The Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday approved the naturalization of 10 applicants under the Standards for Defining High-Level Professionals for Naturalization (歸化國籍之高級專業人才認定標準), bringing the total of Taiwanese naturalized under the law to 23 since its promulgation in March last year.
The standards allow foreigners to gain Republic of China (ROC) citizenship while retaining their original nationality if they have unique talents in technology, economics, education, sports, arts and culture, and other areas.
The newly naturalized citizens include Ugur Rifat Karlova of Turkey, who is better known by his Mandarin name, Wu Feng (吳鳳).
He was granted naturalization for his promotion of Taiwanese products through the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei, said a source with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named.
As host of the TV show iWalker (愛玩客), Karlova in 2012 won the Golden Bell Award for Best Travel Host.
Turkish soccer coach Mehmet Fatih Kale, also known by his Mandarin name Wu Fa-ti (吳法悌), was granted naturalization for his contribution to sports and physical education, the first foreigner to be naturalized under the category, the source said.
In the education category, two US citizens, one French, one British and one German were naturalized, with one of the Americans listed as a researcher at Academia Sinica and the German teaching at National Tsing Hua University, the source said.
Another US citizen, who manages a toy and gifts company, and a Malaysian citizen, who works at a renowned domestic semiconductor company, were also naturalized in the economics category, the source said.
The ministry’s Household Registration Administration said that the 10 new citizens could apply to the National Immigration Agency for residency as a citizen without household registration data, adding that they would receive their identification cards at their local Household Registration Office.
Naturalized individuals can vote and submit their candidacy for political positions, the office said.
In terms of retirement, they could also opt to receive their pensions in monthly payments, instead of receiving a once-off lump sum, which is the only option for foreigners with Alien Resident Certificates.
The government strongly encourages talented individuals to apply for naturalization, the office said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS