Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Taiwan recalled its representative to the Philippines Monday over the "inappropriate" deportation of Taiwanese fraud suspects to China after Manila issued a statement asking for the "warmth and kinship" between the two sides not to be affected by the incident.
Taiwan has made the decision to recall Donald Lee, its envoy in Manila, and to strictly screen the applications of Philippine nationals who wish to work in Taiwan, Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang said in the evening.
The recall added a new element to the tense dispute between Taiwan and the Philippine government, which ignored Taiwan's requests and sent 14 Taiwanese and 10 Chinese suspects -- all of whom were arrested late last year on charges of cross-border fraud against Chinese nationals -- back to China on a charter flight on Feb. 2.
Yang, who had said Taiwan's reaction would depend on the Philippines' response, was apparently not happy with the information he received Monday.
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) , the representative office in Taiwan in the absence of official bilateral ties, issued a statement earlier in the day saying that the Philippines "deeply regrets" the involvement of Taiwan nationals in the case and "the reactions of the Taiwanese authorities as well as the public's feelings over the actions taken."
The MECO explained in the long-awaited statement, which had been expected Friday, that the actions "were taken considering that all the victims are Chinese, all the accomplices are Chinese and the results can be best settled in China."
It did not offer an apology that the Taiwan government had expected in the statement.
"It should be noted that there exists an extradition treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Philippines. We also note that there is an agreement between Taiwan and mainland China on Anti-crime Efforts and Judicial Assistance under which both sides can cooperate in this case," said the statement.
"We hope this does not in any way detract from the warmth and kinship that the people of the Philippines have for the people of Taiwan," it added. (By Chris Wang) enditem/jc