Universities in Taiwan could soon begin recruiting graduate students from China for next year’s spring semester if the legislature approves next month two bills proposed by the Ministry of Education, a ministry official said yesterday.
“If the legislature passes the two proposed amendments [to the Act Governing the Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) and the University Act (大學法)], universities could begin their recruiting,” said Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰), section chief of the ministry’s Department of Higher Education. “We will respect the legislature’s review of the bills.”
The remarks came in the wake of comments by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) during a video conference with experts on China in Washington on the role of the Taiwan Relations Act in Taipei-Beijing-Washington relations 30 years after its enactment.
Ma said the government intended to allow Chinese graduate students to study in Taiwan in spring next year and allow undergraduate students from China to enroll in local universities in fall next year.
Chu told reporters that the ministry had been working on supplementary measures for the policy allowing Chinese students to attend universities in Taiwan.
Chu guaranteed that the measures would follow the restrictions promised by Minister of Education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城).
During a briefing to the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee on Nov. 10, Cheng promised to cap the number of Chinese students allowed to enroll in local schools at under 1 percent of university vacancies and not to offer scholarships.
Chinese students would not be allowed to study national security-related subjects, he said.
They would also be barred from working part-time outside of school and would be required to return to China immediately after completing their studies, Cheng said.
The ministry intends to recognize diplomas only from Chinese schools with a “distinguished academic reputation,” Cheng said, while not recognizing Chinese medical credentials.
Holders of Chinese credentials would not be allowed to take part in national certificate examinations or become government employees unless they hold Republic of China citizenship, he said.
Chu said that Chinese graduate students enrolling in local schools for the spring semester should not encounter difficulties, even if Taiwanese students usually begin their school year in the fall.
The Democratic Progressive Party said in a press statement it was opposed to allowing Chinese students to enroll at local schools.
The measure would crowd out domestic students from top universities, it said, adding that since Chinese students would not have to take admission exams, it would be easier for them to enter top schools than Taiwanese.
The party is against Chinese students who do not pay taxes in the country enjoying educational resources in Taiwan.
It said it also doubted whether the best Chinese students would come to Taiwan and feared that Taiwan would be stuck with sub-standard Chinese students, which would have a negative impact on the education system.
Some Chinese could arrive in Taiwan under the pretext of study, only to work illegally, the party said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS