Taiwan’s democracy and academic independence are invaluable, and universities should be cautious regarding exchanges with China, President William Lai (賴清德) said at the National Conference for the University Presidents at Taiwan National Ilan University yesterday.
Lai’s comments came a day after officials warned about Chinese Communist Party attempts to influence Taiwanese university students and three Chinese universities were blacklisted.
Institutions must be aware of the risks and join the government in protecting the nation’s core key technologies, research and competitiveness, Lai said.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s freedom and democratic way of life are “precious” assets, he added.
On Wednesday, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said that Taiwanese institutions would be banned from collaborating with Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, Jinan University in Guangzhou, and the Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College.
Yesterday, Cheng confirmed that the Ministry of Education would no longer recognize qualifications from institutions that are affiliated with China’s United Front Work Department, including the three blacklisted institutions.
Students are free to attend the institutions, but diplomas from them would not be recognized in Taiwan, he added.
As of yesterday, there were 2,100 Taiwanese enrolled at the three institutions, he said, adding that the ministry is evaluating options for short-term relief measures as the policy takes effect.
The ministry supports Taiwanese who want to study overseas, but the blacklisted institutions are not academically oriented, instead serving political purposes, Cheng said.
Taiwanese education providers that do not comply with the ministry’s new policy would face penalties such as a reduction in government subsidies, he said.
In the past few years, China has stepped up its recruitment of Taiwanese high-school graduates, offering scholarships and reduced tuition, and accepting Taiwan’s General Scholastic Ability Test results for admission to its universities and other institutions of higher education.
Later yesterday, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said it was “not surprising” that entities run by the United Front Work Department would engage in activities to “absorb” Taiwanese students or hope they return to Taiwan to conduct “united front” work, as that is “precisely the work of” the department.
Asked why the ban is being imposed at this time, with the three institutions long having been run by the department, Liang told a regular news briefing that authorities have observed an increase in intermediary agents facilitating the recruitment of Taiwanese to them, as well as a rise in enrollments.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that the ministry’s policy decision was politically motivated.
The Democratic Progressive Party is seeking to disrupt cross-strait academic interactions, as it has fouled up cross-strait tourism, Chu said.
Interactions should be encouraged with any education provider that meets global standards, he said, adding that more work should be done to draw foreign students to study in Taiwan.
National Chi Nan University would comply with the new regulations and remove the three Chinese institutions from its list of recommended exchange programs, university president Wuu Dong-sing (武東星) told reporters yesterday.
The university had signed cooperation agreements with Jinan University and Huaqiao University to promote short-term study exchanges, but there are no Chinese students on its campus, nor are any of its own students in Guangzhou, Wuu said.
Taiwanese and Chinese universities should be able to maintain academic exchanges, but universities also have to consider political and national security factors, National Taiwan University president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said.
Meanwhile at the conference, Lai laid out four goals for Taiwan’s education sector: Ensuring that no student is left behind, promoting collaborative development among universities, encouraging innovation in higher education and increasing government support for institutions.
The ministry must allocate resources to provide equal opportunities for all students, especially those from rural areas; ensure universities are fostering interdisciplinary talent; promote new possibilities for academic development; support students to pursue international experience; and assist to set up private-public collaborations, Lai said.
One of the initiatives Lai cited was the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative, for which the government has allocated NT$10 billion (US$304.96 million) to fund opportunities for young Taiwanese to travel overseas.
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