To assuage fears that Chinese students could impact on the labor market, Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) Chairwoman Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄) gave assurances yesterday that Chinese would not be allowed to work in Taiwan.
“I will not allow Chinese people to work in Taiwan,” Wang told legislators, who demanded in a legislative committee session that she give a definitive response on whether Chinese students would be eligible to work in the country after completing their studies in Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) asked Wang if the CLA would bar Chinese students from working in Taiwan while they are in school or after they graduate, saying that this could have a negative impact on the deteriorating employment outlook for Taiwanese college graduates.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator William Lai (賴清德) also expressed concern that after it opens local universities to Chinese students, the government would eventually allow Chinese students to stay and work in the country.
DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) voiced doubts that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would be able to keep his campaign promise to lower the unemployment rate to less than 3 percent during his four-year term if Chinese students were allowed to work in Taiwan.
In response, Wang said the council would give top priority to protecting employment opportunities for Taiwanese.
Wang initially said that Chinese nationals should be subject to the same rules as other foreigners, who are required to meet very strict criteria to work in Taiwan. She also said that as the nation’s economic development was difficult to forecast, it would leave open the possibility of opening the employment market to Chinese workers at some point in the future.
But when pressed by KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) to give a clear answer, Wang said she would not allow Chinese nationals to work in Taiwan.
Following Ma’s announcement on Monday that the government would begin to recognize diplomas issued by schools in China and allow Chinese students to attend universities in Taiwan starting next year, some legislators expressed fears that Chinese students could be allowed to work in Taiwan and thus add pressure to the employment market.
During his presidential campaign, Ma promised that he would not allow Chinese to work in Taiwan.
The Mainland Affairs Council said the pertinent articles in the Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) would have to be amended and sent to the Legislative Yuan for review and approval before Chinese students can be admitted to Taiwan universities.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on