Monday, February 07, 2011

Taiwan recalls envoy over deportation row with Philippines (update)

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Taiwan recalled its representative to the Philippines Monday over the "inappropriate" deportation of Taiwanese fraud suspects to China, shortly after Manila issued a statement asking for the "warmth and kinship" between the two sides not to be affected by the incident.

Taiwan made the decision to recall Donald Lee and to more strictly screen applications from Philippine nationals wishing to work in Taiwan, Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang said later that day.

The recall added a new element to the tense dispute between Taiwan and the Philippines, which ignored Taiwan's demands and on Feb. 2 deported to China 14 Taiwanese and 10 Chinese suspects -- all of whom were arrested late last year on charges of cross-border fraud against Chinese nationals.

Taiwan will also cancel visa-free privileges for Philippine passport holders who possess visas to the United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Schengen Area, the ministry stated in a press release issued Monday evening, adding that the strict visa application measures will not prevent those who have already obtained work permits in Taiwan from returning to the Philippines for vacations or emergency visits.

The MOFA, which had said Taiwan's reaction would depend on the response from Manila, recognized the "goodwill and regret" its Southeast Asian neighbor showed in the statement, but was apparently nevertheless unhappy with the outcome and said the Philippines has harmed its relations with Taiwan because of its handling of the case.

"In order to uphold the integrity of Taiwan's sovereignty and express our discontent to the government of the Philippines, we made the decision to take the above-mentioned measures. We will also cautiously examine the goodwill demonstrated by the Philippines in the future as the basis of a re-examination of our bilateral relations, " the ministry said.

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the Philippines' 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 Taiwanese nationals in the case, as well as "the reactions of the Taiwanese authorities and the public's feelings over the actions taken."

MECO explained in a statement for which the Taiwanese authorities had been waiting for several days 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 the apology the government had been expecting.

"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.

The dispute prompted strong protests from Taiwan during the six-day Lunar New Year holiday, with lawmakers urging the government to recall Taiwan's representative to the Philippines in retaliation for that country's disrespect to Taiwan's sovereignty.

On the cross-Taiwan Strait front, the government's position on the case has been clear, Liu Te-hsun, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) -- Taiwan's top China policy-making agency -- said Monday, adding that Taiwan hopes that the 14 Taiwanese suspects' legal rights will be well protected and their families will be able to visit them in China as soon as possible.

Liu said the Chinese side has already said that legal processes, including investigation, interrogation and confrontation, will have to be completed before the suspects can be repatriated to Taiwan.

It remained unclear whether China will repatriate the 14 Taiwanese after completing its own legal process, Liu said, adding that both sides are still in negotiations on the matter. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J