Taiwan is mulling recognizing diplomas from more Chinese universities, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said, as some Taiwanese schools expect that doing so could result in more Chinese students studying in this country.
Speaking at the opening of the 2013 National Conference of University and College Presidents at Fo Guang University on Monday, Ma said his administration is planning to expand the number of Chinese universities accredited in Taiwan from 41 to 112.
Under the plan, the 112 Chinese universities covered by China’s 1998 world-class universities development program announced by then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) would be accredited.
Ma said his administration was also considering allowing Chinese students to enroll at two-year colleges to increase the number of overseas students in local colleges.
Ma’s idea was welcomed by the conference attendees, although a number of them worried that the move could backfire and encourage more Taiwanese to study in Chinese universities instead of luring more Chinese students to Taiwan.
Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) said he hoped to give a report on the issue to the Legislative Yuan and expand the number of accredited Chinese universities this year.
He dismissed the concerns that it could result in an exodus of students to China because of the advantages local universities hold over their Chinese counterparts.
National Taiwan University president Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔) shared Chiang’s view, saying it would help local universities attract Chinese students rather than the other way around.
Taiwan suffers from having too many universities and not enough students due to its low birth rate. Universities are eager to attract students from China and elsewhere.
National Cheng Kung University president Hwung Hwung-hweng (黃煌煇) said the increase in the number of accredited Chinese universities could expand the number of Chinese students universities in Taiwan may choose from without compromising their admittance standards, as long as the universities maintain requirements for accepting Chinese students.
Wu Ching-ji (吳清基), former education minister and president of the Taiwan Education University System, said the expansion would help balance educational exchanges between Taiwan and China because China already recognizes diplomas issued by all Taiwanese universities, while Taiwan only recognizes degrees from 41 Chinese universities.
According to the Mainland Affairs Council, the government has already opened applications from 41 colleges and universities in China, including the 39 schools under China’s “Project 985,” — a name given by Jiang at Peking University’s 100th anniversary in May 1998.
Project 211 is an endeavor launched by the Chinese government in 1995, aimed at strengthening about 100 institutions of higher education and key disciplinary areas as a national priority for this century.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS