Kinmen will begin to accept children of China-based Taiwan businesspeople on a "trial basis" this September, an education official said Monday.
Deputy Education Minister Fan Sun-lu (
Fan noted that Kinmen was one of the first places in Taiwan to implement the nine-year compulsory educational system, making its overall teaching environment one of the best in the nation.
Fan asked Kinmen educational authorities to complete their assessment of high schools and vocational schools so that the children of Taiwan businesspeople operating in China would be able to receive their education from primary school through senior high school in their motherland.
She said she welcomed Tai-wanese businesspeople to visit in groups to see the school facilities for themselves.
Under the "small three links" implemented in January of last year, which allow for direct trade, transport and postal links between Matsu and Kinmen and selected Chinese ports, legislators also said that once regular shipping begins between Kinmen and Xiamen, Taiwan businesspeople in China will be able to visit their children studying in Kinmen and vice versa via a voyage across the Taiwan Strait of no more than 90 minutes.
The legislators said that allowing the children to receive their educations on Kinmen would help Taiwan businesspeople maintain their roots and prevent their children from being "brainwashed" under the Chinese educational system.
DPP Legislator Chang Chin-fang (張清芳) also urged educational authorities to be "bolder," saying that as a democratic society, Taiwan should welcome Chinese students who wish to study in Kinmen to help them better identify with Taiwan.
Fan said that the ministry has formed a task force with the Mainland Affairs Council to assess the possibility of allowing in Chinese students.
The Kinmen County Government assessed that junior high schools would be able to accommodate up to 2,000 children of China-based Taiwan businesspeople, while primary schools would be able to handle up to 3,000 children.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not