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.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
BUILDUP: US General Dan Caine said Chinese military maneuvers are not routine exercises, but instead are ‘rehearsals for a forced unification’ with Taiwan China poses an increasingly aggressive threat to the US and deterring Beijing is the Pentagon’s top regional priority amid its rapid military buildup and invasion drills near Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Our pacing threat is communist China,” Hegseth told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense during an oversight hearing with US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Beijing is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific as part of its broader strategy to dominate that region and then the world,” Hegseth said, adding that if it succeeds, it could derail
RSS