The nation’s universities will be required to obtain the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) permission before entering into agreements with Chinese institutes, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said yesterday, adding that the ministry does not acknowledge any documents signed by universities that bow to Beijing’s “one China” policy.
The ministry concluded its investigation into universities that have signed documents with Chinese institutions, finding that 72 of the nation’s 157 tertiary institutions have signed agreements with their Chinese counterparts since cross-strait academic exchanges began in 2005.
The documents come in a variety of formats, including letters of commitment, warranties, statements and e-mails, with some adhering to the principles of academic freedom, some promising Chinese universities that courses would not touch on political issues, and others saying that the concept of “one China, one Taiwan” would be cut from course material, Pan said.
Photo: CNA
The probe found that the documents were signed by personnel at all levels, from top management at universities, colleges and individual departments, to offices of international affairs, he said.
China’s Zhejiang Province has the highest number of agencies — 26 — among Chinese provinces and cities that have requested such documents be signed, he said, adding that they include universities and provincial or city-level Taiwan affairs offices.
The manner in which the documents were signed was “reckless,” as the majority of institutions bypassed signing procedures and readily deferred to terms proposed by their Chinese counterparts, the minister said.
Agreements containing quid pro quo conditions breached the Act Governing 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), as they are not only unnecessary for cross-strait exchanges, but have encroached on academic freedom, Pan said.
The ministry would issue letters to administrators as a corrective measure against institutes that have signed such agreements, he said. However, as there is a lack of clarity over which areas are covered by the act, the ministry would refrain from handing out punishments.
Similarly, the ministry would not publish the names of institutes that have signed letters with Chinese institutions, he said.
All documents originating from negotiations between Taiwanese and Chinese universities are considered an integral part of an agreement, and colleges must deliver all such documents to the ministry before they can sign an agreement with a Chinese institution, Pan said, adding that the contents of the documents must not encroach on academic freedom.
The ministry welcomes cross-strait academic exchanges on the condition that they are carried out on an equal footing and in a mutually beneficial manner, he said.
With the ministry having given clear instructions on cross-strait academic exchanges, all documents that are in breach of the rules will be voided, he said.
Meanwhile, a survey published by the Grassroots Influence Foundation found that about half of Taiwanese do not have an opinion on universities signing letters of agreement with Chinese institutions.
The survey, which garnered responses from 1,150 Taiwanese aged 20 or older, showed that 27.5 percent of respondents said it is wrong to use a letter of agreement as a prerequisite for cross-strait academic exchanges, compared with 26.8 percent who said the opposite.
Asked whether they think the letters were in breach of the act, 29.4 percent said yes, while 21.7 percent said no.
Asked whether they supported the signing of the letters, 34.4 percent said they did, while 25.5 percent said they did not.
Additionally, 36.5 percent of respondents said the letters should not be viewed as endorsements of the “one China” policy, while 22.4 said the opposite.
The ministry’s handling of the issue was politically motivated, according to 46.2 percent of respondents, while 12.3 percent said it was not.
The survey had a margin of error of 2.89 percentage points.
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