Taiwanese President to help woman sold to slavery

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou vowed Monday to help a woman born on the island who was allegedly sold into slavery as a child and now lives in the United States yearning to find her real mother.The woman, in her 20s, told US cable television network CNN last week that when she was seven, her destitute parents wanted to sell off her baby sister to a wealthy Taiwanese family, but that she had offered to be sold instead.President Ma has instructed Foreign Minister Timothy Yang to do everything in his power to help this woman, an official at Mas office told AFP.The womans new family, who later moved to the United States and took her with them, subjected her to prison-like conditions, she said, describing how her adopted mother once shoved a toilet brush into her mouth and twisted it.As other children went to school, Isabel cooked and cleaned, CNN said in the report, adding that Isabel was not her real name.Her bedroom was the garage. Her bed, the floor. Food, whatever the family didnt want.Eventually Isabel managed to escape from the familys southern California home, and she now lives in her own apartment, but wishes to be reunited with her Taiwanese mother.If I find her, Ill say, Mom I love you so much, she told CNN.After the story of Isabel was aired on CNN, it has become the subject of intense public interest in Taiwan, appearing in all the islands major media on Monday.As of late Monday, two Taiwanese families -- one a family of indigenous people, whose roots date from before Chinese migrants began arriving -- had come forward, saying they might be the womans lost relatives, local media said.When I first learned on Saturday about the inhuman treatment of Isabel in the United States, I felt very sad, Foreign Minister Yang told reporters.Our staff at the Los Angeles liaison office is expected to reach her Monday. We want to convey the concern of Taiwan people about her. Well see how we can help her if she wants to come back for a family reunion.