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.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS