A further five high-level foreign professionals have been granted ROC (Taiwan) citizenship without having to relinquish their original nationalities, according to the Ministry of the Interior April 28.
The five—specializing in arts, education, medicine and sports—include professionals from France, Italy, Malaysia and South Korea.
All five are notable for their exceptional achievements, the ministry said. These include French biomedical engineer Thierry Burnouf, a former consultant to the World Health Organization specializing in plasma for fractionation and blood product safety. His work on intravenous immunoglobulins has contributed to the global fight against diseases like Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome and H1N1. He currently serves as deputy dean of the College of Biomedical Engineering at Taipei Medical University.
Equally impressive is taekwondo coach You Young-dae of South Korea. The retired athlete won gold in the 58-kilogram category at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar before coaching Taiwan’s national team from 2013 to 2019.
Another is Italian director, producer and writer Stefano Centini. His documentary titled “Absent Without Leave” won the audience choice award at the 2016 Singapore International Film Festival.
According to the MOI, 133 foreign professionals have so far been naturalized under amendments to the Nationality Act promulgated in 2016 enabling foreigners meeting certain conditions to obtain ROC (Taiwan) citizenship while retaining their original nationality. (YCH-E)
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