Two hundred young Taiwanese were selected yesterday as the first participants in a working holiday program between Canada and Taiwan.
“I had expected the applications would be overwhelming,” said Scott Fraser, executive director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT), after a draw to pick 200 names from a pool of 516 applicants.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding that took effect on July 1, the administrative process will be simplified for people aged between 18 and 35 from Canada and Taiwan who wish to travel and work in each other’s territory for up to one year. Each side offered a quota of 200 of multiple-entry visas for the first year of the program.
Toby Schwartz, CTOT’s deputy director of general relations, encouraged the 200 Taiwanese to take advantage of the range of travel opportunities Canada has to offer. She said she hoped they would also make friends with Canadians and “go back to study in Canada, taking short courses or learning either English or French.”
The 200 candidates selected in the draw will have to undergo screened and 20 alternatives were drawn in case of any of the candidates fail to meet requirements, Schwartz said.
Canada was the fourth country to sign a working holiday agreement with Taiwan, while Taiwan was the 22nd country to do so with Canada.
“This is a great opportunity for Canadian and Taiwanese youth. Canadians can travel and work in Taiwan for up to a year, gaining valuable work and professional development experience. Taiwanese young people can do the same in Canada,” Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a press release earlier yesterday.
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