Headline News
Tsai Ing-wen re-elected as President
With a record-breaking 8,170,186 votes or 57.13 percent, the highest vote total ever collected by a presidential candidate in Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was re-elected for a second term.
Tsai, with former Premier William Lai as her vice-presidential running mate, won the elections held on January 11, with a wide margin over her main opponents Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang (KMT) with 38.61% of the votes and James Soong of the People First Party (PFP) with 4.25% of the votes.
Following her victory, Tsai said “I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan and our democratically elected government will not concede to threats and intimidation.”
The voter turnout was 74.90%, a sharp rise from the 66% recorded in the elections of 2016.
Taiwan voters also elected on January 11, new members of Parliament (Legislative Yuan).
A total of 43 parties vied for the Legislature's 113 seats, where the DPP retained its majority.
The President and Vice-President will be sworn in on May 20, the new Legislative Yuan on February 1.
MOFA thanks the international community for all congratulations
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed thanks for the messages of congratulations and support received from over 60 countries and organizations following the 2020 presidential and legislative elections.
Included are congratulations from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Japan’s foreign Minister Kono Taro, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the European Parliament, spokesperson Virginie Battu-Henriksson of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Taiwan allies.
Taiwan and the Netherlands sign working holiday MOU
Taiwan and the Netherlands signed an MOU for a reciprocal working holiday program between the two countries that is expected to take effect in April.
Under the terms of the MOU, each country will allow an annual quota of 100 citizens aged 18- 30 years to travel and work in each other’s country.
Taiwanese could apply for one-year working-holidays visas, while Dutch nationals could apply for a 180-days visa that could be extended once for 180 days.
The agreement was signed by Representative Hsin Hsin Chen of Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands and the Dutch Representative to Taiwan, Guy Wittich.
Following South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, Taiwan is the fourth country in Asia that the Netherlands is issuing working-holiday visas to.
Society & Tourism
Better protection for foreigners in Taiwan
With amended provisions in Taiwan’s Crime Victim Protection Act, foreigners working at business firms, migrant laborers from Southeast Asian countries or tourists who become victim of a crime committed in Taiwan, can apply for state assistance and financial compensation.
In addition to financial compensation, the Ministry provides interpretation services for the victim’s family, psychological counseling, transportation arrangements and funeral assistance if needed.
The new measures make Taiwan one of the more progressive countries in terms of state assistance and compensation for victims who are foreigners, said Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tan.
Taiwan records record high tourist arrivals in 2019
A record high number of 11.84 million individuals visited Taiwan in 2019, representing a 7% growth compared to the 11.07 million tourists in 2018.
Among the tourists are 2.71 million Chinese (+ 0.5%), while 9.14 million were from Japan (+10%), South Korea (+20%) and from New Southbound Policy countries (+6%), according to the Tourism Bureau.
