Sat, Jul 14, 2007 page11

• CEPD working on plan to recruit foreign experts

  SUSTAINING GROWTH Given the nation's declining birth rate, more foreign professionals and skilled workers must be encouraged to work in Taiwan, the council says

  • STAFF WRITER
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  The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) has drafted a plan to attract investment and skilled immigrants in light of the country's falling birth rate and slowing population growth, an official said yesterday.

  The council has estimated that Taiwan will enter a period of negative population growth from 2019, the official said. Trained foreign professionals and young skilled workers must be recruited to sustain development, he said.

  The council has conducted a feasibility study on attracting investment and skilled immigrants and reviewed immigration regulations adopted by Singapore and Japan, he said.

  Foreign economic, financial and technological personnel under 40 years of age, particularly those from countries with a per capita national income lower than Taiwan's, will be prime targets under the plan, he said.

  East European countries could be a good source of personnel, he said, noting that Ukraine has an advanced defense industry.

  According to the council's plan, Taiwan could take in up to 1 million skilled and investment immigrants by 2050. In the first category, chief executives, fund managers, scientists, engineers, medical doctors, graduate students, skilled technicians and special professionals would be welcomed.

  Those seeking investment immigration would have to invest a specified amount of money in launching a new business, expanding their existing businesses, purchasing real estate or depositing a large amount of cash in local banks.

  The immigration promotion plan still focuses on theoretical model analysis and collection of information on relevant foreign regulations and systems, he said.

  The council study shows that Britain has embraced 600,000 new immigrants since it adopted an open-door immigration policy in 2004, the official said, which has had a strong impact on British society, including its job market.

  In Singapore, foreign-born residents account for 18 percent of the city-state's population.

  sSingapore has tied investment to immigration, offering permanent residency to those who set up companies or launch investment projects in the city state.

  The council official said the government will evaluate all the possible impacts on the nation's income, economy and job market once the new immigration policy is put into practice.

  The official said the government would not close the door to qualified Chinese high-tech personnel. But given the cross-strait situation, the government must make a further review before embracing other Chinese immigrants, he said.

  According to National Immigration Agency statistics, there are 314,000-plus foreign laborers and more than 14,000 foreign white-collar workers in the country.

  Of the latter group, more than 5,000 are teachers, more than 3,000 are business professionals and more than 2,000 are engineers.

  The small number of foreign white-collar professionals, coupled with their excessive concentration in just three professions, particularly teaching, indicates that incentives and job opportunities for foreigners remain limited in Taiwan, immigration officials said.
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