Taiwan has signed a reciprocal driver’s license agreement with Colorado, the 19th US state with which the nation has forged such an accord, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver, Colorado, signed the memorandum of understanding with the Colorado state government on Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the agreement, which took immediate effect, Taiwanese living in Colorado who possess a valid Taiwanese driver’s license are exempt from a road and written test when applying for a license in the US state, it added.
Similarly, Colorado residents with a US passport and a valid driver’s license issued by the state government can apply for a driver’s license in Taiwan without having to take a test.
Jerry Chang (張詩瑞), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver, said the initiative would make it more convenient for Taiwanese businesspeople, students and academics in Colorado to go about their business, life and work there.
It is expected to further advance trade and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Colorado, he said.
The signing of the agreement came after two years of negotiations between the two sides, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
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