【Reported by Xuan-ping Liu, Yu-xuan Guo, Tamkang Times】On May 27th Representative of the Office of the Philippines in Taiwan, Hsi-li Pai, was invited to discuss the topic of “The 40 Year Economic Balance Between China, Taiwan and the Philippines.” The conference emphasized that Taiwanese and Philippine relations must maintain harmonious for the future economic success of both countries. Hsi-li Pai exclaimed, “Taiwan is faced with three specific issues: fishing restrictions, illegal internet activity and illegal labor.” He then illustrated his point by discussing a case involving a fraudulent international group that fooled people of China to buy land in the Philippines. Through the cooperation of Taiwanese and Filipino authorities, they were able to arrest 44 suspects. He also gave a clearer perspective involving the fishing issues and other politically controversial events.

First year student of the Graduate Institute of Asian Studies, Yu-jun Wang, stated, “Taiwan and the Philippines eventually will have to cooperate for the sake of both economies, but the government needs to be more assertive about handling these difficult and complex issues.”