Sun, Feb 16, 2025 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  EMPLOYMENT

  Foreign bartenders allowed

  Foreign bartenders can now legally work in Taiwan, following a Ministry of Labor regulatory revision to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) reclassifying bartending as a specialized or technical occupation. Foreign bartenders can obtain a work permit, provided they have worked for two years at a bar or restaurant, or for one year at a business recognized by organizations such as the Michelin Guide. Work experience requirements are waived for those who have won prizes in certain international bartending competitions, the ministry said. Foreign bartenders must receive a minimum monthly salary of NT$47,971 (US$1,464), while employers must hold a valid business license to hire them. Foreign bartenders’ job responsibilities must be restricted to mixing alcoholic and nonalcoholic cocktails, providing technical training, designing drink menus, consulting on bar operations and customer service for a work permit to be granted, it said.

  

  Photo: Bloomberg
  Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health.

  TRADITION

  Pilgrimage details released

  The annual Matsu pilgrimage is to begin late at night on April 4, at the Jenn Lann Temple (鎮瀾宮) in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲), the organizer said on Wednesday. The nine-day, eight-night pilgrimage is to start at 10:45pm at the temple and would also end at the temple on April 13, they said. The date and time of the Matsu pilgrimage this year were decided after Jenn Lann Temple chairman Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) threw two crescent-shaped divining blocks on the ground in front of the statue of Matsu during a ceremony to seek divine guidance, the temple said. The pilgrimage route is to include stops at a number of temples in Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi.

  CRIME

  Mayor’s trial to resume

  The High Court is to resume the trial for Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), who was charged with corruption, after the Constitutional Court rejected its request to review the constitutionality of a law cited in the case last week. The Taipei District Court in July last year found Kao guilty of filing fraudulent expense claims to pay staff hired with public funds during her time as a Taiwan People’s Party legislator-at-large. She was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison and her civil rights were suspended for four years during the first trial. The High Court on Jan. 2 sought the Constitutional Court’s view on the law before proceeding with Kao’s appeal, citing concerns that Article 32 of the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) contravened the principle of clarity and definiteness of law, which could affect the results of the trial. The Constitutional Court rejected the request, saying that the law cited was not applicable in making a final judgment on the defendant’s guilt or innocence.

  DIPLOMACY

  Envoy to Indonesia named

  President William Lai (賴清德) has named Tourism Administration deputy head Trust Lin (林信任) as the new deputy representative to Indonesia, but did not say when Lin would take up his post in Jakarta. The appointment seeks to take advantage of Lin’s experience in tourism promotion and marketing, which would help Taiwan explore the emerging Muslim market in Indonesia, a diplomatic source said. Lin began his public sector service in 1990 as a specialist in the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Statistics Division. He became the Tourism Bureau’s International Affairs Division head in 2005. Lin’s overseas postings include the Tourism Bureau’s Los Angeles and Singapore offices.
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