Taiwan leader calls for calm amid outrage in PH

TAIPEI, Taiwan (UPDATED) – Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-Jeou on Friday, May 17, called for calm and promised to protect Filipinos on the island amid widespread anger at the Philippines over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman.

Anti-Manila sentiments mounted after a 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead last week by Philippine coastguards who said his vessel intruded into the Philippine waters.

Taiwanese media have reported an attack on a Filipino, tourists cancelling planned visits to the Philippines and some supermarkets removing food from the Philippines from their shelves.

“We will continue negotiating the issue with the Philippines and I hope everyone can calmly and peacefully resolve the issue to avoid hurting bilateral ties,” Ma said while meeting a group of international scholars.

Ma said he has instructed relevant Taiwanese units to protect some 87,000 Filipinos living and working on the island to ensure they are not harmed.

Taiwan’s ETTV cable news channel reported that a Filipino was allegedly attacked by 4 Taiwanese wielding iron bars as he went to work in southern Taiwan. He was treated at a hospital for a facial injury.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lin also urged calm at a press conference aimed at seeking more international support for the diplomatically isolated island in the lingering dispute.

“We consider the Filipino people as our friends… We call on our people to treat them well, and our government will continue to provide a friendly environment for them,” he said.

PH workers told to lie low

Philippines’ de facto envoy to Taiwan on Friday warned compatriots living on the island to avoid public places after attacking incident.

Speaking on a Manila radio station, Amadeo Perez recounted the latest attack: “They smashed his arm with a (baseball) bat. He was taken to (a) hospital, and the case is under police investigation.

“People are emotional, and tensions are running high. You (Filipino workers) should stay at home and eat indoors before and after work,” he added.

Perez is chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), which handles trade and other relations with Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties and the special envoy of President Aquino who issued the apology to the Taiwanese government.

The Philippines, like most countries, formally recognizes China over Taiwan.

He was unavailable for comment, a member of his staff said late Friday when contacted by AFP.

Only 23 countries have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The Philippines officially recognizes Beijing over Taipei but maintains trade ties with the island.

Taiwan has rejected the apology and Manila’s claims that the incident took place in Philippine waters and that it was “unintended”, while President Ma described the incident as “cold-blooded murder”.

“If (Philippine) civil servants used automatic weapons to fire at unarmed and provocative fishing boats, this was not carrying out their job duties. This is cold-blooded murder,” Ma said.

Taiwan has recalled its envoy, banned the hiring of new Philippine workers and staged a military drill in waters off the northern Philippines earlier this week.

A personal envoy for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III was forced to return home on Thursday, May 16, after Taipei rejected an apology he conveyed for the president.

Taipei has repeatedly pressed Manila to issue a formal government apology, to compensate the fisherman’s family, and to apprehend the killer. – Rappler.com