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.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
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