The Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday warned Taiwanese high school students against studying at universities in China until the legislature has passed amendments to related laws.
The ministry issued the call in response to China’s latest policy to attract top students from Taiwan to its universities.
Taiwanese students who wish to attend university in China are required to write an examination in China.
Under a policy newly announced by Beijing, however, Taiwanese high school graduates who score within the top 12 percent in Taiwan’s General Scholastic Ability Test will be able to apply directly to 123 universities in China without having to take China’s entrance exam, starting this fall.
The MOE says the top 12 percent in the Taiwan’s General Scholastic Ability Test would equate to approximately 15,000 students.
Department of Higher Education Section Chief Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said yesterday that although China’s new measure may sound attractive to Taiwanese students, students intending to study in China should be reminded that Chinese diplomas and degrees are not yet recognized in Taiwan.
Chu urged high school students to think twice because the ministry might not recognize credentials obtained before the amendments to the University Act (大學法), the Vocational School Act (專科學校法) and the Act Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) are passed by the legislature.
Chen Cheng-teng (陳正騰), vice chairman of the Taiwan Students Union — an organization of Taiwanese students studying in China — had previously quoted data from Beijing that 14,900 Taiwanese students graduated from Chinese schools between 1985 and 2007.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said he was confident that Taiwanese students would not consider attending a Chinese university simply because they did not have to take another examination.
“There are other things they have to take into consideration,” Liu said.
“Taiwan is still pretty competitive in terms of cross-strait educational exchanges,” Liu added.
A survey conducted by the MOE found that 77.2 percent of Taiwanese parents are not willing to send their children to school in China, based on concerns such as poor public order, difficulty adapting and inconsistent school quality.
While some expressed concern over a potential exodus of Taiwanese students to China after laws are amended to recognize Chinese credentials, Liu said it would go both ways, as Chinese students would also be coming to Taiwan.
Student exchanges should be the norm, Liu said, adding that some Taiwanese students chose to pursue higher education in China before its new policy.
Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) became president, the MOE has set recognizing Chinese credentials and recruiting Chinese students as administrative objectives.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday urged the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to stop boycotting related bills, saying Taiwan must fight for gifted Chinese students.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) of the Education and Culture Committee, said it was impossible for the government to stop Taiwanese students from pursuing a better learning environment, adding that Taiwan should recognize Chinese diplomas so talent would return to Taiwan after graduation.
DPP lawmakers, however, expressed concerns over China’s latest policy to attract top students from Taiwan, saying it would increase Taiwan’s “brain drain” and that the KMT government has not done enough to retain young students.
The process could accelerate further if the government recognizes Chinese educational certification, which would give Taiwanese students more incentive to study in China, DPP lawmakers said.
Citing Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang’s (王如玄) doctorate in law from the Renmin University of China, along with National Youth Commission Minister Wang Yu-ting’s (王昱婷) master’s degree in economics from China’s Peking University, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday said their degrees showed the number of people willing to study in China “even before Chinese degrees have been recognized or China loosened its standards.”
The DPP caucus has proposed prohibiting Chinese educational certifications from being used in public service, professional and other expert exams.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO AND CNA
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