The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) could reconsider its decision to temporarily suspend the hiring of new Filipino workers, depending on the attitude of a visiting Philippine envoy toward the diplomatic dispute that triggered the move, the council minister said yesterday, Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said yesterday.
Wang said any review of the measure to more tightly screen Filipino workers applying to work in Taiwan would consider many factors, including the message and goodwill brought by envoy Manuel Roxas, who is expected to arrive in Taipei today.
Roxas is visiting Taiwan to try to ease tensions between Taipei and Manila that were sparked when the Philippines deported 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China on Feb. 2, an act condemned by Taiwan as an infringement of its sovereignty and a violation of legal practice.
The council responded on Feb. 8 by lengthening the application process for Filipinos wanting to work in Taiwan to four months, from the previous seven to 12 days, effectively freezing the hiring of Filipinos by local companies.
The Philippines’ respect for Taiwan as a country and ongoing communications between Taipei and Manila on crime will also be factors in the review, Wang said.
Asked if it was fair to sanction Manila by restricting opportunities for migrant workers, Wang said there was no other alternative, including economic sanctions, that would not have affected the interests of Filipino workers.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
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