The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday officially launched the International Talent Taiwan Office to recruit foreign professionals and help them adjust to life in Taiwan.
The talent office, located at the former NDC office on Songjiang Road in Taipei, is an extension of the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office that was set up in October 2020 to provide professional consultation services and assistance to Employment Gold Card holders, the council said.
The talent office has expanded the services that were only available to the 8,348 Gold Card holders (as of the end of September) to those with entrepreneur visas and other employed foreign professionals, it said.
Photo: CNA
The one-stop service center is available online and in person, NDC Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
The services include pre-arrival consultations and help for those living in Taiwan, including assistance with housing, banking, children’s education, taxes, insurance and even pets, Kung said.
Two major accounting firms are to provide tax and legal services, he added.
The office aims to make Taiwan’s institutions more friendly and flexible, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters at a news conference in Taipei announcing the launch of the office.
“If we are to make Taiwan an innovative place, life and work for talented people has to be made easier,” she said, adding that recruiting international professionals and ensuring they remain in the country would be vital in transforming Taiwan into a key economic power.
Since 2021, the NDC has been conducting interministerial meetings, including with top officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of the Interior and the Overseas Community Affairs Council to help identify foreign professionals, students and intermediate skilled workers that form the main target groups in the country’s recruitment plan, Kung said.
The council is seeking to attract 400,000 workers by 2030, including at least 70,000 professionals, with the rest classified as skilled workers.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Steven Chen (陳士駿), the Taiwanese-American cofounder of YouTube, also attended the launch event.
The Internet entrepreneur was the first Taiwan Employment Gold Card holder and has been described by Tsai as “leaving his mark on Taiwan’s history.”
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
RSS