Lawmakers from across party lines yesterday urged the government to impose economic sanctions on Indonesia in retaliation for what they described as humiliating remarks from Jakarta on President Chen Shui-bian's (
DPP lawmakers have launched a signature drive calling for the retention of a current ban on the importation of Indonesian workers, which the Council of Labor Affairs is considering lifting after a favorable response on labor migration issues from the Indonesian side in November. The KMT caucus has suggested ending all bilateral investment projects.
PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) insisted the government indefinitely recall its representatives based in Indonesia unless Jakarta offers an apology within 24 hours.
In what is widely being viewed as appeasement of Beijing, Jakarta has refused official visits by Taiwanese leaders. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda was reported by the English-language Jakarta Post as saying Chen would have been denied entry had he pressed on with his visit.
Outraged by the unfriendly statements, DPP Legislator Chen Tsiao-long (陳朝龍) has mounted a campaign asking the Council of Labor Affairs to continue its ban the importation of Indonesian workers.
Chen Tsiao-long said he found Jakarta intolerably rude even in dealings with a country with which it has no diplomatic ties.
"We must do something to make our indignation known," he said.
Government statistics show that more than 97,700 Indonesians work in Taiwan, the second largest group of foreign laborers. They wire some NT$24 billion home each year.
Indonesian workers also top the list of foreign laborers who run away from their jobs. Of the 5,089 foreign workers reported missing last year, 2,804 were Indonesian, according to official data.
KMT Legislator Sun Kuo-hwa (孫國華) said the government should take a tough stand and scrap Indonesia-bound investment projects worth US$17 billion.
"They have more to lose as more than 200,000 Taiwanese tourists head for Indonesia each year," he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conveyed the legislators' concerns to Iskandar Sabirin, head of the Indonesia Economic and Trade Office to Taipei.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) said on Tuesday that the government was considering ways to retaliate for the Indonesian foreign minister's remarks.
Nevertheless, Chien said yesterday that his ministry would not take any further steps until Jakarta had had an opportunity to respond to Taipei's formal protest.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (
Lin made the remark after presenting awards to 11 outstanding diplomatic officers at the Executive Yuan yesterday morning.
Kuo Fang-yu (郭芳煜), director-general of the council's Employment and Vocational Training Administration, emphasized that acceptance of Indonesian workers would eventually resume.
"There has never been a timetable for the resumption. We have to wait and see whether the Indonesian government's proposal is working, and one month is not long enough to tell," Kuo told reporters.
Additional reporting by staff reporters
Ko Shu-Ling and Monique Chu.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS