Academics and other university staff are calling for an increase in scholarships and humanitarian assistance for students from Hong Kong to help those affected by the ongoing protests there.
The US implemented a similar policy of providing scholarships and humanitarian aid to Chinese students in the US in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, National Chengchi University dean Lai Tsung-yu (賴宗裕) said.
The government should use this opportunity to attract outstanding Hong Kong citizens to Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying / AP
“Taiwan’s biggest difference from China is [the presence of] democracy,” he said.
China already offers many full scholarships to Hong Kongers, but the protests have prompted many students to come to Taiwan instead, Shih Chien University president Michael Chen (陳振貴) said.
Last week, he met a family that was planning to relocate to Taiwan and buy property here so that their children could attend a Taiwanese school, he said.
For Hong Kongers relocating abroad, the US, Europe and Taiwan are all popular choices, Chen said, adding that Taiwan offers a comparatively low cost of living and low university tuition fees.
Ho Wing-tung (何泳彤), a university student who relocated to Taiwan 10 years ago, said that the slump in Hong Kong began when the “Umbrella movement” ended in 2014, as many people resolved to leave the city after the 79-day occupation of central Hong Kong failed to persuade the government to change.
The situation was exacerbated by the arrests of key “Umbrella movement” protesters in 2017, she said.
Studying overseas was one option for those wanting to leave Hong Kong, and Taiwan was a great choice for many, partly because Taiwanese universities offered some humanities programs that were not offered in Hong Kong, Ho said.
Students in Hong Kong go from graduation immediately into the job market where they work for big corporations, she said, adding that in Taiwan she found that she was able to study art and philosophy, and could participate in small exhibitions, which Hong Kong does not have.
In Hong Kong it is also hard to receive funding for social science research, as research funds generally come from China, she said, adding that she was more free to explore these topics in Taiwan.
However, despite the situation in Hong Kong, the number of Hong Kongers applying to study in Taiwan has decreased from 6,177 in 2014 to 2,030 so far this year, Ministry of Education statistics showed.
This was likely due to the aging population in Hong Kong the ministry said, citing Hong Kong, Education Bureau statistics, which showed an 8.6 percent decrease in grade 12 enrollment there from 2017 to last year.
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