The numbering system used on foreign nationals’ alien resident certificates (ARCs) changed in January to match that of Taiwanese citizens’ IDs, removing a longstanding hindrance to carrying out everyday activities such as online banking, ticket booking, and registration for medical appointments. Before the change was made, whether an ARC number could be entered successfully online…
Johnny Chiang Takes KMT Chair Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Johnny Chiang on March 7 was elected as party chair, winning the chairperson by-election handily against his sole opponent, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin. Chiang, who is 47, represents the younger generation of KMT leadership. During his campaign, he promised major reforms aimed at modernizing the party and…
Elizabeth Yeh (Philippines) Today Elizabeth Yeh is well known among many of Taichung’s international travelers as the owner of the Elizabeth Travel Service, a future that never would have occurred to her as a young girl in Manila. After earning a degree in medical technology and moving on to medical school, she had to give…
The recent influx of immigrants from ASEAN nations dovetails with the Tsai administration’s New Southbound Policy. Southeast Asian immigration to Taiwan is steadily rising amid deepening ties between the island and ASEAN nations. Between 2010 and 2016, Southeast Asian immigrants increased from 130,000 to 170,000, according to government data. Last year, for the first time…
Given the tepid economy and tensions in relations with Beijing, the island is no longer a magnet for cross-Strait marriages. When Lisa Li arrived in Taiwan in 2001, the island was more advanced than anywhere on the Chinese mainland. The capital city of Taipei had a brand-new MRT system, five-star international hotels, and 24-hour convenience…
From European colonizers to adventurous settlers from China and Japanese imperialists, Taiwan as long been a magnet for an array of people attracted by its strategic location along vital East Asian shipping routes. But while Taiwan has long been closely tied to the global market – and is widely considered to be among the most…
If one’s love of country can be measured in terms of struggle to gain citizenship, then TC Locke should be counted among Taiwan’s most ardent supporters. The Florida native and current member of acclaimed blues band The Muddy Basin Ramblers came to Taiwan in 1989 as an exchange student at Tunghai University in Taichung and…
Taiwan is making an effort to attract more international students – and hopes that growing numbers of them will stay on to join the workforce after graduation. Despite being only a Tier II team, the soccer squad at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) regularly defeats some of Taiwan’s top-division university teams. But…
Quincy Davis III may not look like a typical Taiwanese, but the 6’8” former Tulane University basketball star is in fact a citizen of the Republic of China. In June 2013, the Los Angeles-born, Mobile, Alabama-raised Davis gave up his U.S. citizenship to accept ROC nationality, enabling him to play on the Chinese Taipei national…
