Pakistani Usman Iqbal, 33, is one of the youngest faculty members at Taipei Medical University, where he teaches as an assistant professor, researches health informatics and manages several national and international health IT projects.
He has witnessed many changes in the decade he has lived in Taiwan, but as a Muslim, he pays particular attention to the treatment of Muslims, Iqbal said.
“When I first got here, it was hard to tell if a food product contained pork or not, which made every meal full of surprises,” he said.
Thanks to the government’s push for halal certification — which identifies operators that serve food in compliance with Islamic dietary law — dining has become far easier, he said.
Today, halal-certified food products are clearly labeled and can be found at major supermarkets, he said.
Two new mosques have also been built since he arrived, making it easier for Muslims to worship, Iqbal added.
He said he has found that authorities show great respect for Muslims, such as when police put traffic controls in place during mosque services.
“I think Taiwan is very friendly [toward Muslims]; it is pretty good,” he said.
Iqbal said he has noticed more visitors from Muslim countries, an observation that seems to be supported by official reports.
In the 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom released earlier this month by the US Department of State, Taiwan was recognized for making “significant” progress in improving rights for Muslims.
The report cited the Taipei-based Chinese-Muslim Association as saying: “Authorities were making significant progress in improving rights for Muslims,” such as increasing the number of restaurants and hotels that cater to halal requirements, and establishing prayer rooms.
Taiwan’s friendliness toward Muslims is one of the main reasons why Iqbal applied for a Plum Blossom Card, which grants permanent residency to foreigners in recognition of their special contributions to Taiwan as part of the government’s efforts to retain top international talent.
The program is aimed at uniquely qualified, skilled professionals. For those who receive the card, there are no minimum residency or income requirements, and no filing fees, unlike other permanent residency programs.
Highly qualified foreigners who have made contributions to Taiwan or those who have invested at least US$200,000 in the nation are eligible to apply.
Currently, 90 people have Plum Blossom Cards, National Immigration Agency statistics showed.
After learning of the program and that his expertise in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine meant he could qualify, Iqbal applied in July 2017 and received the card in April, becoming the first Pakistani to do so.
Iqbal said that Taiwan’s strong technological infrastructure allows him to continue to learn from the best in his field and conduct research.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its