Taiwan still weighing rice deal with RI

Taiwan still weighing rice deal with RI

TAIPEI (Agencies): The regional outcry against the May riots in Indonesia in which ethnic Chinese became the main target continued over the weekend, with the protests showing signs of influencing bilateral ties.

The Taiwan government said it was still considering a rice trade proposal with Indonesia despite growing calls here for punitive measures against Jakarta for its failure to stop assaults on ethnic Chinese during the May riots.

"Evaluation of our cooperative projects with Indonesia has been carefully underway," foreign ministry spokesman Roy Wu told AFP.

But he would not go into details of the projects, apparently not wanting to hurt the delicate ties with Jakarta.

Taipei has maintained close links with President B.J. Habibie's government, which recognizes Beijing.

An unnamed official with the cabinet-level Council of Agriculture also declined to comment on reports that Taipei was suspending the rice project.

Jakarta plans to import 200,000 tons of rice from Taiwan in 1998/1999 in exchange for exports of natural gas, but the barter trade proposal was greeted with rising objections from local opposition parties and human rights activists.

A top Taiwan labor official earlier this month also threatened to restrict the entry of Indonesian workers if Jakarta failed to provide better protection to ethnic Chinese.

There are 15,961 Indonesians working in Taiwan, 10,593 of them in the manufacturing sector. Taiwan has more than 200,000 foreign workers, mostly from Southeast Asia.

Economic Minister Wang Chih-kang has also warned that Taiwan investments in Indonesia could be affected.

Taiwan has invested more than US$13 billion in Indonesia, making it the sixth largest foreign investor.

Meanwhile in Zamboanga City, the Philippines, ethnic Chinese businessmen in the southern Philippines expressed outrage Saturday over atrocities against Chinese residents in Indonesia and urged the government of President B.J. Habibie to put an end to racial discrimination.

The Gold Star daily newspaper, one of the largest in the Philippines, has been running a series of stories and photographs about the alleged atrocities committed by the military against ethnic Chinese businessmen.

In Beijing, the official China Daily newspaper in Saturday's editorial urged Indonesia's police chief to stop threatening activists looking into rapes and beatings in the May riots.

Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi earlier this month warned groups investigating the violence that they may be charged with "spreading false reports" unless they substantiate their claims.

The China Daily called the Indonesian police's conduct "improper" and a hindrance to a government investigation. The newspaper called the probe a test of the credibility of Soeharto's successor, B.J. Habibie.