On Nov. 11, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-Hsin received the European Chambers of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) 2021 Position Papers on behalf of Taiwan’s government. Thanking the ECCT for its long-term work promoting bilateral trade cooperation and exchange between Taiwan and the European Union, Minister Kung also noted that on Oct. 7 this year the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to quickly start talks with Taiwan on a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA), giving greater opportunities for mutual cooperation in the fields of biomedicine, smart machinery, digital transformation, green energy, finance and other service industries. He urged the ECCT to continue to support the deepening of the Taiwan-EU partnership.
Minister Kung observed that in order to promote the greater internationalization of Taiwan and make it a more suitable place for foreign nationals to live, work and invest, the NDC is seeking to turn Taiwan into a bilingual country by 2030. To that end, private sector input and creativity as well as a performance evaluation mechanism will be introduced to enhance the English language environment in Taiwan. In addition, the Ministry of the Interior will issue new ARC/APRC numbers, matching the same format as those of ROC National ID Cards at the beginning of next year. These will enable foreign nationals to more easily shop, book tickets or make appointments with a doctor online.
Referring to the ECCT’s proposal to “boost Taiwan’s image as a heaven for talent,” Minister Kung emphasized that the government attaches great importance to international professionals. The NDC brought out the “Employment Gold Card” two years ago and had issued more than 1,500 by the end of October 2020. More recently, the NDC has also proposed draft amendments to the “Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals” in the hope that relaxing provisions governing foreign talent working in Taiwan and extending tax preferences will make it easier to proactively encourage foreign professionals to come to Taiwan.
As to the next step for green energy policy about which the ECCT is particularly interested, Minister Kung said the Ministry of Economic Affairs is expected to officially announce an offshore wind power zonal development mechanism by the end of the year. This will be used to establish a local offshore wind power market with stable long-term demand, while simultaneously encouraging the sustainable development of a local supply chain. Further, the Executive Yuan has already approved the NDC-proposed credit guarantee mechanism, which will increase the willingness of financial institutions to provide funding, thereby guiding capital into important domestic economic construction projects, such as wind power projects, while also facilitating the cultivation of individuals trained in the financing of large scale domestic construction projects. All these efforts are expected to motivate foreign developers and domestic suppliers to work together to develop Taiwan’s offshore wind power.
The ECCT “2021 Position Papers” focused on the central theme of “Boosting Brand Taiwan - Enhancing Innovation in Adverse Times,” making various proposals to the government on how to “boost Taiwan’s internationalization,” “boost Taiwan’s image as a heaven for talent” and “boost Taiwan’s green economy.”
Contact person: Regulatory Reform Center Counselor Yang Shu-ling
Telephone: （02）2316-5929