The first application for Chinese seeking medical treatment in Taiwan was submitted to immigration officials yesterday, one day after the new initiative took effect.
The application was filed by Taipei-based Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, which is expecting to receive a 26-member group from Liaoning Province, the National Immigration Agency said.
Under a new measure announced by the government on Friday, Chinese nationals can now visit Taiwan for health checkups or cosmetic surgery and medical facilities qualified to provide such services can apply for visas for the Chinese patients.
It would take five days to review and approve applications, agency Director-General Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) said.
Under the program, visitors can stay in Taiwan for up to 15 days, including three non-medical care days for shopping and tourism, he said.
The first group of medical-visa visitors will be headed by the president of a Liaoning-based hospital, the agency said.
Scheduled to arrive on Feb. 13, the group will undergo advanced health screening programs, such as positron emission tomography, and learn more about Taiwan’s techniques in health checkups and cosmetic surgery.
The group is also scheduled to visit Taroko Gorge, Alishan National Scenic Area and other scenic spots during their six-day trip.
Before the new initiative came into force, Chinese seeking health checkups or plastic surgery could only apply for such services after arriving in Taiwan.
The new program would provide more business opportunities in the areas of health checkups and cosmetic surgery, officials said.
Compared with China, Taiwan provides quality services at more modest prices, the agency said.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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