan. Even the U.S. attorney's office in the CNMI has gotten into the act. On Aug. 19, Ming Yang Zheng was charged with one count of interstate travel for purposes of prostitution at the federal District Court. Zheng and her boyfriend, Liu Chang Da, own six legitimate businesses. It's alleged she recruited six people from China and promised them legitimate jobs but that on arrival in Saipan, they were told to work as prostitutes. All six initially resisted, but were eventually forced into prostitution to pay back their recruitment fees in China and living expenses on Saipan, according to a lawsuit at the court. Zheng's trial was scheduled for Oct. 24th. |
