Thailand's representative to Taiwan has apologized for the mishandling of the issue regarding the visa application for the head of the Council of Labor Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said yesterday.
Chang said at a routine news conference that Piyawat Niyom-Rerks, executive director of the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei, offered the apology on behalf of the Thai government during a courtesy call at the ministry earlier in the day.
"Niyom-Rerks returned to Taipei from Bangkok on Monday evening and paid a visit to Cheng Bo-jo (鄭博久), director of the ministry's Asia-Pacific Affairs Department, this morning to explain the recent row over Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu's (陳菊) forced cancellation of a planned visit to Thailand," Chang said.
According to Chang, the de facto Thai ambassador had told Cheng that due to poor coordination inside the Thai government, Chen was unable to obtain a visa to visit Thailand to sign a labor agreement.
On behalf of the Thai government, Chang said, Niyom-Rerks apologized for the visa incident.
Meanwhile, Chang said, Niyom-Rerks also told Cheng that the Thai government still earnestly hopes Chen can visit Thailand to discuss labor issues of mutual concern and sign a bilateral agreement on the direct hiring of Thai nationals to work in Taiwan.
Chang said Taiwan and Thailand are still negotiating relevant problems through diplomatic channels.
"We hope that ongoing talks can lead to results acceptable to both sides," she said, adding that the issues should be resolved in line with the principles of reciprocity, equality and dignity.
The Thai government originally invited Chen to visit Bangkok to witness the signing of a bilateral agreement on the direct employment of Thai laborers. However, the Thai government later backed away from its original invitation and declined to grant Chen an entry visa for fear of offending Beijing. Although Thailand then offered to give Chen a tourist visa, Chen canceled her travel plans and postponed indefinitely the signing of the accord.
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