The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has reportedly asked the Ministry of Education to allow high-school students from Hong Kong and Macau to study in Taiwan, but the ministry has yet to implement the changes it promised last year, sources said yesterday.
The ministry has said it would amend regulations permitting high-school students from the Chinese territories to travel to Taiwan for study.
However, it has not released any information about when the policy would be enacted.
Photo: Reuters
Under current regulations, residents of Hong Kong or Macau must obtain a residency permit to attend a non-tertiary school, while those wishing to attend a standard public high school can only enroll at the National Overseas Chinese Senior High School.
The change would allow students to obtain a student visa to attend any public or private high school in Taiwan.
School principals or board members would also be permitted to serve as legal guardians for students younger than 18.
It has been more than a year since the ministry proposed the changes in December 2019, but it has yet to provide a specific timetable for implementation, the council said.
Considering concerns raised by Hong Kong-based organizations and parents, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) has reportedly asked the ministry to speed the process, the sources said.
Meanwhile, an official with knowledge of the matter said that academic exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong are expected to drop off as Beijing promotes “patriotic education” in the territory and prosecutes pro-democracy groups.
As freedoms become further eroded in Hong Kong, more people are expected to seek other places to live, they said, calling on the ministry to act soon and allow high schoolers the opportunity to study in Taiwan.
The ministry later yesterday said that it on Aug. 5 last year submitted proposed regulation changes to the Executive Yuan for approval.
The Executive Yuan on Sept. 29 last year sent the draft back to the ministry with recommendations that the ministry conduct more research on the matter, it said.
The ministry said that it also held discussions with the council on Dec. 13, and is polishing terms in the draft as recommended by the Executive Yuan and the council.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS