A record number of Taiwanese moved to the US to work last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Thursday last week.
About 128,000 Taiwanese took jobs in the US last year, the DGBAS said.
Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) attributed the surge to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) new Arizona factory.
Photo: Reuters
Many people also moved to Japan for work, Tan said, citing TSMC’s new fab in Kumamoto Prefecture as the main driver of the exodus.
The number of Taiwanese working in China fell slightly, continuing a downward trend, the DGBAS said.
The proportion of Taiwanese working in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, dropped from 62.2 percent of overseas workers in 2011 to 35 percent last year, it said, attributing the decrease to factors such as increases in costs and a renewed focus on Taiwan by local investors.
The weak Chinese economy and increased international concerns over Beijing are also reasons Taiwanese have opted to work in countries other than China, it added.
From 2009 to 2019, the number of Taiwanese departing for job opportunities overseas climbed from about 662,000 to about 739,000, the DGBAS data showed.
The numbers fell in 2020 and 2021 due to a trade dispute between the US and China and the COVID-19 pandemic, the DGBAS said.
About 319,000 departed for work overseas in 2021, the data showed.
The numbers began to increase again in 2022 and last year following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, it said, adding that last year the number increased by 148,000 to about 621,000.
In addition to the 128,000 people who went to work in the US, about 217,000 left for China, while 92,000 went to Southeast Asia and 68,000 took up positions in Japan or South Korea, it added.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS