The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced the official launch of a reciprocal working holiday program between Taiwan and the Czech Republic for young people from both countries.
In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry said both Taipei and Prague would offer 100 working holiday openings each year for people aged between 18 and 26, who could submit their applications starting yesterday.
“The maximum stay will be one year, which is counted from the day a working holiday visa is issued. Given the Czech Employment Act, Taiwanese planning to register for the program have to apply for a work permit with a local public employment service office within the European country before they can start working,” the ministry said.
The launch of the program came about four months after Representative to the Czech Republic Lu Hsiao-jung (陸小榮) and his counterpart, Vaclav Jilek, signed a memorandum of understanding in Prague on Dec. 28 last year to pave the way for the program.
The ministry said the Czech Republic is the ninth European country and the 14th worldwide to have inked a working holiday agreement with Taiwan, after Germany, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Austria.
“The program will provide young people from both countries who seek to broaden their global perspective overseas with a new option of destination,” the ministry said.
However, the ministry advised potential candidates to abide by local laws and remain vigilant during their stays, adding that they should contact the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the event of an emergency.
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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