| The Representative Office of The Republic Of China (Taiwan)： |
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines |
|---|---|
| Address： | 41st Floor, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City Metro Manila, Philippines |
| TEL： | (63-2) 8887-6688 |
| Emergency Tel： | (63) 917-819-4597 |
| FAX： | (63-2) 8887-7679 |
| Name of the Representative： | Mr. Wallace Minn-Gan Chow |
| EMAIL： | phl@mofa.gov.tw |
| URL： | http://www.taiwanembassy.org/ph |
| Bilateral Relations ： | Taiwan and the Philippines are not only geographically close to each other, more importantly, both also share common values of freedom, democracy, free media, rule of law, civil society, and similar Austronesian culture. In addition, Taiwanese and Filipinos share common traits of being friendly, optimistic, courteous, caring, and hardworking. As the Philippines is poised for high and sustained growth and its market has become one of the most prosperous ASEAN markets, it has been prioritized by the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the gateway to ASEAN countries in the “New Southbound Policy.” Based on the “New Southbound Policy,” Taiwan hopes to strengthen cooperation with the Philippines in various fields not only in trade and investment, agriculture, fisheries aquaculture, technology, small and medium enterprises, green technology, climate change, but also in education, culture, as well as people to people interactions and exchanges. Taiwanese and Filipinos are actually living in a regional community. If Taiwan and the Philippines work in partnership, both sides surely could be beneficial to all. In 2023, Taiwan and the Philippines two-way trade amounted to $7.41 billion. Further, in order to strengthen the business ties with the Philippines, Taiwan has already established nine banks in the Philippines. Taiwan and the Philippines maintain close cooperation not only in economics and trade, investment, technology, agriculture, fishery, law enforcement, labor affairs, but also in tourism, education, culture, and frequent people-to-people engagement. Among these collaboration areas, tourism is an important element in promoting people-to-people understanding. The tourism industry suffered a serious setback after the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in 2020. However, with easing of border control measures in Taiwan and the Philippines in 2022, the number of Filipinos visiting Taiwan increased rapidly. Throughout 2023, there were more than 350,000 Filipino tourists visiting Taiwan. From January to July 2024, there were more than 264,000 Filipino tourists visiting Taiwan. The tourism market’s strong recovery has shown the positive effect since the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) granted Philippine nationals visa-free entry to Taiwan for up to 14 days starting from November 1, 2017. This privilege is a display of Taiwan’s efforts of the “New Southbound Policy” to build closer people-to-people exchange of visits. The Republic of China (Taiwan) has extended its trial period of visa-free privileges to the Philippines until July 31, 2025. Apart from Taiwan’s thriving trade with the Philippines, Taiwan is the host to more than 150,000 Filipino workers, who are fairly treated and well protected by the law in Taiwan. They are guaranteed by the Republic of China (Taiwan) national minimum wage required by law and receive exactly the same national health insurance as the Republic of China (Taiwan) nationals do. As Taiwan is a peaceful and safe place, Filipinos are fairly fond of Taiwan and consider Taiwan as their “second home.”There are also approximately 8,000 Filipinos who are married with Taiwanese. Most of them fell in love at work. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese also thank them for their hard work and contribution toward the economic development in Taiwan.“A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Whenever there are natural calamities in the Philippines, Taiwan has always proved to be a genuine friend as one of the first countries to extend humanitarian assistance.Looking ahead, in the time of a new era for Taiwan and the Philippines and as Taiwan is implementing the “New Southbound Policy” to strengthen its relations with the Philippines, both countries should expand and strengthen multifaceted cooperation and partnership, including more people-to-people engagement and interaction. By doing so, both countries will benefit from the continued growth of bilateral relationship. |
