Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy New Year 2007 to all! It's the year of the pig.

I also would like also to greet you with the Philippines' 3 Major Languages --

Manigong Bagong Taon sa inyong lahat!
Malipayong Bag-ong Tuig sa inyong tanan!
Narang-ay nga Baro nga Tawen kanyayo amin!

Of course we'd include a little lesson in Mandarin. In Mandarin, it is written as

The characters are read: Hsin Nyen Kuai Le ; and translated as Hsin=New, Nyen=Year, Kuai Le=Happy. So roughly it is said New Year Happy. Got it?

Hsin Nyen Kuai Le! May each and everyone be blessed with a prosperous New Year!

Cannot Call to the Philippines? Here's why...

The quake in Southern Taiwan yesterday, Dec.26, caused only 2 fatalities and 42 injured but Taiwan and the rest of the world now face disrupted telecommunications. The quake damaged almost 60% of undersea telecommunication cables; call handling capabilities in and out of Taiwan has been reduced to almost 50%. The impact is being felt in Japan, china, Hongkong, Phils, US, Europe, Middle East, India, Korea and other SE Asian countries. Internet connection has been impacted and it's doing a deal of delays to companies utilizing internet connectivity in their business activities.

Now you know why your overseas call is not getting through.

Repair is estimated to take 3 weeks, but Taiwan's major telecom players are looking for satellite alternatives to alleviate the bottleneck.

Let's cross our fingers. Although indirect, the effect of calamities like this will find it's way to each of us.

Post Christmas Quick News: THSRC and 1226 Quake

First: On Dec.24, THSRC has been given the green light to operate commercially. Fares are not officially anounced yet. There are speculations that tickets will cost 30% cheaper than air ticket, and 50% more expensive than bus fare. That rounds to about NT$1200.

Second: Two strong quakes hit Taiwan between 8:00 and 9:00 PM yesterday, Dec.26. There are two major tremors measuring 7.1 and 7.0 respectively on the Richter Scale. Occurence is in that order. The epicenters are located undersea, a little South of Kaoshiung, Taiwan. No major damage and no fatality was reported. No Pinoy was hurt.

OFW Christmas in Taiwan

It would have been a real Merry Christmas but I was just a witness of an incomprehensible manner of a "kapwa Pinoy" AGAINST another a few minutes before Noche Buena.

I just witnessed how some Dormitory Matrons repressively treat OFWs. Many OFW's in Taiwan has to endure some difficult treatment sometimes (many times?). I don't know if I am at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I guess I was at the right place at the right time to witness it and write it for others to read and ponder.

My head is a mess right now. It's disturbing. I am boiling inside. Hope tomorrow, Christmas Day, I could get over it and write some coherent thoughts so I can share how most Pinoy's "endure" Christmas in Taiwan. I may be posting it after Christmas.

I don't want to wish that everyone's Christmas will be ruined just the same, but I can't wish you'd have delightful Christmas anymore. Pardon me, it ruined mine.

Bless You All!

Less fingerprints required from Pinoys in securing ARC

Finger printing for Pinoys (all foreigners actually) for their Alien Residence Certificate (ARC) will be reduced to left and right thumbs only. The old rule is to finger print all of the left and right hand fingers, much like the Philippine's NBI does.

We knew that Taiwanese government workers are efficient and quick people (much the opposite of what we have in the Philippines) and they're still making it even faster.That sounds good, although we hope they remove that requirement totally soon. It does not compensate recent delays of releasing visa in the Philippines due to tighter demand on validations, but It helps. At least. Think about the lines in the police stations, and that dreaded mess and stains you endure after all those pre-departure rush you've just been before landing in Taiwan.

I just have a thought (I'm not praying it happens to anyone) : what if a foreigner losses a thumb while in Taiwan, worse both thumbs? He's untraceable anymore? Or does it matter at all? If not, hope they just take it all out. Taiwan is the only country requiring finger prints from foreigners anyway.

Make that a Christmas Wish ^-^...
----------

On other news:

A fews back I wrote about the upcoming commercial operation of THSR. Well it looks like it will drag on indefinitely.

On the last week of November, THSRC received the long-awaited Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) conducted by Lloyd's Register Rail of London,United Kingdom. We didn't know if the safety inspection passed, but it seems like the IV&V report was likewise questioned again because it did not address concerns about the highspeed train control systems. Inspite of that, there were news that THSRC slated operation on Dec.7. Taiwan's Consumer's Foundation continued it's stern warning to boycott if THSRC pushes operation without clearance of some 33 safety concerns.

The news almost sound like dead for the last two weeks.

Then on 12/21, THSRC's CEO Ou Chin-Der issued a statement guaranteeing the safety of the train. Until today, there is no publicly accessible document from the independent British and Japanese experts who audited the THSR, which usually the case is with controversial projects like this.

Taiwan's Ministry Of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) will hold again a meeting with THSRC and the inpectors on 12/24 to finally decide whether Taiwan's bullet train will start rolling (MOTC required THSRC to have 0% accident until 12/23 on their safety tests).

Hope to hear THSRC blowing the bells on 12/24 Noche Buena.

Sen Tan Jie Kuai Le!

Sen Tan Jie Kuai Le! That's Merry Christmas in Mandarin, the most widely spoken language in the world. I could sense your eyebrow raising on that claim. Yes, English is only second to Mandarin in the number of speakers. If ever your teacher once told you that English is the most widely spoken language, not really. Well, not necessarily false. It may be, if we count the number of countries with a considerable number in their respective population that speak and read/write English. But if you count the raw number of mouth speaking, Mandarin reign number-1. That said, and considering the ever growing economic clout of Chinese or Chinese-origin people, some Mandarin could prove to be advantageous.

Sen Tan Jie Kuai Le! It is written in Chinese as
Read the characters Sen-Tan-Jie-Kuai-Le, in the same order. It roughly means "Happy Festival for Birth of Saint". That translation is mine, and I took it from individual meaning of each character which goes

Sen = Saint , Tan = Born, Jie = Festival, Kuai Le = Happy

Saint + Born + Festival + Happy. Figure it out, re-arrange to make sense.

Others do not use Sen, they use Ye which means Jesus. The 1st character will change, so in Mandarin it will beRead as Ye-Tan-Jie-Kuai-Le, it will mean Jesus + Born + Festival + Happy. The meaning isn't too hard to decipher.

One very important thing to remember in speaking Mandarin is the delicate inflection of tone in each syllable. There are 5 tones necessary to master speaking Mandarin, but it would take too long to write in here. You can make the tone natural though, pronounce the e in Sen and Le in the lower-heavy tone just like the 1st e in "where" (sounds like combined e-a). Alright?

Make it sound more authentic, use a little more personal greeting like

Merry Christmas to you : Tsu Ni Sen Tan Jie Kuai Le
Merry Christmas to all : Tsu Ni Men Sen Tan Jie Kuai Le

Easy, right? Goodluck! Try it to your Chinese,Taiwanese or Singaporean associates. If they respond with a bewildered look, say it once more. If the puzzled look persists, you can always say you just mumbled a greetings from some little-known dialect in the Philippines! Lusot :)

Merry Christmas everyone! We wish all Pinoy in Taiwan, in the Philippines and everywhere in the world a happy, blessed and abundant Christmas Season! Maligaya at mapayapang Pasko sa inyong lahat! Maayong Pasko sa inyong tanan! Naragsak nga Paskua yo amin! Ye Tan Jie Kuai Le!


Image code by deepbox.com

How are we doing?

Seems that TaiwanPinoy.com is one of the most read site about the subject "Pinoy" and "Taiwan". The planet's 2 biggest search engines says it...


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Destination Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

A few days back we visited Taipei 101 yet again. But we didn't settle on the outside taking shots and straining our necks looking up and down. This time we have to bid goodbye to $US100 for a ticket on the earth's fastest elevator ever (well, at least for now), and shot up to the buildings 89th floor where the Observatory Deck is. And yes, shot up, literally.

Taipei 101 has the world's fastest elevator. Yet again, at least for now, because someday soon someone somewhere is gonna beat that. That's "soon", my friend. Now it's the fastest, and we'll relish the experience as long as it lasts. It's really fast. From the 5th floor to the 89th floor, it took only a minute. It turns out to be one of the most expensive ride I ever had, at $US50 each minute. I'm not whining, it's worth it, even though you'd get that strange sensation in your ears due to abrupt change in athmospheric pressure on your way up and down later.

Up in the 89th floor, you'd get stunning view of Taipei 101, a change to get close to magnificent million-$ gold sculptures, and a close view of the famous "damper" that keeps Taipei 101 stable agains swaying.

We're having a very hectic schedule now. Christmas and New Year holidays are coming pretty soon and we have tons of photos for uploads, plus, it's rush time on the job. You know, end-of-year rush.

We're going to bring you those photos for sure dear friends, we'll live to TaiwanPinoy's promise. We're sure you want them. I'm inserting sample here, watch out for more in TaiwanPinoy!

Taiwan High-Speed Rail

Last week there was a flurry of news of the about-to-be operation of Taiwan's High-Speed Rail. It was said that THSR will finally open to the public on the last week of December, this year. But, commonplace with high-risk public utilities like it, some safety concerns are raised (by the Taiwan Government) because of some derailment accidents during the trial runs. The Taiwan Government imposed a battery of tests that the THSR operators has to comply to, and of course pass, before the bullet train can finally open to the public. Taiwan's Consumer Foundation (CF) is on the lookout and has released stern threat to boycott THSRC (that C is for Corporation) if THSRC operates the High-Speed Train before all potential safety issues are resolved (Full Story: CF urges THSRC not to hastily launch high-speed rail system). That means we might have to wait a little bit more before we get a ride, it's for our best interest anyway.

Furthermore complicating the issue, it was said that THSRC requires taxi operators to pay them a monthly premium if they are to service THSRC commuters, for "using THSRC facilities". That aroused ires from some civic groups. Way the before the THSRC project officially broke ground, there has been a war between High-Speed train parts suppliers (Full Story: High Speed Train Gets Derailed ); and now that THSRC is knee deep into debt, it looks like they're going to extend their money losing days.

Well, all of those news of red tape and everything does not interest us to the least. We're interested how this THSRC is going to affect the day-to-day life of OFWs in Taiwan. The way we see it, it's going to be a boon to Pinoys although the effect is not going to be directly affecting their jobs.

First, we all know that most Pinoys particularly those employed in huge factories has to comply with curfews imposed by their respective dormitory managers. This is quite dehumanizing on the grounds that you are required to stay inside a predefined area for a certain period of time while you are not at work. Of all countries host to OFW, Taiwan is the only country we knew imposing this kind of control to Pinoys. Let's stop here, we reserve separate discussion on this subject. So we know it: Pinoys can't leave their "camps" before a predefined time, and has to be back later to that same "camp" on or before a specified time. Otherwise, you're grounded.

Because of that, Pinoys can explore Taiwan very limitedly. They can't travel away too far from their "camps" because they have to make sure they have to have ample time to get back. It is realy very limiting. It's much worse than a curfew imposed by your mother when you are at your teens. If your location is on the extreme North (Taipei) or on the extreme South ( Pingtung/Kaoshiung) and you want to travel to the opposite end, you'd need 4~5 hrs. Dorm managements usually allow Pinoys only 14 hrs to stay out of their dorms during non-working days. Deduct 10 hrs travel-time and you're left with only 4 hrs time to spend on your destination! Now, with THSRC enabling just 90 minutes Taipei-to-Kaoshiung, it will open a whole new world for Pinoy's in Taiwan. It should be an exciting news to Pinoy spouses in Taiwan, particularly those located cities apart.

Second, and the last I can think of now, THSRC will be a boon to Pinoys traveling to and from the Philippines.

There are two international airports in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) International Airport in Taoyuan and Kaoshiung International Airport in Kaoshiung. If a Pinoy is taking a leave from work for a "home leave" it usually is just 10 days (Yes, that's the standard leave granted to Pinoys). If you can't avail of flight on one airport, you can avail on the other but you have to take into account your travel time from end-to-end which is again 4~5 hrs. Bottom line, you have 10 days leave and 1 days surely goes to travel time. With THSRC, it would not matter much which airport I depart and arrive. It will be of much interest to Pinoys going to the extreme Northern Philippines because they could simply catch planes bound to Laoag, Ilocos Norte departing from Kaoshiung City, and it will not matter if their worksite is in Taipei.

Looking at the pics here, it looks like THSR is set to open really soon. There are already signs all over Taipei Main Station showing directions to the HSR Line. Let's wait and see...

Destination Ilan

We've just been on the weekends in Ilan, on the Northeast Coast of Taiwan. Beautiful scenery, tasty food, and friendly people....awesome place. Plus, we had a taste of passing through the world's 5th longest tunnel (at 12.5km) on our way back to Taipei. Great weekends!

Now that I'm sober, I realize I haven't made a substantial job in uploading photos from Taichung to TaiwanPinoy site and we have some more on hand. So probably, Ilan will be the the last place we travel to this year. We'll be visiting the South (Chiayi, Tainan, Kaoshiung, Pingtung) once Taiwan's High Speed Rail is in operation, and as we are told, THSRC will start operation at the end of this year! Surely enough, on our way to Ilan when we are in Taipei's Main Train Station, we saw THSRC ticket vending machines, attendant booths, waiting lounges, and guidance signages ready. It's another event to watch out.

Keep your bookmarks, all pics will be in TaiwanPinoy.com very soon!

Misinformed DOLE Official

This news maybe a little late. But I'm just curious how informed our DOLE Officials are. Read the complete news in newsflash.org. What is intriguing is that the news says a DOLE official said:

"After a three-year contract, foreign workers, including Filipinos, are no longer allowed to return for employment in Taiwan"...

Three years? That was so years ago. At present the maximum allowed by Taiwan is 6 years! Do note that the news is dated Oct.10,2006 so we can safely assume that the statement is referring to the present foreign labor environment of Taiwan.

We could question the credibility of this news site, or the labor official who said it. If the latter is true, it's shivery. I assume that whoever is that DOLE Official is, he has an official say on Philippine-Taiwan Labor Relations. Now, how the world is he in that post? This official is not, at all cost, supposed to have a say on anything that affects employment and life of hundred-thousand Filipino. This kind of person is the last kind we need to be in DOLE or POEA or OWWA or any related government institution.

Ignorance is not an excuse...

Destination Taichung, Taiwan

Do you know what a Milefo is? Milefo is simply The Laughing Buddha. You've seen it many times, usually a few inches high. How about a few storeys high?

We've been recently in Taichung, the 3rd largest city of Taiwan (after Taipei and Kaoshiung), and home of the largest Laughing Buddha (sample pic below). Keep tab on taiwanpinoy.com, Taichung photos are coming very soon.

The Better Side of The Philippines

I have this very interesting file sitting on my hard drive for some months now whose source I can't recall, I figure it's good to share it. I suppose it is not copyrighted, if so I surmise I could be forgiven for posting it in the spirit of keeping the Filipino spirit alive. Read on, feel good, smile....


THE BETTER SIDE OF THE PHILIPPINES

The following was written by INTEL General Manager Robin Martin about the Philippines:
Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side, and this affects the perception of foreigners, even the ones who have lived here for a while. The negative perception of the Philippines is way disproportionate to reality when compared to countries like Columbia, Egypt, Middle East, Africa, etc. Let us all help our country by balancing the negative with the positive especially when we talk to foreigners, whether based here or abroad.

Looking back and comparing the Philippines today and 1995 (the year I came back), I was struck by how much our country has progressed physically.

Consider the following:

1. The great telecom infrastructure that we have now did not exist in 1995. 1995 was the year the telecom industry was deregulated. Since then billions of dollars have been invested in both fixed line and cellular networks producing a system with over 5,000 kms of fiber optic backbone at a world competitive cost. From a fixed line capacity of about 900,000 in 1995 we now have over 7 million. Cellular phones practically did not exist in 1995; now we have over 11 million line capacity.

2. The MRT, many of the EDSA flyovers (including the Ayala Avenue flyover), the SKYWAY, Rockwell and Glorietta 4, the Fort, NAIA terminal 2 and most of the new skyscrapers were not yet built in 1995.

3. If you drive to the provinces, you will notice that national roads are now of good quality (international quality asphalt roads). I just went to Iba,Zambales last week and I was impressed that even a not so frequently travelled road was of very good quality.

4. Philippine exports have increased by 600% over the past eight years. There are many, many more examples of progress over the last eight years. Philippine mangoes are now exported to the US and Europe.

Additional tidbits to ponder:

1. INTEL has been in the Philippines for 28 years. The Philippines plant is where Intel's most advanced products are launched, including the Pentium IV. By the end of 2002, Philippine operations are expected to be Intel's biggest assembly and testing operations worldwide.

2. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS has been operating in Baguio for over 20 years. The Baguio plant is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world. DSP chips are the brains behind cellphones. TI's Baguio plant produces the chip that powers 100% of all NOKIA cellphones and 80% of Erickson cellphones in the world.

3. TOSHIBA laptops are produced in Santa Rosa,Laguna.

4. If you drive a BENZ, BMW, or a VOLVO, there is a good chance that the ABS system in your car was made in the Philippines.

5. TREND-MICRO, makers of one of the top anti virus software PC-Cillin develops its "cures" for viruses right here in Eastwood Libis, Quezon City. When a virus breaks in any computer system in the world, they try to find a solution within 45 minutes of finding the virus.

6. By the end of this year, it is expected that a majority of the top ten U.S. Call Center firms in the U.S. will have set up operations in the Philippines. This is one area in which I believe we are the best in the world in terms of value for money.

7. America Online (AOL) has 1,000 people in Clark answering 90% of AOL's global e-mail inquiries.

8. PROCTER & GAMBLE has over 400 people right here in Makati (average age 23 years) doing back-up office work to their Asian operations including finance, accounting, Human Resources and payments processing.

9. Among many other things it does for its regional operations network in the Asia-Pacific region here in Manila, CITIBANK also does its global ATM programming locally.

10. This is the first year ever that the Philippines will be exporting cars in quantity courtesy of FORD Philippines

11. The government is shedding off graft and corruption slowly but surely. This is the first time in our history that a former president is in jail and facing charges of plunder. Despite all odds, we are still pursuing the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos now enjoyed by his unrepentant heirs.


Next time you travel abroad and meet business associates tell them the good news. A big part of our problem is perception and one of the biggest battles can be won simply by believing and by making others believe.

TaiwanPinoy Take

On the telecom infrastructure of the Philippines:

It is widely known that because of savviness of Pinoys in text messaging, many text messaging applications were conceived in the Philippines. An example of that is a corporate database access via SMS application. Living in "hi-tech Taiwan" slightly ups your bar on tech matters, but this kind of product from the Philippines surely not fail to impress.

On the technological prowess of the Filipino people:

In Taiwan, Filipino is the 2nd biggest group of foreign workers. 1st and 3nd are Thai and Indonesians respectively (see 04/2006 Statistics here ). If you took a close look, 62% of Filipino and 85% of Thai are in the manufacturing sector. But it must be noted that the manufacturing sector accounts all undertakings from traditional (glass, metal, rubber, textile, plastic) to high-tech (electronics, electro-optical, computer, semiconductor) industries. Filipinoes are mostly employed in more advanced tech companies. Of particular note is the increasing count of Filipinoes in white collar jobs particularly in the engineering field.

This message is shared by good citizens of the Philippines who persevere to hope and work for our country. Pass it on...

Join Social Bookmarking and Access Your Bookmarks Anywhere

Have you heard of social bookmarking? Well, maybe you are familiar with bookmarks already. We're talking about the bookmark feature of your browser wherein your browser stores or remembers a URL ( webpage address ). Since your browser has storedx



x




x

TaiwanPinoy.com Update: Keelung Photos

Keelung Pics now on TaiwanPinoy.com. See it now!

If you want a more specific destination, get it here:
Keelung Harbor, Taiwan's 2nd biggest seaport.
Heping Island Park
Shiandong Cave
Baimiwang Fort
Jungjeng Park

Fake papers slowing OFW deployment to Taiwan

Good news. A representative of TECO in Manila has confirmed that there is no ban of Filipino workers (OFW/OCW) in Taiwan. The representative said that the delays are caused by fake documents of applicants making verification longer, but will be back to normal once the problems are solved. It is consistent to the recent denial by CLA of the news released by the Philippines' Association of Placement Agencies that Taiwan is banning Pinoys coming to work in Taiwan.

Full story in INQ7.

Bad News to OFWs in Domestic Jobs

Here's a little late news, excerpt from INQ7 today (11/04/06, http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=30445 )

The PASEI (Phil Association of Service Exporters Inc.) is asking POEA to implement a “ladderized” salary system to Filipino domestic workers instead of 100% salary increase from $200 to $400. PASEI proposed $200, $300, $400 salaries depending on skill and occupation. The reason according to PASEI:

Doubling the minimum pay could lead to “massive contract substitution, increase in 'repro' of job orders (fake job orders), airport 'brazo' (immigration and airport officials bypassing legal procedures to allow departure of Filipino with questionable travel documents), and increase in illegal recruitment.”

Instead of outright increase of salaries for Filipinoes in overseas domestic works, they’re going to limit that because they can’t solve other lingering issues.

Important Links in TaiwanPinoy.com

Recently we added links to websites that may be of interest to all Pinoys in Taiwan. The list will be updated as we gather more information. For now, TaiwanPinoy.com has links to the sites listed below. Check it out here. If you know any links that may be useful to Pinoys in Taiwan, please email to taiwanpinoy@yahoo.com.

Taiwan Information Links

• Government Information Office, Taiwan
• Information for Foreigners
• Council of Labor Affairs (CLA)
• Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
• Travel Information Travel Information Service

Philippines Information Links

• Official Website of The Republic of the Philippines
• Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)
• Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

Pinoys are not banned in Taiwan says Phil's Dept. Of Labor

Here's another news from a Philippine online news that hopefully put to rest the rumors that Filipinoes are banned in Taiwan.

DOLE Sec. Arturo Brion released a statement that Taiwan's Council Labor of Affairs (CLA) confirmed that there is no imposed ban to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).

Read the full news excerpt here ( in Tagalog ): http://www.abante.com.ph/issue/nov1206/ba2.htm

By all means it's clear, Filipinoes are not banned in Taiwan.

Our take on the rumored ban of Pinoys in Taiwan

The two conflicting news elicits disconcerting feeling about what the agency in the Philippines are up to. The CLA got nothing to lose should they not bother denying, and CLA's question is only about the legitimacy of documentations of Fil workers which does not take much to comply to.

If the news is a reaction from CLA's recent move to impose tighter control on visa approvals, it sounds like an over-reaction. Is this not a prelude to another ploy to squeeze more from our brothers and sisters coming to Taiwan? Something like: spread the news that Filipinoes are banned for Taiwan, let all the corners of the Phils know, then comes this ill-informed applicant, and an agency could promptly ask a higher fee like "You know, Filipinoes are banned in Taiwan. But we have a way to deploy you to a job, though it won't be easy. If you are really interested, we could help you but you'd have to pay bigger placement fee". **cough** Hope not. Hope we're just thinking too much.

To be fair, the placement agencies has done good job deploying Pinoys to work overseas. But the crooks still abound. 'Di lahat malinis, and chances somebody somewhere out there in the corners of the Philippines will get cheated "tanghaling tapat".

Godspeed, Pinoy!

Rumor of Filipino-workers ban denied

(please read previous post "Taiwan shuts doors on Filipino workers" if you haven't done so).

Which is which now? Here's another news excerpt contradicting published ban of Fil workers by Taiwan CLA (Council Of Labor Affairs). Also note that few days ago, TaiwanPinoy posted news about some changes of Taiwan's rule regarding acceptance of Fil workers -- particular interest is the change of visa approval from 2 wks to 42 days-- the news here confirmed just that.

Another interesting thing to note: the Ban is published by Phils' ABS-CBN, and the Denial is published by Taiwan's TaiwanNews. Pointing fingers eh? Whatever it may be, looks like the Phils' agencies should shut up instead of provoking Taiwan's CLA to really impose a ban.

The Council of Labor Affairs yesterday refuted rumors that the government planned to halt the import of workers from the Philippines beginning next year. "That rumor is pure fabrication," said Tsai Meng-liang, the head of the council's foreign labor department. He denied that the CLA had announced on its Web site that the quota of foreign workers for next year will exclude Filipino workers, as a labor brokers' association in the Philippines has claimed. Cheng Yi-min, director of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training under the CLA further reiterated that the CLA is not considering "freezing, limiting or banning" the import of Filipino workers. The rumor, spread by some Philippine brokers, is absolutely not true, Chen said. There have been speculations that the rumors were started by Filipino brokers in response to a CLA decision to extend the review process for applicants from the Philippines seeking to enter Taiwan for work. The CLA last month extended the process by one month, from 12 to 42 days, after it was found that some Filipino brokers were colluding with applicants to forge documents related to the workers' personal information.

Now that sounds a better news to all OFW planning to come, or comeback, Taiwan. Yet again, please read the full text in this link: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=308305〈=eng_news&cate_img=49.jpg&cate_rss=news_Society_TAIWAN

Taiwan shuts doors on Filipino workers

Got this news last week via email from a friend. It is published in ABS-CBN News website. Please read the complete news in the URL provided. Can't post the whole content here for fear of website plagiarism or copyright infringement and the like.

Filipino domestic helpers and other skilled workers will be barred from working in Taiwan starting next year. Last week, Taiwan’s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) announced plans to exclude the Philippines from the 80,000 quota for migrant workers, according to Jackson Gan, president of the Filipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan.....

Not a good news. Read full text here:
http://uw.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=55641

New TaiwanPinoy.com

We've been out for almost 2 months. Well, www.taiwanpinoy.com is back. The site was redesigned, and now packs more information about working and living in Taiwan.

Check out the updated Taiwan Helpline, Answers to Frequent Questions, and as promised, our Travel Photos. It's a no click photo viewing, surely you'll love it. Our photo gallery now has Taipei photos only, and pics from Keelung (Taiwan's scenic 2nd biggest port) is up and coming up very soon!

Join me on Friendster!

Tour Taiwan for TaiwanPinoy - Destination Taipei

We've partially covered Taipei. We already have high resolution pics from major tourists spots, except Yangmingshan Park and Snake Alley in Wanhua District.

We are adviced that the best time to get to Yanmingshan is on the spring when flower attractions come to full bloom. So, we'll wait for spring then.

How about Snake Alley? Well, probably many has heared of it yet. Wanhua District is where the oldest street in Taipei is. Probably not very interesting to some, but it is where you can find restaurants serving snake meat. Sadly, snapping photos is not allowed. We're not quite that kind to violate the restaurant owners just to bring the pics to you, so sorry about that. And...no, we didn't eat snake meat! Probably some other time when we got the stomach to do so. If you happen to be in Taipei, go see yourself. Very interesting place. Keep your eyes on the sides of the aisles, lest you'll lose your poise when you suddenly realize you are standing next to a cage full of hissing snakes!

Here are some photo taken from CKS grounds. Hold on folks, the new TaiwanPinoy.com is about to be online...your wait will be worth it.

Tour Taiwan for TaiwanPinoy

To build TaiwanPinoy's Virtual Tour section, we decided to tour Taiwan. Yes friends, we're touring Taiwan!!

We'll bring you high resolution pics from all over Taiwan, exclusively in TaiwanPinoy! Every destination will be posted in this blog. See you there!!!

New TaiwanPinoy Layout (again)

Alright! Here it is folks! Finally...:) I needed several tries to finally upload this snapshot. Nothing much really. Just a more organized layout. TaiwanPinoy is still a work in progress.
Keep tab on us...

Re: TaiwanPinoy New Site

We are supposed to post here a screenshot of the new TaiwanPinoy site, but I am getting "connection reset" message. It persists even if I have resized the image. Sorry folks, need to figure it out...