The government of the Philippines must learn to take the concerns of the ROC seriously, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang said Feb. 8.
Yang made the remarks after Taiwan announced it would recall its representative to Manila and would henceforth apply stricter standards when screening applications by Philippine nationals to work in Taiwan.
“The impact of these measures may be limited, but we’re sending a strong message to the Philippines that it should take Taiwan seriously,” the minister said.
A diplomatic row between Taipei and Manila has been simmering since Feb. 2, when the Southeast Asian nation unilaterally decided to send 14 ROC nationals to mainland China to be tried for cross-border fraud charges.
Such an act is “a violation of the jurisdiction principle of nationality and the Philippine government’s own legal procedures,” said Matthew S. Lee, director-general of the MOFA’s Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Though Taiwan has made strong protests over the matter, the Philippines has refused to hold direct government-to-government talks over the case.
“Manila has only communicated with us through its representative office in Taipei, the Manila Economic and Culture Office,” Yang noted, adding that Taipei expects a higher-level response when it comes to the welfare of its citizens.
Yang noted that prior to their deportation Manila had assured Taipei that only two outcomes were possible—either the suspects would be tried in the Philippines, or they would be repatriated to Taiwan.
He added that the government of the Philippines falsely told Taiwan that none of the suspects were in possession of their ROC passports.
In addition, Manila has provided Taiwan with very little information on the meetings that eventually led to their deportation to mainland China.
In related news, Premier Wu Den-yih said he hoped the punitive measures by Taipei would serve as a warning to the Philippines. “We hope Manila will not make the same mistake again.”
Wu also urged Beijing to repatriate the Taiwanese suspects as soon as possible. (HZW)
Write to Elaine Hou at elainehou@mail.gio.gov.tw