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KMT legislators urge recognition of Chinese diplomas

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday urged the government to recognize higher educational qualifications issued in China, saying that doing so would help attract individuals with valuable skills to Taiwan.

KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) sought to counter remarks made by government officials that they currently had no plans to recognize such qualifications.

The KMT caucus yesterday invited officials from the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to discuss how to implement the conclusions reached in the economic forum held by the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In the wake of the Chinese government's announcement that it would recognize college and university diplomas issued in Taiwan, the KMT legislators asked the government to make a similar announcement in the spirit of reciprocity.

"Taiwan has to recognize Chinese academic qualifications so that it won't be put at a disadvantage in terms of attracting talented individuals," Lai said.

In response to Lai's request, MAC Vice Chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said that the government had already opened the door for Chinese high-tech professionals to work in Taiwan and encouraged cross-strait academic exchanges as well.

"The attempt to attract [Chinese] talent and encourage academic exchanges has had little success. However, this is not due to government restrictions but to Chinese restrictions placed on these activities," Liu said.

"It has been years since the government granted Chinese citizens permission to come to Taiwan on four-month academic exchanges, but so far only ten people have filed applications." Liu said.

Lai proposed the government recognize all Chinese higher education diplomas but give the MOE the authority to rule out qualifications from unrecognized institutions. The proposal was backed by more than 30 lawmakers.
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