Taipei, Jan. 29 (CNA) Taiwan hopes to encourage more foreign professionals to settle long term, with legal amendments implemented this month aimed at helping them build more stable lives in the country, according to the National Development Council (NDC). "Many government ministries were originally more conservative, but now they are becoming more and more open," she said, adding that Taiwan recognizes the "urgent need" to employ more foreign professionals. The amendments also shorten permanent residency requirements for Taiwan-educated and "foreign specialist professionals," allow spouses of foreign specialists to work freely, and expand foreign professionals' access to pension and employment insurance systems. In addition to legal changes, the NDC is actively recruiting foreign talent from abroad. The NDC, whose role involves coordinating multiple government ministries and agencies to achieve major national policy objectives, has ongoing plans to make it easier for foreign professionals to work in Taiwan, Hsieh said.