As the world’s 18th largest trading nation, Taiwan is currently institutionalizing trade relations with mainland China (its largest trading partner), while simultaneously making efforts to pursue regional, bilateral trade agreements. For example, on July 10th 2013, Taiwan and New Zealand signed an economic cooperation agreement (ANZTEC), Taiwan’s first free trade deal with a developed country. Later that year on November 7th 2013, Taiwan and Singapore signed an economic partnership agreement (ASTEP) . We are also in contact with other potential partners in Asia and Europe in the hope of concluding more such accords.

In addition to bilateral negotiations, we must take part in regional arrangements. Given that Taiwan’s trade with the 12 members of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2013 accounted for 34% of Taiwan’s total external trade, we believe Taiwan’s membership in the TPP would definitely be beneficial not only for Taiwan , but also for all TPP member states.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, which will provide up to $10 million in funding for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. The Citizenship and Integration Grant Program is a competitive grant opportunity for public or non-profit organizations, which promotes immigrant civic integration and prepares permanent residents for citizenship. Applications are due by May 16.

Through the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, USCIS seeks to expand the availability of high-quality citizenship preparation services by providing grants to organizations that offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to permanent residents. USCIS expects to announce up to 40 grant recipients in September.

Since 2009, USCIS has awarded approximately $33 million through 182 grants to immigrant-serving organizations that have provided citizenship preparation services to more than 78,000 permanent residents in 33 states and the District of Columbia.

To apply for this funding opportunity, visit www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov as early as possible to obtain the registration information needed to complete the application process.

For additional information on the FY 2014 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship by email at citizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov.

For more information about USCIS and its programs, visit www.uscis.gov. Follow us on Facebook (/uscis), Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

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