The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced the official launch of a reciprocal working holiday program between Taiwan and the Czech Republic for young people from both countries.
In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry said both Taipei and Prague would offer 100 working holiday openings each year for people aged between 18 and 26, who could submit their applications starting yesterday.
“The maximum stay will be one year, which is counted from the day a working holiday visa is issued. Given the Czech Employment Act, Taiwanese planning to register for the program have to apply for a work permit with a local public employment service office within the European country before they can start working,” the ministry said.
The launch of the program came about four months after Representative to the Czech Republic Lu Hsiao-jung (陸小榮) and his counterpart, Vaclav Jilek, signed a memorandum of understanding in Prague on Dec. 28 last year to pave the way for the program.
The ministry said the Czech Republic is the ninth European country and the 14th worldwide to have inked a working holiday agreement with Taiwan, after Germany, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Austria.
“The program will provide young people from both countries who seek to broaden their global perspective overseas with a new option of destination,” the ministry said.
However, the ministry advised potential candidates to abide by local laws and remain vigilant during their stays, adding that they should contact the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the event of an emergency.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it