Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday.
China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials.
A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or facilitating programs with the two Chinese universities would be announced at an annual meeting with Taiwanese college and university deans, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The prohibition would apply to public and private high schools, colleges and universities, and their vocational equivalents nationwide, he said.
Any institution that contravenes the order would have their government subsidies withdrawn, Cheng said in reference to private education providers not subordinate to the Ministry of Education.
The measure is necessary to prevent China from systematically targeting Taiwanese students with its “united front” work, he said, adding that education providers have an obligation to protect national security.
Taiwanese have a constitutional right to education, but the two Chinese universities do not serve an educational role, as shown by the United Front Work Department’s involvement in their affairs, he said.
Taiwanese colleges and universities are already forbidden from collaborating with education providers run by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, Cheng said.
The Ministry of Education’s authority applies only to the administration of high schools, colleges and universities, not students, who are free to attend any institution they want, he said.
The two Chinese universities are continuing their efforts to recruit Taiwanese high-school graduates following the conclusion of this year’s national college entrance examinations, a source said on condition of anonymity.
Separately, in July last year, education authorities warned about the risks of participating in Chinese academic events after the Mainland Affairs Council raised its travel advisory for China to “orange.”
A source familiar with Huaqiao University said that the institution has “extremely low standards” for Taiwanese applicants and that its graduate programs have a fixed quota for students from Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) studied law at Huaqiao University, the source added.
On Tuesday, Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), who attended Huaqiao University, said that professors there taught “Xi Jinping thought” and criticized the US.
“When I applied through a special program [to enroll], Huaqiao University would take any Taiwanese applicant, even if they had not graduated from high school,” said Chen, whose stage name is Mannam PYC (閩南狼).
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