President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday pledged to increase the international competitiveness of the country’s universities and said he expected more colleges to offer courses taught in English.
“Higher education in Taiwan should not keep its doors closed any more. We need to promote the idea of studying in Taiwan and attract great students to Taiwan,” Ma said yesterday in his weekly online speech.
“If we refuse to make changes, great teachers and students will be gone and it will be more difficult for us to raise competitiveness,” he said.
Ma said the government would redouble efforts to attract foreign students. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, has offered scholarships to more than 2,000 foreign students over the years.
The ministry will add NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) to its budget next year and provide even more scholarships for foreign students, he said.
Thirty-nine of the 70 public and private universities in Taiwan offer a total of 9,350 English-speaking courses, while foreign students make up 1.3 percent of all college students.
The government expects to double the percentage of foreign students to 2.6 percent in the near future, Ma said.
The president said attracting foreign students, including those from China, would create more opportunities for educational exchanges and expand the vision of Taiwanese students.
“College students in mainland China work very hard because of the intense competition, and students in Taiwan have lost their competitiveness because it is too easy to get into college,” he said.
The education industry brings tens of thousands of foreign students to US schools every year, bringing annual revenue of about NT$15 billion to the country.
In related news, a Hong Kong university is offering attractive scholarships to lure elite Taiwanese senior high school students.
At a presentation held on Friday at Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, one of Taiwan’s most prestigious boys’ high schools, Hong Kong Polytechnic University offered a scholarship package worth HK$480,000 (US$62,112) in financial support to each student.
The scholarship will include HK$80,000 for tuition and HK$40,000 for living expenses per year per student.
Laura Lo, the university’s Chinese mainland affairs department chief, said at the presentation that hopefuls can apply based on their academic proficiency exam scores. As long as the applicants are outstanding, the school will offer them scholarships.
“There will be no quota restrictions, “ she said, adding that if there are many talented Taiwanese students, the school will increase the scholarship quota for Taiwanese students at the expense of those from other areas.
A similar presentation was made at Taipei First Girls’ Senior High School, said Lo, who added that the response from students at both schools had been enthusiastic.
Earlier this year, the University of Hong Kong also made presentations in Taipei offering scholarships worth HK$150,000 per year for up to four years.
Meanwhile, National Taiwan University Chief Secretary Liao Hsien-hao (廖咸浩) said his school has been actively recruiting foreign students to create a multicultural campus environment.
“We have been working hard to retain outstanding students in Taiwan. In addition to luring foreign students by offering scholarships, we have also been actively forging cooperative ties with famous foreign schools for student exchanges. Our goal is for one-third of our students to be able to study on foreign campuses as exchange students,” Liao said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS