Cambodia demands return of its brides

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."