London, Sept. 3 (CNA) After more than a year of negotiations, Ireland has made it possible for Taiwanese nationals to get an Irish driver's license without having to take a test if they have a valid license from Taiwan.
Taiwanese nationals will be able to use the Irish driver's license to travel to 26 member countries in the European Union, and the move could also prod the United Kingdom and other countries to follow suit.
Taiwan's Representative to Ireland Lee Nan-yang expressed his appreciation to the Irish government for taking the initiative and described it as the second major breakthrough in bilateral relations since July 2009, Lee said.
"This is another friendly gesture after the Irish government granted visa-free treatment to Taiwanese passport holders in July 2009," he said, adding that it shows Ireland attaches great importance to Taiwan's tourists, students and investors.
Upon learning the news, Taiwanese expatriates in Ireland called it a major diplomatic breakthrough that will help them tremendously.
"This is indeed a very good news with the low passing rates for Irish road tests. It will be more convenient to travel around European Union countries after the new policy," said Wang Chi-sui, who was invited to teach at Dublin City University two years ago.
Johnnie Lin, director of Engineering and Quality at technology company Bizlink, said obtaining an Irish driver's licence will be a blessing for Taiwanese businessmen and students.
It will save the time needed to prepare for the written test and save a lot of money needed to attend classes before the road test, Lin added.
Ireland has become the 10th country to give Taiwanese nationals the special treatment, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Finland and Switzerland.
Since Ireland offered visa-free treatment to Taiwanese nationals on July 1, 2009, bilateral trade and tourism and science and technology and academic exchanges have grown substantially, according to official Irish statistics.
Bilateral trade totaled around 532 million euros in 2009, with Taiwan becoming Ireland's 23rd largest trading partner and the 20th biggest source of its imported goods.
(By Jennifer Huang, Lee Ming-tsung and Lilian Wu)
Source: CNA
