Taiwan: Manila Deports 14 Taiwanese to China
On the light of this action Taipei shows great concern and protest for what considers a “disrespect” to Taiwan. Premier Wu Den-yih had claim that “Philippines had ignored international practice by extraditing the Taiwanese to China”.
Below is an article published by Taipei Times
The Philippine government held an extraordinary meeting yesterday [3 February 2011] after Taipei lodged a protest over the deportation to China of 14 Taiwanese allegedly involved in an international fraud ring, a Taiwanese government official said on condition of anonymity, adding that Taiwan would monitor how Manila handles the matter.
The Philippine government has yet to respond formally to the protest made by Taipei on Wednesday, including a strongly worded statement that Taiwan could re-examine bilateral relations and suspend exchanges over the controversy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sent a letter of protest to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
Deputy Representative of the Philippines in Taipei Carlo Aquino apologized to Taiwan when he was summoned by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Ssu-tsun on Wednesday afternoon, ministry deputy spokesman Steve Shia told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Philippine Representative to Taiwan Antonio Basilio returned to Manila on Wednesday morning to deal with the matter, Shia said.
Basilio had been summoned to meet foreign ministry officials before he left and was clearly aware of Taiwan’s position that the Philippines had no right to deport the 14 Taiwanese to China, Shia said.
The Taiwanese, along with 10 Chinese, were arrested on Dec. 27 in Manila on suspicion of swindling NT$600 million (US$20.6 million) through a scam that largely targeted Chinese.
Approached for comment yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih said the Philippines had ignored international practice by extraditing the Taiwanese to China and had shown “disrespect” to Taiwan by “failing to cherish the friendship between the two countries.”
Wu said he had asked the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Straits Exchange Foundation to negotiate with China to ensure the return of the Taiwanese to Taipei.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused the government of cowardice, accused China of making an outrageous demand and said the deportation was deplorable.
