Lawmakers yesterday demanded that the government step up its efforts to recruit high-tech professionals from overseas in view of fierce competition from neighboring countries.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators Hung Wei-cher (
Citing the successes enjoyed by Singapore and South Korea, the lawmakers said that the government should offer more handsome incentives to lure talented foreign professionals, including providing residence permits and education for their children, along with the nation's other advantages.
As there is interest in exploring ties with India, the government could consider opening offices there to assist Taiwanese companies in hunting for Indian high-tech professionals, Kuo said.
Taiwan lags well behind South Korea in this field, she said.
Lee said that South Korea, where the average per capita income is at about the same level as Taiwan, had so far attracted more than 10,000 foreign high-tech workers, far ahead of Taiwan's 1,000.
While South Korea focuses its efforts on wooing talent from China, India, Southeast Asian countries and Russia based on a recruitment program initiated in 2003, Singapore grants tax reductions for companies' spending on foreign manpower recruitment and offers housing, high salaries and training programs for foreign workers, Yang said.
About 300 Indian high-tech workers are currently employed in Taiwan, while Singapore hires a much larger number of professionals from India owing to its high per capita income, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said.
Shih added that this was a real problem for the government when trying to lure high-tech professionals from abroad.
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