Fewer jobs for Taiwan OFWs sans RP trade pact
GMA News 02/11/2010
Fewer jobs for Taiwan OFWs sans RP trade pact
– JMA, RJAB Jr
Thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan may lose their jobs if the Philippines fails to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Taipei, an island’s top official said on Thursday.
This developed as the international community continued to face a dilemma over whether to consider Taiwan as an autonomous government or a Chinese territory.
Taiwan-based factories employing Filipinos may move operations to mainland China once the trade pact between China and Taiwan is signed, said Donald Lee, Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office representative to Manila.
“The Philippines should seriously consider signing an FTA with Taiwan," Lee said in a press briefing.
This will allow the country to “tap enormous benefits" from the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which is currently being negotiated by Beijing and Taipei.
An estimated 100,000 Filipino workers are currently employed in Taiwan.
If the Philippines fails to take swift action, Taiwan locators that would have established operations in the Philippines may be prompted to move to mainland China due to ECFA’s “magnetized effect."
“Worse, many overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan will soon be out of jobs as Taiwan factories may move to mainland China after the implementation of ECFA," Lee warned.
According to Lee, the Philippines has declined to negotiate an FTA with Taiwan “due to political reasons," but he said Philippine officials hinted that it might consider forging a trade accord with Taipei once the ECFA is signed.
Taiwan, a democratic self-governing island, has been separated from the Chinese mainland since 1949, but the Beijing government claims it is part of its territory.
Not a single Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member has forged diplomatic relations with Taiwan in deference to the One-China Policy.
The policy asserts that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and that all countries seeking diplomatic relations with the PRC must defer to this policy and cease from maintaining official relations with Taiwan.
The signing of the ECFA between China and Taiwan is seen to further boost the already warming relations between the two long-time adversaries, allowing free flow of goods, services, investments and capital.
Lee is strongly encouraging the Philippines to sign an FTA with Taiwan, as its stands to benefit from the accord in the form of more investments and increased job opportunities.
“If Taiwan and the Philippines will sign an FTA, we foresee great strides in the cooperation of trade and investment, agriculture, and labor, with more Filipino workers coming to Taiwan, and more Taiwan investments flowing to the Philippines as well. Above all, we want to protect the working opportunities of Filipino workers in Taiwan," Lee said.
