Activists burn Philippine flags in front of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the de facto Philippine embassy in Taiwan, during a protest against the Philippine government in Taipei in May 2013. Pichi Chuang, Reuters/File



MANILA - The Philippines is one of the top most hated countries among the Taiwanese, a survey showed.

Taiwan News reported the results of the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation survey which revealed that the Philippines ranked second (52.9 percent) on the list of countries most hated in Taiwan.

The country came next only to reclusive North Korea, which had a score of 70.9 percent.

Even China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has testy relations with Taipei, is better liked by the Taiwanese, coming in next to the Philippines on the list.

China ranked third at 43.9 percent, followed by South Korea (33.8 percent) and Russia (29.7 percent) respectively.

The Philippines considers Taiwan a province of China under its "One China" policy.

Singapore, meanwhile, emerged as the most liked country by the Taiwanese at 88.2 percent followed by Japan (84.5 percent), and Canada (82.3 percent). The European Union placed fourth at 74.8 percent while the United States placed fifth at 70.6 percent.

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the de facto Philippine embassy in Taiwan, on Friday lamented the results of the survey but said it would work to promote cooperation between Manila and Taipei.

"While the result of the survey is truly lamentable, we will continue to strive in our efforts to promote cooperation between the Philippines and Taiwan," MECO Chairman Angelito Banayo said in a statement.

Banayo added that Manila is interested to find out the reason as to why Taiwanese nationals have such dislike for the Philippines.

The survey results came following the recent announcement of Taiwan that it would extend its visa-free entry policy for Filipino tourists.

Visa-free entry to Taiwan was first granted to Filipinos last Nov. 1, 2017.

MECO said there are some 150,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, mostly in the manufacturing and fisheries sector.

Ties between the Philippines and Taiwan were frayed when Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officers opened fire at a Taiwanese fishing vessel off Batanes in May 2013, killing a Taiwanese fisherman.

The incident triggered widespread public outrage in Taiwan and threats of economic sanctions against the Philippines.