The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) on Thursday called for less hurdles for foreigners wanting live and work in Taiwan to solve its shortage of skilled labor.
“The government should make it easier for foreigners to live and work in Taiwan,” ECCT chairman Hakan Cervell told an audience that included President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), senior government officials and executives from European and Taiwanese companies.
The foreign trade group, which has US$45 billion in direct foreign investments, lauded the labor law revision early this year and said the passage of the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法) was a good first step.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, further efforts are needed to make Taiwan business-friendly and attractive to foreign talent, it said.
Existing rules mean foreign nationals are treated unequally to Taiwanese residents, with different number formats for Taiwanese identity cards and Alien Resident Certificates, Cervell said.
The practice denies foreign resident card holders access to many services, as more services go online, he said.
Other examples of unequal treatment include foreign residents not being eligible for electric vehicle subsidies or senior citizen discounts on the High-Speed Rail service, he said.
The government could also resolve the shortage of skilled labor by introducing short-term business visas and allowing more foreign workers in the service sector.
The ECCT said it welcomes Taiwan’s effort to speed up the development of the “green” energy industry, but added that many obstacles need to be overcome if the nation wants renewable energy sources to supply 20 percent of electricity by 2025.
Challenges include constructing supporting infrastructure such as electricity grids and harbors, streamlining the permitting process, and resolving financial issues in line with international trends and standards, the chamber said.
“European companies in the wind energy industry are committed to developing Taiwan into a regional manufacturing and support hub for wind energy in Asia. However, it will take time to develop local competence and expertise,” Cervell said.
The ECCT said it supports the creation of smart cities, but the right infrastructure must first be put in place, such as 5G telecommunications, electric vehicle charging stations and smart grids, Cervell said, adding that the regulatory environment must be flexible enough to allow technological innovation and new business models.
The ECCT supports making English the second official language of Taiwan, as English is the global language of business, diplomacy and international organizations.
“Making English an official language would make Taiwan more attractive to international investors and give Taiwan more access to the world,” Cervell said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last