The central government will gradually lift its remaining restrictions on Chinese students at universities in Taiwan, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) said.
Lin was referring to the “three restrictions and six noes” that have governed the opportunities open to Chinese students in Taiwanese institutions of higher learning since 2011, when schools were first opened to them.
The restrictions limit the schools that Chinese can apply to, the departments in which they can enroll and a cap on the numbers of Chinese students admitted for study.
The “six noes” refer to actions that are not allowed: No preferential grading on entrance exams, no scholarships, no change in the number of enrollment openings for Taiwanese, no part-time jobs, no participation in licensing examinations and no remaining in Taiwan after graduation.
Lin said that when he took over as head of the foundation in September 2012, just 41 Chinese colleges and universities were accredited by Taipei, but that number has since ballooned to 320.
All Chinese elementary and secondary schools are also accredited in Taiwan, he said.
“As a pluralistic society, Taiwan will remain open to different views and engage in communications to formulate a policy that is in line with the expectations of the majority of people,” Lin said in response to a question about whether a change of ruling party would result lead to changes in the policies governing Chinese students.
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