Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) A Philippine emissary left Taiwan Tuesday without offering a direct official apology over Manila's deportation of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China, but hopeful nevertheless that his substantial and apologetic measures to repair the soured relations with Taiwan over the row will be accepted, Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy C.T. Yang said.
Yang said that during his overnight meeting with Philippine envoy Manuel Roxas, the latter said the Philippines is conducting an investigation and that if related officials are found to have been involved in wrongdoing, they will be punished.
"The punishments will be even more serious than an apology to some degree, according to Roxas," Yang said.
A fact sheet documenting the views and measures agreed upon by Yang and Roxas in their marathon meeting the previous day was distributed to the press by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"There were substantial measures in the fact sheet in which the Philippines expressed regret for the incident and its willingness to repair our relations, " said a diplomatic official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Taipei and Manila have been engaged in a diplomatic row since the Philippines ignored Taiwan's demands and deported the 14 Taiwanese suspects to China Feb. 2. Taiwan has repeatedly demanded a formal apology from the Philippine government, which has insisted that it will not apologize for the deportations.
It appears that the two sides have taken a step back and have toned down their rhetoric in the document.
"In the event that officials are found to have been involved in wrong doing, the Philippine authorities will act accordingly, including the possibility of punitive action, which for the Taiwan side would signify a kind of apology," according to the fact sheet.
Roxas also expressed his goodwill, assuring Yang that he will report directly to President Benigno Aquino III, who views the incident with great concern and desires to repair the damage.
The emissary said the Southeast Asian country did not intend to put the long-standing relations between the two countries at risk.
The Philippines side said it is willing to sit down immediately to begin discussions on the establishment of a mechanism for cooperation and mutual assistance in dealing with similar crimes in the future and wants to enhance bilateral relations, including the launching of talks to determine the feasibility of beginning negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Yang said on the first day of a new legislative session that the ministry will weigh all its options in dealing with the Philippines.
"But we're unwilling to expose our bottom line now," he added.
In addition to meeting with Yang, Roxas also had a one-hour meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou, during which a stern-faced president condemned the Philippines for what he called its wrongful deportation of the Taiwanese fraud suspects to China and demanded that Manila officially apologize for the incident.
Ma told Roxas that "future relations between our two countries hinge upon your government's follow-up measures."
He pointed out three grave mistakes in handling the case, saying that while the 14 suspects were expelled by the Philippine government, but Filipino officials claimed that they were deported to China.
Second, while the 14 Taiwanese entered the Philippines legally with valid Taiwan passports, the Filipino officials claimed that they were "undocumented" people with no legal travel documents.
Third, Ma said, since the lawyer for the Taiwanese suspects had already obtained a writ of habeas corpus issued by the Philippines' Court of Appeals Jan. 31, the Philippine government violated its own country's law in deporting them to China Feb. 2.
Roxas, who returned to Manila later Tuesday, said his visit was made to convey the stance of the Philippine government and listen to Taiwan's views. He added that if necessary, he will visit Taiwan again. (By Chris Wang, Kelvin Huang, Emmanuelle Tzeng, Hsieh Chia-cheng and Lilian Wu) ENDITEM/J