Statistics released yesterday by the Ministry of Education (MOE) showed a substantial fall in the number of students applying for visas to study in Europe and North America over the past year.
A total of 17,914 people applied for student visas issued by nations on the American continent, including Canada and the US last year, down from 22,668 in 2008.
Most of the fall came from a decrease in the number of applications for US student visas, with 15,594 people filing an application last year, down from 19,402 in 2008.
The number of applicants for Canadian student visas also dropped by 946 over the past year to 2,320 people, the statistics showed.
Applications for student visas for European countries also fell, with the number of applicants dropping by 1,978 from 8,838 in 2008.
The fall was the third in a row since applications for visas to study in Europe reached a new high of 11,841 in 2006 — the highest in nearly a decade, data showed.
Among European nations, the number of those who applied for a British student visa fell from 5,885 in 2008 to 3,895, while a total of 882 people filed an application for a visa to study in France last year, down from 983 in 2008.
The number of visa applications to study in other European nations, however, climbed slightly, with the number of applicants for German student visas increasing by 88 over the past year and those for Swiss student visas by 70.
In contrast to the falling number of people applying to study in the US and Europe last year, the number studying in Asian, Australia and New Zealand increased.
Up to 3,912 people applied for a student visa for an Asian nation last year, up from 3,301 in 2008, while 4,645 applied for a student visa from Australia or New Zealand.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS