The Ministry of Education (MOE) released more details yesterday on its plan to allow Chinese students to study at the nation’s higher education establishments, saying it would impose a series of restrictions and conditions on Chinese students to avoid jeopardizing the education and employment opportunities of Taiwanese students.
Under the plan, Chinese students from universities and colleges with “distinguished academic reputations” would be allowed to study in the country, with numbers limited to between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of total nationwide enrollment at colleges, four-year technology institutions and two-year junior technological and vocational education colleges.
The estimated number of Chinese students coming to Taiwan to study each year would be between 1,000 and 2,000, based on the 200,000 vacancies at 170 institutions nationwide, Vice Minister of Education Lu Mu-lin (呂木琳) told the press conference.
Lu said the policy would require amendments to the University Law (大學法), College School Law (專科學校法) and the Statute Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例).
If the amendments pass the legislature, the first group of Chinese students could be expected in September at the earliest, Lu said.
Lu said that nine measures to be enacted upon the arrival of the first Chinese students would ensure that the education system, job sector and national security would not be threatened.
The government would not grant Chinese students the “special status” that helps students receive extra credits on their application, as it does with nationals living overseas, Aboriginal students, veterans and others. In addition, the government would not provide scholarships, Lu said.
Lu said, however, that the government would not bar schools from attracting Chinese students with scholarships financed by themselves or other sources.
Chinese students would not take up vacancies for local students, as Chinese students allowed to study in Taiwan would be outside each school’s enrollment quota, he said.
The students would not be allowed to work part-time during their studies, nor would they be allowed to work in the country after graduation. They would also be barred from taking national certificate examinations or public service examinations unless they hold Taiwanese citizenship, Lu said.
Lu said the government would not recognize Chinese medical credentials for the time being as hospital resources for medical students are limited, Lu said.
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