Foreign nationals visiting Taiwan for six purposes are to be allowed entry starting on Monday next week, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday, adding that people would no longer be required to wear a mask when riding a bike or a scooter, or when working in an open outdoor space, effective immediately.
Bureau of Consular Affairs Deputy Director Chou Chung-hsing (周中興) said the six purposes are volunteer work, missionary work, religious studies, internship, international exchange and foreigners on a working holiday.
Foreign nationals, not including residents of Hong Kong or Macau, who are planning to visit Taiwan for these six purposes can prepare the required documents and apply for a visa at the consular services office in their nation from Monday next week, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Foreigners eligible for the working holiday visas are limited to those from nations with reciprocal working holiday or youth exchange agreements with Taiwan, Chou said, adding that Taiwan has agreements with 17 nations and most have already allowed entry to Taiwanese, so they are included in the eligibility expansion based on the principles of equality and reciprocity.
There were about 10,000 people in the six categories who visited Taiwan each year before the COVID-19 pandemic, so considering the current inbound traveler cap of 40,000 people per week, allowing entry to these people should still be manageable, he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, announced that domestic mask regulations have been slightly eased.
The changes include no longer requiring people to wear a mask when riding a bicycle, scooter or motorcycle, or when working in an open outdoor area, Wang said, adding that an open area means that the individual can keep a safe social distance from strangers and an example would be construction workers.
Asked if people must still wear a mask when taking a walk, Wang said taking a walk can be considered doing exercise, so wearing a mask is not required.
He also announced that Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) and Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯) have joined the CECC’s team as deputy heads to assist the center in policies regarding resources preparation, economic revitalization, tourism development, hotel management, crowd flow and logistics.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said 26,779 new local infections and 367 imported cases were reported yesterday, as well as 37 deaths.
The caseload is slightly lower than Tuesday last week, but imported cases have been gradually increasing in the past five weeks, which reflects the trend in other nations and could be due to eased border control measures, Chou said, adding that the number of deaths is the lowest since May 16 and hopefully the number would continue to fall.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
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