Taiwan is going to invite several hundred young foreigners to spend two weeks living with Taiwanese families as part of the celebration for the centennial anniversary of the Republic of China (ROC) next year, the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) said yesterday.
Council of Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁), who doubles as chief executive officer of the ROC Centenary Foundation, told a press conference that the council plans to provide home stay opportunities to young people from 100 nations next August so they can experience “the culture of ordinary Taiwanese.”
Participants will stay with host families around the nation, not just families in major cities, he said and all their trip expenses will be covered.
“We hope to bring youngsters who have made special achievements in their own countries, such as winners of literary competitions,” Sheng said, adding that there would be two to three slots for each nation.
The council has not said which 100 nations would be included.
Sheng said the council would soon invite bids for the plan, and then it would begin to accept recommendations and applications.
A highlight of the homestay program would be a trip to Kinmen on Aug. 23 to join the inaugural ceremony of a “peace bell” made from bomb shells used in the “823 Battle,” Sheng said.
The battle began on Aug. 23, 1958, with a heavy Chinese bombardment of Kinmen — the People’s Liberation Army fired more than 30,000 shells in the first 85 minutes.
“We hope the participants will document their experiences on blogs during and after their stay in Taiwan,” Sheng said.
The council has not finished its budget proposal for the program, but Sheng said he hoped the legislature would support the plan once the budget request is submitted.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the homestay program was meant to showcase the nation’s infrastructure and Taiwan’s soft power to youngsters from around the globe.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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