Filipinos no longer welcome in Taiwan restaurants, says Meco exec
By Yolanda Sotelo
Inquirer Northern Luzon
Friday, May 17th, 2013
DAGUPAN CITY – Filipinos have been refused service in restaurants and supermarkets, as tensions continue to rise over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard in the Balintang Channel last week, said Amadito Perez Jr., chair of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco).
Many such cases have occurred in the hometown of Hung Shih-cheng in Taiwan, he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a telephone interview from Taipei.
“We have received numerous reports of harassment, particularly from Kaoshiung City, where the slain fisherman resided.
Emotions are running high there and you can feel the animosity toward the overseas Filipino workers,” he said. “Some restaurants refuse to serve food to Filipinos and some supermarkets won’t let Filipinos inside to buy groceries. They (Taiwanese) cast angry glances at Filipinos. I advised them to just buy from the markets and not to wander around, to stay at home if they have nothing important to do outside.”
The Meco is verifying these reports, including claims that some migrant workers were beaten up by Taiwanese residents, he said.
“The situation is tense. The Filipinos are afraid to lose their jobs. I advised them to stay calm and never to retaliate no matter the provocation,” Perez said.
There are 90,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, 10 percent of whom are domestic workers.
Perez said he was informed of factories that have put out news releases threatening to terminate the contracts of Filipino workers because of the death of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng.
But the factories that issued the threats did not come from the electronic sector, which employs 25,000 Filipinos, he said.
“We have good workers in the electronic sector. The Taiwanese cannot just fire them or their electronics sector would be paralyzed. But there are factories in other sectors that may send our workers back home,” he said.
The Taiwanese government has stopped issuing working visas to Filipinos and has advised tour agencies to cancel tours to the Philippines, he said.
Taiwanese tourists rank fifth on a list of top foreign tourists who frequent the Philippines.
The Meco was ready to evacuate Filipino workers if needed, “but we are proceeding with caution,” Perez said.
He admitted he was not spared from the prejudice. He said when he tried to check in at a Taiwanese hotel, he was informed that there was no vacant room.
“There was a small hotel that accepted us. But they told us later they could not accommodate us because of the many reporters outside the hotel and the guests were complaining of being disturbed,” he said.
Local reporters have been hounding Perez there since the incident happened.
Filipino attacked in Taiwan
Posted by Online on May 18th, 2013
The Manila Economic Cooperation Office (MECO) in Taipei, Taiwan has confirmed reports that an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kaoshiung was hit in the arm with a baseball bat by an angry Taiwanese.
The attack was apparently in retaliation to the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard during an encounter in overlapping waters of the two countries last week.
This was the first time that MECO confirmed reports about violence against Filipinos in Taiwan.
MECO Executive Director Antonio Basilio said the OFW suffered a bruised shoulder but has been discharged from the hospital already. “The OFW is now in our office in Kaoshiung,” Basilio said.
He further added that there are scooter-riding gangs who victimize foreigners with drive-by muggings.
Earlier, in order to legally address all the allegations of discrimination, MECO Labor Representative Rey Conferido called on OFWs who have been harassed or insulted by a Taiwanese to send such information, including the name and contact details of the accused, to his office. (Roy C. Mabasa)
Filipino attacked in Taiwan | Tempo - News in a Flash
Philippines rejects Taiwan "murder" claims
POSTED: 18 May 2013
The Philippines Saturday rejected Taiwan's allegations that its coastguards had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat.
MANILA: The Philippines Saturday rejected Taiwan's allegations that its coastguards had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat.
The 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead by Philippine coastguards who said his vessel intruded into Philippine waters.
Chen Wen-chi, head of the Taiwan team investigating the May 9 incident, said most of the bullets had hit the fishing boat's cockpit where its crew hid.
"By combining the... evidence, it clearly shows that the Philippine law enforcers were intentionally shooting the Guang Ta Hsin 28 crew members, which indicates their intent of murder," Chen told a news conference in Manila.
The shooting, which Manila insists occurred inside Philippine territorial waters but which Taipei counters happened within its exclusive economic zone, has led to Taiwanese sanctions against its neighbour.
President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Ricky Carandang rejected the murder allegations.
"There is an investigation ongoing so any premature statements that tend to confuse the issues and inflame passions should be avoided," Carandang told AFP.
Manila has warned its 87,000 nationals who work in Taiwan to stay indoors after a Filipino man was allegedly hospitalised in a baseball bat attack in Kaohsiung city.
Chen's comments echoed those made by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei on Friday.
"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.
Aquino made a "personal" apology on Wednesday over the "unintended" death arising from the patrol's duty of protecting Philippine waters against illegal fishing.
Taiwan has rejected the apology. It recalled its de facto envoy, banned the hiring of new Philippine workers and staged a military drill in waters off the northern Philippines earlier this week.
The Philippines officially recognises Beijing over Taipei but maintains trade ties with the island.
Chen, of the Taiwan justice ministry's department of international and cross-strait legal affairs, said her team was flying back to Taiwan immediately because their Filipino counterparts showed a "lack of sincerity and credibility".
Philippines rejects Taiwan "murder" claims - Channel NewsAsia
