The Hong Kong Government might order Hong Kong universities to cease exchanges with Taiwanese universities to prevent students’ involvement in political activities, a source said yesterday.
National security legislation imposed on the territory by Beijing in June empowers the Hong Kong government to interfere in educational exchanges.
Article 9 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region stipulates that the Hong Kong government “shall take necessary measures to strengthen ... supervision and regulation over matters concerning national security, including those relating to schools.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong government officials believe that the Democratic Progressive Party is influencing Hong Kong students in Taiwan and encouraging them to take part in “subversive activities” when they return home, the source said.
Beijing has asked the Hong Kong government to revise curricula in the territory and plans to require Hong Kong students to visit China at some time during their studies to attend lectures and write reports, the source said, adding that the changes aim to instill patriotism.
Hong Kong Outlanders spokeswoman Justine said that Hong Kong students are already self-censoring out of fear.
Hopefully, Hong Kongers would still be able to study in Taiwan, where they are free to express themselves, and the government offers them scholarships and other assistance, she said.
The Mainland Affairs Council on Saturday said the number of Hong Kong students applying for post-graduate studies this year more than doubled from last year.
This year, 648 Hong Kongers applied for master’s and doctoral degree programs in Taiwan, up from 260 last year, the council said, adding that the increase was likely due to deteriorating human rights conditions in the territory.
The number of Hong Kongers applying for undergraduate programs increased by 26 percent this year to 3,093 applicants, up from 2,463 last year, it said.
The council denied a local media report that applications by Hong Kong students had been delayed due to a high number of applicants.
Applications from overseas students were accepted online from Nov. 1 to Friday, it said, adding that they are being processed.
Due to restrictions on gatherings and movement to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic, some applicants in Hong Kong had to wait until the deadline to submit their documents to Taiwan’s representative office in the territory, it said, adding that the office stayed open late to collect applications.
The Ministry of Education has allowed universities to admit 10 percent more students for the coming academic year, it said.
As schools this year only filled 30 percent of their quotas for students from Macau and Hong Kong, there would be no problem with accepting more students from the territories, the council said.
The ministry has also implemented a new recruitment program for students from Macau and Hong Kong, and commissioned National Taiwan Normal University to open more classes in spring to accommodate them, it said.
Tropical Storm Koinu is expected to come closest to Taiwan from Wednesday through Friday as it passes through the Bashi Channel, but it remained uncertain how it would affect the weather, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am yesterday, Koinu was about 1,000km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving northwest at 12kph, the CWA said. Koinu is likely to strengthen into a typhoon today or tomorrow and turn west as it enters the Bashi Channel to the south of Taiwan proper, CWA forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. The storm’s trajectory is still unclear, so more time is
Taichung prosecutors yesterday indicted three people on charges of fraud for allegedly passing off watches assembled in Taiwan as Swiss-made timepieces and earning NT$400 million (US$12.4 million) in illicit gains. The Taichung branch office of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said in a statement that the group, headed by Mei Hua Precision Industry Co (梅華精密) and Laora Trading Co (仁徠貿易) manager Yang Hung-pin (楊鴻斌), had purchased the rights to use the Swiss trademark Ogival years ago and from November 2006 to December 2020 sold 26,282 counterfeit watches in department stores and online platforms in Taiwan. The branch office said they received
PALAU LAUNCHES: The source said that Taiwanese military personnel traveled to Palau, where a US brigade watched their work amid plans for a defense network The military last month participated in live-fire launches of MM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missiles under US observation in an undisclosed location in Palau, a step forward in a US-led plan to create a joint defense missile system in the first island chain, a source said on condition of anonymity. The PAC-3 is the mainstay surface-to-air missile of the US, NATO and democratic nations in East Asia, the source said, adding that it has never been live-tested within Taiwan’s borders, the source said. The proximity of Taiwan to China and China’s close surveillance of the nation’s borders and nearby sea zones is a significant
TRAJECTORY: Koinu’s outer rim is expected to reach Orchid Island early tomorrow and Taitung at about noon, where waves of at least 6m are forecast A sea warning for Typhoon Koinu was issued at 11:30pm last night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that a land warning could be issued today. High waves of about 2m were observed in Taitung yesterday, while waves of 6m or higher were forecast for today, said Huang Chia-mei (黃嘉美), head of the CWA’s Taitung Weather Station. At noon yesterday, Koinu was about 660km southeast of Taitung, she said, adding that it was moving more to the north and its center could possibly make landfall. The storm’s outer rim would likely reach Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) in the early hours tomorrow and
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