Headed by Menno Goedhart, Netherlands Trade & Investment Office (NTIO) in Taiwan plays an important role to firm up commercial ties between the Netherlands and Taiwan. NTIO comprises three sections of Education, Trade and Agricultural & Food, and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, with a staff of 19 people. "Basically, NTIO is an office focused on the trade and investment relations between the Netherlands and Taiwan. And further, we also pull out all the stops to speed up the bilateral exchanges of education and culture for two sides," the Representative of NTIO, Mr. Goedhart talks about the primary function of the Office.
NTIO prompts Dutch investments to Taiwan as well as Taiwanese investments in the Netherlands. Being a non-profit organization, the Office answers trade inquiries free of charge unless these inquiries would in fact necessitate a market survey. NTIO handles both inquiries concerning industry (i.e. services and manufacturing) and concerning agriculture. "Taiwanese companies approaching our office with trade enquiries are provided with extensive information on Dutch companies, products and trade fairs. We also assist them with mediation in trade disputes and other communication problems. Taiwanese exporters requiring further assistance are welcome to contact our trade section," Mr. Goedahrt says.
Due to the complete dedication of NTIO to trade, the exports between the two countries have been on the increase. "We started with a great base, and continued to work successfully. Dutch exports to Taiwan increased by 60% for last year and it's about $2 billion Euro in total. And Taiwanese exports to Holland also increased by 20%. Therefore, Taiwan is a significant partner to the Netherlands," the Representative points out. He continues to stress, "In the aspect of investment, the performance has been also great. We have ten more Taiwanese companies investing in the Netherlands last year, and we still have several projects in process already. Moreover, through cooperation, many smaller-size Dutch companies partnership with Taiwanese counterparts to build their business in Taiwan. It's very productive."
The Netherlands, long Europe's trading crossroads, is an obvious choice when it comes to finding the best place to locate a pan-European business for Taiwanese companies, according to the head of NTIO. There are five reasons to invest in the Netherlands:
Strategic location in Europe -- The Netherlands provides a strategic location to serve markets within the current and future European Union, the Middle East and Africa.
Excellent business environment -- The global business environment rankings, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), has rated the Netherlands number two worldwide (behind Canada) for its overall business environment.
Superior logistics and technology infrastructure -- The Port of Rotterdam is the world's largest seaport, and Schiphol Airport is recognized as one of the major business hubs in Europe and has claimed over 100 international awards over the last couple of decades.
Highly educated, multilingual and flexible workforce -- The Netherlands features one of the most highly educated, flexible and motivated workforces in Europe.
Quality of life -- The Netherlands is proud to have a high standard of living, while maintaining an affordable life for its residents. The costs of living, housing, education and cultural activities are lower than in most Western-European countries.
In the sector of education, NTIO acts as an intermediary between on the one hand Taiwanese university students who want to study in the Netherlands and on the other hand Nuffic and individual Dutch universities. Mr. Goedhart strongly recommends Holland as an ideal destination for students who are interested in studying abroad. "The Netherlands' higher education institutions conduct more than 600 of their study programs in English for the benefit of international students. No other non-English-speaking country in the world offers such a large and varied range of possibilities," he says.
"A steady growth in the educational exchanges can be seen through all these years' efforts. Plenty of schools in the two countries are making educational exchanges through increasing cooperation. Universities set up combining programs, so students can study partly in the Netherlands, and partly in Taiwan," Mr. Goedhart adds. It used to take long for Taiwanese students to get a Dutch visa, however, the Representative solved the problem, so a student visa can be received for only two and a half day.
Talking about the Office's goals, Mr. Goedhart says, " we aims to reinforce the bilateral relations with a wide range of links, particularly in commercial, education and cultural fields, and all our staff are very devoted to this task."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique