Taipei, March 21 (CNA) The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on Thursday approved revised regulations to allow foreign nationals residing in Taiwan to volunteer as firefighters.
The new regulations will be officially promulgated and will become effective after internal procedures are completed, the MOI said.
In a statement, the MOI said the revision makes provisions for foreign nationals, including people from China, Macau and Hong Kong, who are willing to undergo the necessary training at the local fire departments to qualify as volunteer firefighters.
They could make a positive contribution to firefighting and fire prevention efforts as Taiwan currently has limited human resources in that area, the ministry said.
The new rules apply to legal foreign residents who have a clean police record, the ministry said.
Currently, volunteer firefighting is restricted to Taiwan nationals only.
According to the MOI's latest statistics, there are 542,677 legal foreign residents in Taiwan, including spouses from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
