The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it has approved the visas of 19 Ukrainians wishing to visit relatives in Taiwan under a special waiver program launched last month.
Taiwan on March 11 launched the program offering certain Ukrainian nationals visas of between 30 days and six months to assist Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion.
About 4.5 million refugees have fled the invasion, the UN has said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The ministry as of yesterday has granted visa applications to 19 Ukrainian relatives of Taiwanese or foreigners with local residency, Bureau of Consular Affairs director-general Chou Chung-hsiung (周中興) said.
The applications were filed at Taiwan’s representative offices in Poland, Latvia, Turkey and other countries near Ukraine, he added.
An additional 47 Ukrainians have been granted business visas, Chou said.
More than 200 Ukrainians hold residency in Taiwan.
The government also said last month that it was considering allowing Ukrainian students and researchers to stay in Taiwan temporarily.
Academia Sinica launched a scholarship program for Ukrainian students and researchers last month.
Academia Sinica had as of April 16 approved 12 out of 165 Ukrainian scholarship applications for undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degrees.
Some of the students have arrived in Taiwan, the institute said.
Academia Sinica is also in the process of selecting 15 academics from among 42 applicants to study under the same program, it said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their