In a bid to help foreign residents better adapt to Taiwan and experience a higher quality of life, the government yesterday launched an English-language Web site with information on daily living and an accompanying 24-hour hotline.
The "International Community Service Web site and Hotline" is part of the Executive Yuan's National Development Plan, which includes measures to make the nation more English-friendly.
"Facing immense pressure from global competition and increasingly frequent contacts with countries all over the world, the Taiwanese government is actively seeking to globalize the country and keep pace with global development," Vice Premier Wu Rong-i (
"With the rapid growth in the number of foreigners in Taiwan, the key to retaining foreign talent is the provision of information in English to help foreigners to feel at home while living in Taiwan," Wu said.
The Web site, at iff.npa.gov.tw, contains sections covering basic subjects, including visa and passport issues, health care, housing and safety. Users can also log on according to whether they are a tourist, foreign student or foreign dependent for more direct and quick access to related information. A map of Taiwan, weather forecasts, and online Chinese conversation classes are also available on the site.
The international community service hotline, 0800-024-111, is run by Chunghwa Telecom. It offers information in both Chinese and English year-round, and the government says it will ensure that all inquiries are addressed within three working days at the most.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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