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MOFA denies Manila
set on visa status
VISA WAIVER: An opinion piece included among the
stories on MECO¡¦s Web site has aroused concerns because of its comments about
visas and Taiwan¡¦s representative
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday denied an opinion piece
published in Manila that the Philippines has already declined to grant Republic
of China passport holders visa-waiver privilege, saying the goal was still on
the government¡¦s agenda.
¡§The media report did not reflect the stance of the Philippine government,¡¨
James Chou (©P¿oµØ), deputy director-general of the ministry¡¦s Department of East
Asian and Pacific Affairs, told a routine news briefing yesterday.
Chou was responding to an article by Rina Jimenez-David, a Filipino journalist,
which was published in the opinion section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on
June 14.
Jimenez-David said the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) ¡§is formally
rejecting the Taiwanese appeal, arguing that granting visa-free entry to
Taiwanese would necessitate granting the same right to Mainland Chinese.¡¨
She said MECO officials had said granting Taiwan visa-waiver status ¡§would open
the door to Taiwanese and Chinese drug and human-smuggling syndicates¡¨ and that
¡§even with current visa requirements, our media are already full of stories
about Chinese drug rings, prostitution rings and illegal entrants.¡¨
¡§This is not to mention the rampant smuggling of illegal and fake drugs, and
unsafe products ranging from skin-whitening creams to ¡¥double-dead¡¦ poultry,¡¨
she wrote.
Jimenez-David decried Representative to the Philippines Raymond Wang (¤ý¼Ö¥Í) for
being ¡§boorish¡¨ and ¡§overbearing¡¨ in lobbying for visa-waiver status, saying
that Wang ¡§appears to lack the necessary diplomatic experience and cultural
sensitivity.¡¨
Chou said the MECO apologized for the article having been placed with news
articles on its Web site for several days. The article was removed on Monday
night, Chou said.
Late last night, the MECO issued a statement saying the views expressed in the
article and another one by the same author on June 19 ¡§are that of the writer.¡¨
The statement said MECO has no power to grant or reject visa waiver treatment
for Taiwan, as the responsibility and authority to consider these matters lay
with the office of the president and other executive agencies.
MECO said the comment about Wang was ¡§unfortunate¡¨ and it is reviewing Web site
policies to ensure that such misunderstandings will not occur again.
The statement said the MECO and Taipei Economic and Culture Office in the
Philippines continue to cooperate closely in many activities beneficial to both
Taiwan and the Philippines, including the protection of their citizens.
¡§For example, there are ongoing discussions on cooperation on mutual legal
assistance and combating trans-national crime,¡¨ MECO said.
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