The nation should consider improving its commitment to the "movement of natural persons" and should further liberalize practices in the field, a Taiwan official said in Geneva yesterday.
The "movement of natural persons" -- one of the service trade areas that members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have strenuously tried to improve since the trade boy came into force in January 1995 -- refers to the entry and temporary stay of persons for the purpose of providing a service. It does not relate to persons seeking citizenship, permanent employment or permanent residence in a country.
Lin Chia-cheng (
Both Lin and Yen agreed that Taiwan should improve its commitment on the movement of natural persons and should voluntarily open its doors wider to foreign lawyers, doctors, accountants and architects, as part of the efforts to further liberalize the country's service sector.
Lin said that although the nation currently allows foreign lawyers and accountants to carry out some of their practices in Taiwan, they are not allowed to prepare accounts or certificates for audit, or work on architecture projects.
Lin noted that if the nation were to further liberalize short-term work by foreign lawyers, doctors, accountants and architects, it could trigger opposition and resistance from local practitioners in the short term. But he said that in the long run the opening would benefit the country's overall development.
Yen echoed Lin's remarks, saying that while gradual liberalization in the country's industrial sector has helped rev up the country's economic development and has increased its trade benefits, the service sector -- which constitutes 67 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product -- has not been sufficiently liberalized to reflect the WTO's free-trade spirit.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
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Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
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