The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) could reconsider its decision to temporarily suspend the hiring of new Filipino workers, depending on the attitude of a visiting Philippine envoy toward the diplomatic dispute that triggered the move, the council minister said yesterday, Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said yesterday.
Wang said any review of the measure to more tightly screen Filipino workers applying to work in Taiwan would consider many factors, including the message and goodwill brought by envoy Manuel Roxas, who is expected to arrive in Taipei today.
Roxas is visiting Taiwan to try to ease tensions between Taipei and Manila that were sparked when the Philippines deported 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China on Feb. 2, an act condemned by Taiwan as an infringement of its sovereignty and a violation of legal practice.
The council responded on Feb. 8 by lengthening the application process for Filipinos wanting to work in Taiwan to four months, from the previous seven to 12 days, effectively freezing the hiring of Filipinos by local companies.
The Philippines’ respect for Taiwan as a country and ongoing communications between Taipei and Manila on crime will also be factors in the review, Wang said.
Asked if it was fair to sanction Manila by restricting opportunities for migrant workers, Wang said there was no other alternative, including economic sanctions, that would not have affected the interests of Filipino workers.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
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