台灣女子伊莎貝兒在美國受虐的新聞引發國人和外交部的關注，外交部今天表示，我駐洛杉磯辦事處人員已經前往拜訪當地的社福機構，不過由於負責的社工人員目前正在受訓，同時也要顧及當事人的意願，因此預計要下個星期才能安排進一步會面。北美司長(令狐榮達)表示，伊莎貝兒目前由社工和律師協助安置，生活起居和健康狀況良好，中心也希望當事人和家人團聚，同時也樂意協助我方的外交部門。(李人岳報導)
台灣女子伊莎貝兒在美國長期受虐，消息曝光後引起國內關注。外交部北美司長令狐榮達表示，我駐洛杉磯辦事處人員在當地時間21日一大早(台北時間22日凌晨)已經前往拜訪處理這件個案的社福機構，不過由於負責的社工人員目前正在北加州受訓，預計要到下個星期這位社工人員受訓結束後，才會安排進一步會面。令狐榮達：『因為那是單線聯繫的方式和機制，等到那位社工受訓回來可能要下個星期，當然他們和這位社工已經聯繫上，他也很樂意提供協助，駐處已經向機構表達，希望能盡早安排會面，確認她的身分和需要協助的事項。』
Federal prosecutors in Kansas City have jailed a Taiwanese official on a felony labor violation involving her housekeeper - a charge experts say has rarely, if ever, been applied to a foreign official.
Hsien-Hsien Liu, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, is accused of vastly underpaying the woman, restricting when she could sleep and making her work 16 to 18 hours a day.
Liu, 64, was arrested and charged Thursday with fraud in foreign labor contracting, which is punishable by up to five years in federal prison. She was held without bond until a hearing Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney for her.
TECO's main office in Washington did not respond to phone and email messages left Friday seeking comment. The organization's website said the office was closed Friday in observance of Veterans Day.
Prosecutors said Liu's office maintains unofficial relations between the United States and Taiwan and is similar to a foreign government consulate, although the U.S. doesn't recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
Federal prosecutors in Kansas City told The Kansas City Star that Liu is believed to be the first foreign official to face this charge in the United States. While others have been prosecuted for mistreating domestic workers, Liu is accused of violating a law covering the recruitment of foreign workers and their transport into the United States on fraudulent terms, prosecutors said.
Michael LeRoy, a labor law professor at the University of Illinois, said the charge against Liu was filed under a human trafficking law reauthorized in 2008. He said while similar laws have been used extensively in the U.S., he wasn't aware of that specific charge being used previously against a foreign official and Liu's case "represents a novel circumstance."
"I'm willing to venture it's relatively untested," he said. "She has some serious charge there."
An FBI affidavit filed in the case claims TECO recruited the housekeeper in the Philippines in September 2011. According to the woman's visa application, her two-year employment contract called for her to be paid $1,240 a month, work 40-hour weeks and be entitled to overtime.
Prosecutors claim the woman was actually paid $400 to $450 a month, worked 16- to 18-hour days and was monitored with video surveillance equipment at Liu's home in Johnson County, Kan. They also say Liu took the woman's passport and was "verbally abusive."
Liu, who is also known as Jacqueline Liu, told the woman "she was friends with local law enforcement and known well in the community" and if the woman "acted out, she would be deported," the affidavit said.
Authorities learned about the situation after the women complained to a man from the Philippines who she met a grocery store. Prosecutors said he helped her leave Liu's home in August.
A witness quoted in the affidavit said Liu treated a previous housekeeper similarly, until she "went into a state of depression and stopped eating." It wasn't clear what happened to that woman.
Kurt Taylor Gaubatz, an international studies professor at Old Dominion University in Virginia, said it was unlikely Liu would qualify for diplomatic immunity in the case.
"There have been several stories about diplomatic abuse of household help both in the U.S. and abroad, and the critical issue is what level (she is)," Gaubatz said. "If you're an ambassador and you beat you domestic help, diplomatic immunity is going to get you off.
"But it doesn't mean it's going to be consequence-free for you" because charges can then be filed in the person's home country.
Gaubatz said Liu may have qualified for immunity if the charges somehow related to her job, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"Lawyers are going to say in order to maintain the duties of a consular officer they need domestic help," he said. "But frankly I don't see that going very far."
Linda Trout, executive director of Kansas City's International Relations Council, said she has known Liu since she arrived in Kansas City about two years ago and worked with her on several occasions. She described her as "businesslike" and "very nice."
Trout also said Liu announced last month that she was returning to Taiwan, and Trout met recently with a lead representative for Taiwan in Washington, where they discussed Liu's pending move and her replacement in Kansas City.
"She was very accommodating. We had a good relationship," Trout said. "She told me more than a month ago she had been reassigned back to Taiwan. She told me it was because of the number of years she had been out of Taiwan and the office wanted her back."
Liu's planned departure also was posted on TECO's website in October.
美國總統奧巴馬向國會參眾兩院議員提出了一項總額達4470億美元的就業刺激法案，意在通過減稅、加大基礎設施投資等措施來促進就業。而隨後美聯儲主席伯南克也發表講話，但隻字未提第三輪貨幣量化寬鬆政策。僅靠這項法案，是否能夠將美國帶出經濟復甦的困局？
問題一.就業刺激法案包含哪些內容？
奧巴馬慷慨激昂地提出了總額4470億美元的就業刺激法案，其中包括2400億美元的減稅計劃。如果該法案得到國會通過，美國企業僱傭一個失業半年以上的人將拿到最高4000美元的減稅獎勵，更重要的是明年起全美1.6億僱傭薪資稅減半。
奧巴馬：就業法案的宗旨很簡單，就是讓更多的人重新就業，讓那些正在工作的人收入增加。它將為建築工人、教師、退伍老兵、長期失業者創造更多的工作崗位，為那些僱傭新員工的公司提供稅收優惠，讓所有在職美國人和小企業的工資稅減半。它將為陷入失速狀態的美國經濟提供動力，給予公司信心。
不過美國媒體對這一法案反映平平，他們認為這是奧巴馬在為明年大選鋪路。中國現代國際關係研究院世界經濟研究所魏亮說:
魏亮：現在美國的就業狀況是連續不景氣的，它的失業率在9％上下浮動已經20多個月了。奧巴馬總統的支持率也連創新低。從每一角度來看，這是奧巴馬為了明年能夠繼續執掌美國政府在做有力一搏。
就在同一天，美聯儲主席伯南克發表講話時，卻並沒有如市場期望的那樣，推出刺激經濟的組合拳，甚至隻字未提第三輪貨幣量化寬鬆政策。魏亮認為美聯儲近期不會推出QE3。
魏亮：美聯儲對當前的經濟有評估，現在的情況還不至於推出第三輪量化寬鬆，何況美國政府又推出了刺激計劃。他們會等美國政府的就業刺激政策生效後，看效果再決定。
問題二.僅靠就業刺激法案能否重振美國經濟？
美國國會預算辦公室的前任執行主管唐納德-馬龍認為這項法案缺乏新意，要想振興美國經濟，純屬天方夜譚。
馬龍：很顯然，就業刺激法案缺乏新意，還是在走兩年半前的老路。2009年8300億美元的經濟刺激也是在減稅和基礎設施上投資，可不幸的是我們的經濟依舊疲軟。
社科院美國經濟研究中心主任肖煉認為，這一方案短期可能對美國經濟有促進作用，但沒法扭轉美國經濟的頹勢。
肖煉：美國得的是心髒病，它整個的金融體係出了問題。短期的減稅和增加福利不能解決心髒病的問題，打一個強心針可以讓經濟暫時活躍一下，但根本心臟的供血功能它沒有解決。它過一段時間還會下滑。
奧巴馬這次臨時“抱佛腳”的振興計劃不僅很難根本振興美國經濟，而且減稅這樣的措施，還可能側面助長美國債務問題。但這些都是後話，只要這個4470億美元的就業刺激法案能夠挽回選民的心，奧巴馬就沒白忙活。
