The number of foreign residents in the country declined last year, mainly because of a drop in the number of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector, the Ministry of the Interior said on Friday.
Ministry statistics showed that there were 552,792 foreign residents in Taiwan at the end of last year, down 6,508 from the previous year.
Among them, the number of foreign workers fell by 14,044 year-on-year, with the biggest drop recorded in the manufacturing sector amid a global economic downturn, a ministry official said.
The number of foreign spouses also decreased by 4,485, as many of them have obtained Taiwanese nationality, the official said.
Foreign workers accounted for the majority of foreign residents in the country at 351,016, or 63.5 percent of the overall foreign population.
Foreign spouses who have not acquired Taiwanese nationality were the second-largest group, numbering 51,758, or 9.36 percent of the total.
Most foreign residents, particularly migrant workers and foreign spouses, lived in Taoyuan County, Taipei County and Taipei City, the data showed.
Indonesians were the largest national group in Taiwan, accounting for 154,159, or 27.9 percent, of the total, followed by Vietnamese at 125,418, or 22.7 percent, and Filipinos at 75,086 or 13.6 percent.
Compared with 2008, the number of Thais decreased by 10,947, while the number of Indonesians increased by 10,254.
The data also showed that 83.4 percent of foreigners held residency visas; 15.31 percent were on visitor visas; and 1.31 percent had other forms of visas.
As at the end of last year, 84,619 foreigners were studying in Taiwan on visitor visas, with Japanese accounting for 21.7 percent of the total, followed by Americans who made up 21.4 percent and Malaysians who accounted for 7.9 percent.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of