The government and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday released a Talent Circulation Alliance white paper, with the goal to turn the nation into an “international talent hub.”
A ceremony to announce the initiative was attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) and AIT Director Brent Christensen.
White papers are to be published annually, with this year’s offering five suggestions for the nation: “Develop a national strategy for talent circulation, facilitate international academic exchange, leverage foreign talent already in Taiwan, encourage the free circulation of start-up talent and increase the participation of women in Taiwan’s professional life.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Tsai said in a speech that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges, making innovative talent even more important, as evidenced in the nation’s use of contact tracing, smart resource allocation, remote learning and working, and other innovative solutions to fight COVID-19.
The coronavirus has restructured the global supply chain and presented opportunities that can be best captured by improving English proficiency and digital skills among Taiwanese, she said.
Tsai underlined the importance of English-language learning by citing the government’s goal to establish Taiwan as a bilingual nation by 2030 and its increase of research grants to English education centers at universities.
The nation hopes to support young Taiwanese studying or working abroad so that they can introduce new skills when they return, as well as relax restrictions on foreigners wanting to work in Taiwan and offer companies incentives to hire them, she said.
The white paper’s primary goal is to transform the nation into an international talent hub, Christensen said, citing last year’s Talent Circulation Summit, the Fulbright Fellowship and a collaborative project between Microsoft and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to train chief executives as examples of US efforts to help Taiwan achieve talent circulation.
The Talent Circulation Alliance aims to help Taiwan replicate its economic success in the digital age by bringing in expertise from the US and other nations, Christensen said.
It also seeks to keep Taiwan’s future anchored in the democratic world, and if the nation’s top talent is deeply connected with the free and open Indo-Pacific region, then its future will also remain centered in the democratic world, he said.
The alliance seeks to help the nation’s talent grow and prevent a brain drain, he said.
“The best way to prevent the loss of talent is to create a viable alternative, namely easy circulation of talent among like-minded economies, in particular the United States,” Christensen said.
The AIT believes that having sufficient talent is a prerequisite for accomplishing all of Taiwan’s policy goals, and that by solving the problem of how to cultivate and manage talent, it will help the nation solve virtually all the other challenges it faces, he said.
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