After 'deadlock,' PHL, Taiwan to hold 2nd round of talks

After more than nine hours of talks last Monday, the Philippines and Taiwan prepared for Tuesday a second round of possible marathon talks to smooth out a row stemming from the Philippines’ deportation of 14 Taiwanese to Mainland China last Feb. 2. Former senator Manuel Roxas II, the Philippines’ special envoy to Taiwan, on Tuesday said both parties ended the initial round of talks around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday – some 12 hours after they started. “The negotiations continue. Last Monday, we talked for about nine hours at the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We started at 2 p.m. and we came out of the talks at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. We agreed to continue the talks today," Roxas said in Filipino in an interview on dzXL radio. President Benigno Aquino III had sent Roxas to Taiwan to explain Manila’s deportation of the 14 Taiwanese to Mainland China last Feb. 2, amid Taipei’s repeated demands for an apology.
In the radio interview, Roxas said the decision to continue the talks came around midnight Monday. Before that, he admitted he feared the talks were going nowhere. “Kagabi akala ko halos wala nang tibok, parang bangkay ang usaping ito pero mga 12 midnight, merong bahagyang pagluluwag at sabi nila, 'sige mag-usap tayo bukas ng umaga'," Roxas said. Bright spot Meanwhile, Roxas said one bright spot in the talks was that a classmate of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou was present at the talks, who started attending the meeting at about 10 p.m. He said the classmate, who he did not name also happened to be one of his schoolmates at a school he attended in the United States. “Last night a high official who was a classmate of their president attended the talks. This official attended the same school I attended in the US. Perhaps this is a sign Taiwan also wants a solution to this row," he said in Filipino. “We can be sure this official will relay what happened at the meeting to President Ma," he added. Apology demand Roxas said Taiwan’s demand for an apology remained the most contentious part of the talks, adding Taiwan had been “emotional" over the matter. He said that during Monday’s meeting, Taiwanese officials presented to him visas and immigration documents of the 14 deported Taiwanese. “They [Taiwan officials] were very emotional so we listened to their complaints. They said their sovereignty was violated. They asked us how we would feel if they deported one of our 90,000 overseas Filipino workers there to another country. I’d rather not narrate the other things they said lest the situation worsen," he said in Filipino. He also described the atmosphere of the talks as “serious." Roxas said that another bright spot in the talks is the inclination to set up a legal aid mechanism that will prevent a repeat of the Feb. 2 incident. But he admitted the progress of the talks would slow down when the Taiwanese side would again demand an apology. He said he could only explain to the Taiwanese officials that he was there to seek understanding and not to offer an apology. “I told them that seeking understanding is one thing, but seeking forgiveness is another. We in the Philippines did not want the incident to happen. But we also hope there will be no misunderstanding," he said. Meanwhile, Roxas said that at least for now, Filipinos in Taiwan do not appear affected by Taiwan’s punitive measures that stemmed from the Feb. 2 incident. As a show of displeasure, Taiwan tightened requirements on Filipino workers bound for Taipei and recalled its envoy to the Philippines. Roxas said the strict requirements would affect Filipino workers, many of whom already shelled out P95,000 in recruitment and processing fees just to get to Taiwan. “Maaring mangyari at iniiwasan natin bawa’t buwan may 3,000 kontratang nag-e-expire at inaasahang magkaroon ng renewal. Kung di maayos ngayon malalagay sa alanganin ang renewal babalik sila bilang panibagong aplikante (Every month, there are 3,000 contracts that expire and the Filipino workers will have to go through the procedures as new applicants)," he said. On the other hand, Roxas said Aquino has maintained a "hands-on" approach to the problem, seeking updates through text and phone calls. — LBG, GMA News