The Cabinet might reconsider its foreign worker policy toward Thailand in retaliation for a Thai demand that Taiwanese visitors wear masks at all times while they are in the country.
The move by the Thai authorities was designed to hinder the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
"The bottom line is that we'll adopt necessary measures to ensure the nation's dignity and protect its independent spirit," said Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
There are about 110,000 Thai workers in Taiwan, or about 37 percent of the total foreign workforce. Despite the lack of diplomatic ties, Taiwan is Thailand's third-largest source of foreign investment after Japan and Hong Kong.
The Council of Labor Affairs began sorting through the backlog of some 5,000 employment applications for Thai workers in January after Taiwan and Thailand ended their diplomatic row over Thailand's refusal to issue a visa to the council's chairwoman, Chen Chu (陳菊), by signing a direct-hiring pact.
Although the council decided not to halt the importation of Thai workers, it extended the process for applications from 35 days to 70 days between August and December last year.
Also in January, the council was studying the feasibility of banning the importation of Thai laborers in retaliation for Thailand's refusal to grant visas to a legislative mission.
The 19-member delegation, headed by legislative Vice Speaker Chiang Pin-kun (
Refusing to elaborate more on the approach the government may take, Lin said that the Cabinet will decide today on how to respond to the Thai government's hostile measures as well as those of other foreign countries for Taiwanese visitors during a closed-door SARS response meeting.
During the meeting, Lin said, the foreign ministry and health department will present reports on their recent negotiations with the Thai government as well as Indonesian and Singaporean governments.
"We'd really hate to make a hasty decision based on second-hand or unofficial information," Lin said.
According to Lin, the Thai government has explained to the foreign ministry that its mask rule is a "conditional request," which applies to only those air travelers suspected of SARS and not all Taiwanese travelers.
"There might be an inconsistency between the policy and its implementation," Lin said.
As for the Thai government's listing Taiwan as an infected area, Lin said that it had a lot to do with their recognition of the "one China" policy.
"`One China' not only distorts the true meaning of the Republic of China but also sabotages the nation's substantive interests," Lin said.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health on April 2 demanded that all travelers from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan wear masks for the first 14 days of their visits to the country.
It also urged Thais to avoid visiting Taiwan, which it said was among the areas worst affected by SARS.
In protest over the Thai government's requirement that visitors from Taiwan wear masks while on Thai soil, Li Jih-heng (
On Friday, DPP Legislator Lo Shih-hsiung (
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods