In protest of the Philippines' recent deportation of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China, the Council of Labor Affairs has decided to impose more rigorous screening of Filipinos' applications to work in Taiwan, extending the process from 12 days to a maximum of four months. But as Filipino laborers play a significant role in domestic high tech industries, some worry that the government's punitive actions may eventually backfire.

Many of Taiwan's high technology manufacturers employ Filipino workers in their production plants, and the recent diplomatic squabble between Taiwan and the Philippines is casting a shadow on the workers' employment status.

Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park currently employs 3,600 Filipino workers, which accounts for 90% of the park's foreign workers.

The majority are production line workers, and labor agencies that supply workers for AUO, United Test Center, Macronix, and SPIL say that the Council of Labor Affairs is likely to extend its review period, and that there will be a labor shortage of 1,500 workers within the next month.

The Philippines is the third largest exporter of human resources to Taiwan, and Filipino workers have the best English ability among all Southeast Asian laborers.

Therefore, domestic manufacturers say that it would be extremely difficult for them to replace Filipino workers with laborers from other nations, and that they hope Taiwan's diplomatic dispute with the Philippines can be resolved without causing a labor shortage.

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