The government’s New Southbound Policy last year boosted tourism and trade links with the countries covered by the policy, while education programs stagnated, statistics published by the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations showed.
People visiting Taiwan from the 18 nations covered by the policy last year rose by 2.7 million people, or 6.8 percent, from the previous year, the figures showed.
They accounted for 23 percent of all foreign visitors to Taiwan, the office said.
Taiwanese visiting the policy nations rose 15.1 percent annually to 3.2 million, accounting for 18.8 percent of all Taiwanese traveling abroad, it said.
Taiwan also rose to third place in the top 10 list of non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation destinations, up from fifth in 2018, the office said, citing the 2019 Global Muslim Travel Index published by CrescentRating and Mastercard.
Taiwan’s exports to policy nations last year totaled US$63.1 billion, while imports were US$48.8 billion, the office said.
The government authorized 267 investment applications totaling US$2.79 billion in the countries covered by the policy and authorized 645 applications by companies from the countries to invest in Taiwan, for a total US$1.09 billion, the office said.
Taiwanese construction projects under the policy focus on power plants, petrochemical industries, electronic toll collection systems, mass-rapid transit systems, and environmental and water resource projects, it said.
As of December last year, Taiwanese companies had received permission to start 41 construction projects valued at NT$26.4 billion (US$871.2 million at the current exchange rate), the office said.
In education, 53,099 students came to Taiwan from policy countries, while 21,718 Taiwanese students went to countries covered by the policy to study, it said.
The number of foreign students enrolled in the normal program specifically created for the policy last year totaled 1,346 people, falling from 4,004 in 2018, the office said.
The number of students enrolled in the mid-high-tier professional skill program also fell from 87 in 2018 to 30 last year, it said.
Last year, 844 foreign students were enrolled in the youth vocational training course in 15 educational institutes, and 2,115 students were enrolled in the compatriots’ vocational classes at high schools and universities, the office said.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said. The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires. The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
‘ABNORMITY’: News of the military exercises on the coast of the Chinese province facing Taiwan were made public by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday Taiwan’s military yesterday said it has detected the Chinese military initiating a round of exercises at a bay area in coastal Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan, since early yesterday morning and it has been closely monitoring the drills. The exercises being conducted at Fujian’s Dacheng Bay featured an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) warplanes, warships and ground troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press statement. The ministry did not disclose what kind of military exercises are being conducted there and for how long they would be happening, but it did say that it has been closely watching
RSS