Recent comments by Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam about Taiwan’s brain drain resonated with government officials and lawmakers yesterday, with Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) saying that the observation was “worthy of reflection.”
“We have also noticed a brain drain problem. That is why the Executive Yuan has a set of policies in place to help cultivate, educate and retain talent in Taiwan,” Chen said.
In a speech at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum on Thursday in Singapore, Shanmugaratnam said his country risked becoming a “Taiwan story” and would lose its competitive edge globally if it closed its doors to talented individuals from overseas.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Citing a recent survey by the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, which showed that the the average income for Taiwanese had been flat for more than a decade, Shanmugaratnam said that the talent migration from Taiwan was a result of its “closed-door” policies on foreign workers.
The deputy prime minister said that if corporations were not given the opportunity to establish themselves in Singapore to help create a competitive environment — and give Singaporeans the best teams to work with — the city-state would face another “Taiwan story.”
Chen yesterday said he has a very high opinion of Shanmugaratnam because the politician is well regarded in the international financial community and has played a key role in organizations such as the IMF.
“He [Shanmugaratnam] always sees things through. A case in point was his proposal last year to establish an offshore renminbi trading center in Singapore. He is known as a visionary,” Chen said, adding the deputy prime minister’s comments about Taiwan would serve as an important reference point for Taiwan’s policymaking.
Separately yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip called a press conference attended by officials from the Council of Economic Planning and Development, National Science Council, Council of Labor Affairs and the Ministry of Education to address the brain drain issue.
Council of Labor Affairs Deputy Minister Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉) echoed Shanmugaratnam’s concern about Taiwan’s talent drain, but said he disagreed with him on the causes of the problem.
Pan said Shanmugaratnam made the comments amid a background of complaints about Taiwanese being squeezed out of the white-collar job market by workers from overseas, who might not have a sufficient understanding of the situation in Taiwan.
Pan said that for a person from overseas to work as a professional in Taiwan, they must have at least two years work experience, a regulation that is less strict than in South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, and would have a minimum salary of NT$47,971 (US$1,624).
It is not the government’s policies that have led to the brain drain, but Taiwan’s “comparatively low wage levels,” which have failed to retain local talent or attract professionals from overseas, Pan said.
While the average starting pay for new graduates in Taiwan is between NT$20,000 and NT$30,000, “a Taiwanese college graduate may earn NT$50,000, NT$60,000 or even NT$70,000 if they work in Singapore,” he said.
“The problem lies with enterprises who are unwilling to raise salaries for their staff members,” Pan said.
However, Pan said the council was considering removing the two-year work experience requirement so that foreign college students studying at tertiary institutions in Taiwan could work in the country after graduation.
The issue was also brought up at the legislature’s question-and-answer session by KMT Legislator Chen Shu-huey (陳淑慧), who said that the description of the “Taiwan story” by Shanmugaratnam made the problem “known to everyone in the world.”
In response, Sean Chen said he realized that there was a problem, but he did not think that the issue was so serious that it warranted being used as a lesson to others.
Education Minister Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) said his ministry has been working on a white paper to review the issue and examine how talented students can be cultivated, which is expected to be completed in a year.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be
RSS