The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) was in damage control mode yesterday after Philippine presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Manila’s decision to appoint a new immigration chief — hailed by Taipei as a major move in a diplomatic spat over a controversial deportation last month — was not connected with the case.
On Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said the appointment of Ricardo David Jr to replace Ronaldo Ledesma as commissioner of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration showed that Manila “has shown goodwill and regret” over the extradition to China of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects on Feb. 2. As a result, Yang announced that Taiwan would relax some visa application requirements for Philippine workers imposed in retaliation for the deportation.
However, Lacierda said the change was unrelated to the crisis.
“It was never in response to or in a way of appeasing the Taiwanese officials or the Taiwan government on what happened during the recent deportation incident. It is not related to that,” Lacierda told a press conference yesterday.
In a press release on the Web site of the Office of the President of the Philippines on Wednesday, Lacierda said: “David’s appointment has nothing to do with the Philippine-Taiwan rift ... [David] was already being considered by the President even before the controversy started.”
Ger Bau-shuan (葛葆萱), deputy director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said yesterday that Manila had told Taipei that the replacement was related to the crisis and was trying to determine why the spokesman said otherwise.
Later yesterday, Yang said the spokesman did not understand the reasons behind the replacement as he was out of the loop during negotiations on the matter.
“My understanding from the Philippines was that the presidential office spokesman did not understand the whole situation in the decision-making process, which led him to make such comments,” Yang said.
Amadeo Perez Jr, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, had already clarified Lacierda’s comments, Yang said.
“Perez told us that he understood the situation and that the reshuffle of the Bureau of Immigration’s personnel was related to the deportation,” Yang said.
Meanwhile, ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said Philippine Senator Manuel Roxas II would soon return to Taiwan to explain his government’s position on the matter.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such