The friendship between Taiwanese and Filipinos is a “shining example” of people coexisting peacefully in a world fraught with war and strife, Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Silvestre Bello III said on Monday.
Bello made the remarks during an event marking the 125th anniversary of the Philippines’ independence from Spain.
Despite their different histories, Taiwan and the Philippines have become increasingly intertwined, Bello told a banquet in Taipei to celebrate Philippine National Day.
Photo: CNA
Philippine investments in Taiwan increased in the 1960s, with many buildings being constructed by Filipino-Chinese business owners at a time when Taiwan was struggling to develop its economy, Bello said.
Bilateral trade has since flourished and Taiwan is now the Philippines’ eighth-largest trade partner, he added.
There are about 180,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, many of whom work in factories assembling semiconductors, Bello said.
“We are proud to point out that our Filipino workers are performing vital functions in your factories,” he said.
“There are many other aspects of the close cooperation and friendship,” Bello said.
Bello proposed a toast to the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence, and the friendship between the Philippines and Taiwan.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) highlighted increasing bilateral trade and frequent people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, saying that they are “next-door neighbors” and “friends with closely aligned values.”
Bilateral trade reached US$10.7 billion last year, an 18 percent increase from the previous year, Lee said.
Taiwan was the Philippines’ 10th-largest source of foreign direct investment last year.
At least 90,000 Filipinos have visited Taiwan so far this year, while 50,000 Taiwanese have visited the Philippines, Lee said.
“Our friendship has remained strong and unwavering for decades, and our ties are rooted in deep people-to-people connections, which have contributed to this robust and mutually beneficial partnership across a full spectrum of interests,” Lee said.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
RSS