New Taipei City yesterday signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with five US cities to promote cooperation in economics, culture and education.
New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan (劉和然) at a ceremony in the city signed MOUs with two Californian mayors — Saratoga Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons and Cupertino Mayor Hung Wei (魏虹) — as well as with representatives from Aurora, Colorado; Johns Creek, Georgia; and Holmdel, New Jersey.
American Institute in Taiwan Public Affairs Officer Arend Zwartjes, who witnessed the signing ceremony, thanked New Taipei City and the five US cities for helping bolster the Taiwan-US relationship.
Photo: Huang Tzu-yang, Taipei Times
Zwartjes heads the US-Taiwan Education Initiative, which was launched in December 2020.
The initiative encourages Taiwan and the US to boost ties through education and facilitates the exchange of talent between the two sides, he said, adding that the MOUs can help those efforts.
New Taipei City signed an initiative with Cupertino in 2021 to jointly cultivate technical and vocational talent, and participated in a cultural festival held by Aurora this year, which demonstrated New Taipei City’s cultural and diplomatic power, Liu said.
The New Taipei City Government and the US cities had already signed the MOUs online, but were unable to meet in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The New Taipei City Government invited the US officials to attend the Taiwan Design Expo, which opens today in the city, he said.
New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said the government hoped the 302 schools citywide could all establish sister-school ties with foreign schools by 2030.
The interactions online or in person under such schemes would provide students with an international outlook from an early age, which is in line with the White Paper 2.0 on International Education for Primary and Secondary Schools, which the city released earlier this year, Chang said.
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the age limit for working holiday visas in South Korea is to be raised to 34 from next year.
Taiwan and South Korea signed an MOU in 2010 to allow people aged 18 to 30 from both sides to apply for one-year working holiday visas in each other’s countries, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director Peter Lan (藍夏禮) said.
The annual quota for the visas in 2018 was increased to 800 from 600, and the maximum age limit is to be increased next year, Lan said.
The governments of both sides hope to further increase exchanges between young people, as more than 5,000 Taiwanese have gone on working holidays in South Korea, while more than 4,000 South Koreans have entered Taiwan over the past few years, he said.
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