The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) released a statement yesterday signed by 146 academics opposing the Ministry of Education’s proposed recognition of Chinese degrees and the opening of local universities to Chinese students.
Kuo Kuang-hsiung (郭光雄) of National Taiwan University told a press conference that the policies could have a significant influence on people of many generations, but the plan to recognize Chinese academic degrees and open local schools was made in a rushed and careless manner.
The ministry had violated democratic procedures by not communicating with the public or schools and listening to their opinions, the statement said.
“China is notorious for its fake academic certificates and even Beijing has headaches about this issue. We must question how Taiwan can deal with this problem once it recognizes Chinese degrees,” said Byron Weng (翁松燃), a public policy professor at National Chi Nan University.
He questioned how the ministry could craft policy without offering any measures to resolve the problem.
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said the ministry would fail in its stated aim of getting the best Chinese students to study in Taiwan.
The best Chinese students would go to China’s top universities and Taiwan would be stuck with sub-standard students who would not have to take admission exams to enter Taiwan’s top schools, which would hurt this country’s education system, he said.
If the government recognized Chinese degrees, more Taiwanese students would enroll in Chinese schools, making it more difficult for private Taiwanese universities to recruit students, he said.
The government should resolve the problems in Taiwan’s education system without relying on China.
Other academics opposing the ministry’s proposed policy included Shan Tian-fuh (沈添富); Song Yong-yi (宋永義), a professor of animal science at National Taiwan University; Academia Sinica member Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies director Michael Hsiao (蕭新煌) and Lin Chu-yung (林秋榮).
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS