The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill relaxing the restrictions on foreign white-collar workers in a bid to attract skilled foreigners for the government’s “Asian Silicon Valley” initiative.
The draft bill would relax the regulatory constraints on residence and work permits, taxation, internships, healthcare and retirement benefits.
The bill is aimed at attracting three categories of workers: general specialists, including freelance workers, artists and teachers; specialists of designated fields, including science, economics, education, culture, sports and others; and senior specialists, including highly skilled professionals, university professors, Olympic medalists and coaches of national sports teams.
Photo: CNA
An “employment gold card” — a four-in-one residence and work permit that consists of a resident visa, an alien resident certificate, a re-entry permit and a work permit that allows foreign workers to transition between jobs without their employer’s consent — would be given to foreign specialists.
The act would also extend the residency period for foreign employees from three to five years and scrap a regulation requiring workers with permanent residency to stay in Taiwan for at least 183 days every year.
A one-year resident visa would be offered to the family members of foreign workers, while children of holders of an alien permanent resident certificate would be allowed to work in Taiwan.
The spouse and children of foreign workers with an alien permanent resident certificate would also be able to apply for the certificate.
Workers with an alien permanent resident certificate would also be eligible to receive monthly pension payments. The spouse and underage children of a foreign worker would be allowed join the National Health Insurance (NHI) program without having to wait for six months.
Specialists of designated fields with an annual salary of more than NT$2 million (US$65,772) would be eligible for a three-year 50 percent tax exemption on their wages.
Visa regulations would be relaxed for students and college graduates seeking internship in Taiwan.
Foreigners seeking to work in Taiwan under the act must either have work experiences with a monthly salary of more than NT$47,971 or have a degree from one of the world’s top 500 universities.
“The key to pushing ahead with the ‘Asian Silicon Valley’ project is to attract top foreign talent and build a creative environment for Taiwanese,” Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said.
In a bid to build an ecosystem for technology start-ups, the National Development Council, in addition to preparing the draft act, has a budget of NT$100 billion to help Taiwanese industries transition to Internet of Things technologies, augmented and virtual reality technologies, artificial intelligence, self-driving car technologies and medical care.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS