Days after repeatedly demanding an apology from Manila for the deportation of 14 Taiwanese to the People’s Republic of China last Feb. 2, Taipei appeared to soften its stand Wednesday, with a top official pushing for flexibility in approaching the problem.
Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) quoted Taiwanese foreign minister Timothy Chin-tien Yang as saying there is no need for Taiwan to argue with the Philippines to obtain an apology.
"I can't remember the last time in my diplomatic career that I've seen one country officially 'apologize' to another... and apology takes many forms," Yang said, according to a report posted on the CNA website Wednesday night.
"The people of Taiwan should be rational in their reaction to the unfortunate incident ... Taiwan and the Philippines have a wide range of ties and exchanges and the relations are too important to be sacrificed to a disagreement over one word," he added.
In past days, Taiwan repeatedly demanded a formal apology from the Philippine government since Manila's deportation of 14 fraud suspects to China despite their being Taiwanese nationals.
Taipei showed its displeasure as well by threatening adverse results on Filipino workers bound for Taiwan if not already working there.
To make amends, President Benigno Aquino III sent former Senator Manuel Roxas II as unofficial envoy to Taiwan, where he met with top officials, including Yang and President Ma Ying-Jeou, but refused to offer an apology as it was not part of his trip’s “mandate."
Contents of ‘fact sheet’
Arising from their 12-hour talks, the consensus reached by Roxas and Taiwanese officials were reportedly documented in a "fact sheet," which contained details of the steps the Aquino administration may take in lieu of a formal apology.
The possible actions supposedly include a commitment by Manila that any Philippine officials found to have mishandled the deportation case would be held accountable and possibly reprimanded.
"In the event that officials are found to have been involved in wrong doing, the Philippine authorities will act accordingly, including the possibility of punitive action, which for the Taiwan side would signify a kind of apology," the fact sheet reportedly stated.
According to the same CNA news reports, Yang quoted Roxas as remarking that the Philippine sanctions awaited by Taipei – which may apply to officials of the Department of Justice or its attached agencies that handled the deportation – will be "more serious than an apology to some degree."
"We're giving the Philippines time to carry out its investigations before making our next move," a CNA report quoted Yang as saying. He also reportedly revealed that the Philippine government's judicial and administrative arms are currently investigating the incident.
The fact sheet, reportedly distributed to Taiwanese media by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs according to various news sites in Taiwan, contained other "substantial measures" to mend the strained relations between the two countries.
The existence of such a “fact sheet" appears to have escaped the attention of local media when Roxas shared the results of his Taiwan trip during Wednesday's press conference at Malacañang.
During the media briefing at the Palace, however, Roxas mentioned Manila's interest in opening negotiations with Taipei towards an "economic partnership agreement" - a point which Taiwanese media reported as also contained in the "fact sheet." (See: PHL, Taiwan receptive to mutual assistance deals)
US-China dispute
Still arguing for flexibility in approaching the Philippines-Taiwan row, Yang cited a dispute between the United States and China in 2001, which arose from a mid-air collision of two of their aircraft.
He said the U.S. only told China that it was "sorry" but it never issued a formal apology.
In the Taiwan-Philippines case, the dispute sprang from an issue of judicial jurisdiction, not sovereignty, he noted.
Heat from legislature
Meanwhile, the CNA report said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has been taking the heat in Taiwan's legislature, as some lawmakers criticized the ministry as being soft in its negotiations with the Philippines.
John Chiang, a legislator belonging to the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, and a former foreign minister as well, criticized the MOFA for arranging a meeting between Roxas and President Ma even if Roxas already said in advance that an apology was "not in his mandate."
The MOFA had said that whether Roxas would be allowed to meet with Ma would depend on the message he was bringing to Taiwan.
For its part, the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus criticized Ma's foreign policy and urged the Taiwan government to freeze imports of Filipino workers.
But KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung said that both sides should focus on developing bilateral relations in areas such as the mutual legal assistance agreement and Economic Partnership Agreement mentioned in the consensus.
source: gma
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