More than 30,000 foreigners who have overstayed their visas have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday.
That represents almost 40 percent of those who have remained in Taiwan after their visas or visa exemptions expired amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said in a news release.
As of October, there were about 83,700 foreigners whose legal documents had expired, including Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) holders and visitors with tourist visas, as well as undocumented migrant workers, it said
The number of people with expired documents who seek to get vaccinated continues to increase, the agency said.
On Dec. 3, the “Carefree COVID-19 Vaccination Program” was launched by the NIA in cooperation with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and non-governmental organizations, it said
The program is available to “detainees, detainees who are on temporary release, unreported overstayers and undocumented migrant workers,” the agency said.
The program is fully funded by the government, and no fees would be charged from those who want to be inoculated, it said.
The agency reiterated that those who participate in the program would not be reported to or investigated by the authorities.
Should they return to their countries of origin within six months after flights out of Taiwan resume, they would be exempt from an entry ban that Taiwan usually imposes on those who overstay their visas, the agency said.
The NIA and the CECC have been working with local governments to assist those who have overstayed in confirming their status, as well as to promote the program to more people affected, it said.
The “Carefree COVID-19 Vaccination Program” is set to run until Jan. 31.
According to the agency’s Web site, affected individuals should sign up for the program through organizations such as the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, the Chinese Muslim Association and the Republic of China Community Sustainable Development Association.
Notifications about the time and location where they could get vaccinated would be sent after their registration, the agency said, adding that they would have to bring their passport, ARC or other identification document to their appointments.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching