As the number of foreign brides in Taiwan rises, an increasing number of men are now hoping to find their true love in Ukraine, and are prepared to fork out NT$750,000 for the opportunity, local media reported yesterday.
According to Angus, a foreign marriage agency in Taipei City, more than 1,000 men have registered at the agency's matchmaking program hoping to find a Ukrainian bride.
In the past, men have tended to marry women from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. However, in recent times more and more bachelors have switched their attention to Ukraine.
Agency owner Su Yao-wei (
According to Su, the 42-year-old Taiwanese man, who holds a master's degree, is a manager at a local environmental protection and biotechnology company. The man flew to Ukraine twice to meet some of the women there, and decided to marry one of them, who is still a college student.
The two registered their marriage in Ukraine on Oct. 20, and are scheduled to move back to Taiwan for good in January.
"Many women currently in their 30s are very picky about men. It's difficult for middle-aged men to find their perfect brides here," Su said yesterday.
Interested men pay NT$50,000 to the company to be put in touch with Ukrainian women registered with the program. They then pay NT$500,000 if they elect to meet the women in Ukraine.
Finally, they must pay NT$200,000 as a "marriage fee" if they want to marry one of the women they meet. The total cost for the complete program is NT$750,000.
Su said that many men seek women who are fluent in foreign languages and who have a tertiary degree.
Su predicted that foreign marriages between local men and eastern European women will become more popular in future.
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS