The government will encourage local universities to seek and expand exchanges with their US counterparts to give the nation a voice in public policy debates in the US, Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) said yesterday.
Wu said the administration would support cooperation and exchanges with prestigious US schools through its five-year, NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion) program to facilitate local universities’ transition into world-class educational institutions.
Aside from the funding, the minister said it was hoped that more funds would be allocated to establish educational foundations or research centers at renowned US schools where Taiwanese students could continue their education.
If Taiwanese students could graduate from highly reputable schools in the US, they would have a better chance of finding a good job and be better placed to speak for Taiwan there, Wu said.
Wu said Beijing had spent a great deal of money over the past decade to forge cooperative relationships with well-established US schools, including the Ivy League universities.
Through these ties, many Chinese students have gained enrollment in premier US schools, Wu said. In contrast, the number of Taiwanese students studying at those same universities is on the decline and these top schools are now less likely to offer scholarships to students from Taiwan, he said.
“If we don’t have footholds in the top schools, there will be only Chinese voices in public hearings in the US in the future,” he said.
Wu said that those studying in the US on the recommendation of the local schools subsidized by the government’s elite university development program are not obliged to return to Taiwan for work after graduation.
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