Taiwan wants pact with PHL amid deportation row

Taiwan has called for the immediate forging of a mutual legal assistance agreement with the Philippines following the recent deportation of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China. The 14 were deported to China last Feb. 2 despite attempts by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) officials and lawyers to have them brought to Taiwan instead. With the agreement, Taiwan aims to shield its nationals against unlawful arrests and deportations to third countries. “To prevent such undesirable consequences from happening again in the future, an agreement on mutual judicial assistance between Taiwan and the Philippines should be concluded as soon as possible," said TECO in a statement. It added that such legal bilateral mechanism would allow the Philippines and Taiwan to assist each other in the investigative, prosecutorial and judicial processes related to criminal matters involving their respective nationals. Manila does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a democratic self-governing island that has been separated from the Chinese mainland since 1949, but still claimed by China as part of its territory. Not a single Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member, has forged diplomatic relations with Taiwan due to the One-China Policy. China objects to any foreign contact that appears to treat Taiwan as a sovereign government. TECO also called for the re-opening of the case against the deported Taiwanese, citing “apparent flaws in the process of the said deportation handled by Philippine authorities." The 14, along with 10 Chinese nationals, were arrested December last year in the Philippines upon the request of Beijing, which accused the 24 of engaging in a multi-million dollar criminal activity using the Internet and mobile gadgets. Manila insisted that it did not err in deporting the 14 Taiwanese to China and thumbed down Taipei’s request for an apology. In retaliation, Taiwan said it will strictly review the applications of Filipinos who wish to work in Taiwan and cancel preferential treatment for Philippine nationals to file visa applications for free online. It has also recalled its representative to the country. Taiwan is home to around 100,000 Filipino workers, majority of whom are employed in electronic assembly and manufacturing factories while around 20,000 work as caregivers. President Benigno Aquino III will send an emissary to Taiwan to explain its side and hopefully iron out the kinks between the two sides. - KBK, GMA News