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                   Philippine Workers in Taiwan Feel Backlash

   by Simone Orendain

   Advocates for Philippine migrant workers say they are concerned about
   the effects of a hiring freeze Taiwan's government has put in place
   against the Philippines.  The move came less than a week after a
   Philippine Coast Guard crew admitted shooting at a Taiwanese vessel,
   killing a fisherman.
   Statistics from the [1]Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
   show close to 30,000 Filipinos are hired as workers in Taiwan every
   year.  The government says there are a total of more than 85,000
   workers there now.
   [2]Migrante International Chairman Garry Martinez says workers with
   pending applications for jobs in Taiwan will be hit especially hard.
   This is because even before they leave, they may owe recruitment and
   other application fees, which come to one month's salary or more.
   "They're asking for the bank to give them money and there is some
   collateral and the big interest to the loan shark.  That is the problem
   they are facing now," he said.
   Martinez says workers already in Taiwan also face uncertainty.  His
   niece is a machinist at a factory and he says he has received reports
   from her and from other factory workers that their bosses anticipate
   business will slow down if they cannot hire.
   The hiring freeze and sanctions on travel to the Philippines went into
   effect Wednesday, after Taiwan rejected Philippine President Benigno
   Aquino's apology for the fishing incident, calling it unofficial
   because it came from a de facto envoy to Taiwan. Taiwanese
   investigators in Manila on Saturday called the shooting a murder.
   Aquino's spokespeople have reiterated the administration's regret over
   the "unintended and unfortunate incident," drawing the ire of Taiwan
   President Ma Ying-jeou, who said they could not assess the situation in
   these terms without a joint investigation.  But the Philippines has
   said "no" to such an arrangement.
   Manila-based security analyst Rommel Banlaoi says the carefully worded
   messages are in keeping with the Philippines' view that Taiwan is part
   of China.
   "We deal with Taiwan [in a] purely economic sense, trade and commerce
   and investment.  But we avoid having political or security ties with
   Taiwan... because we don't want to undermine the `One China' policy,"
   said Banlaoi.
   Banlaoi says Taiwan's reaction is "not an act of a friend," especially
   because they are the sixth-largest partner of the Philippines with
   annual trade of $2 billion.  He says the overseas contract workers are
   a major contributor to this relationship.
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   [3]http://www.voanews.com/content/philippine-workers-in-taiwan-feel-bac
   klash/1663880.html

References

   1. http://www.poea.gov.ph/
   2. http://migranteinternational.org/
   3. http://www.voanews.com/content/philippine-workers-in-taiwan-feel-backlash/1663880.html