A 45-year-old Japanese national said he has decided to settle down in Taiwan because of his fondness for Taiwanese culture after he finished his job as a measurement engineer at the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC).
After three years of studying at I-Shou University (ISU), Hideki Kubo learned to speak fluent Mandarin.
PHOTO: FANG CHIH-HSIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Kubo, who was employed by the THSRC as a measurement engineer in charge of more than 300 people six years ago, has a Taiwanese wife and two children.
“Taiwanese are hospitable and friendly to strangers, especially Taiwanese women, who are not only gentle and considerate, but also independent,” he said.
“While I was in Japan, I had long working hours and did not have good quality of life,” Kubo said. “Taiwanese have a different working attitude as they work hard during the weekdays and spend the weekend with their family members.”
Saying that Taiwan played a leading role in the manufacturing of semiconductor products, Kubo said that in order to find a stable job in the future in Taiwan, he chose to major in Materials Science and Engineering at ISU, hoping to develop a second expertise.
Now a senior at ISU, Kubo has located a job in the semiconductor industry. He said he appreciated the assistance of his Taiwanese teachers and classmates in helping him quickly adapt to a new environment.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS