A Chinese policy to accept Taiwanese exam results for applications at universities is an attempt to lure young Taiwanese to China for political and social indoctrination, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Wednesday.
The statement came after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) announced that 412 Chinese universities — including the country’s top institutions — would this month start accepting college entrance exam results from the “Taiwan area” without additional fees.
Each student could apply to six schools, and for six majors at each school, Zhu said.
Photo: CNA
Beijing has since 2020 used education policies to attract Taiwanese to China, including the new unified online admissions system, for which it ran trials last year, the council said.
By simplifying administrative procedures, the policy seeks to reduce the number of Taiwanese whose applications are accepted by Chinese universities, but who do not enroll, the council said.
The new policy limits the number of schools to six per student to make the system appear exclusive, it added.
Surveys have shown that support for allowing Taiwanese to study in China has declined in Taiwan, it said, adding that only about 300 Taiwanese have started their studies in China in the past few years.
Beijing has long viewed young people as an important target for its “united front” efforts, the council said.
Especially since the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (CCP) 20th National Congress in October last year, Beijing has stepped up efforts to promote cross-strait integration, it said.
These include preferential measures for Taiwanese to study and start careers in China, the council said, calling them efforts to entice Taiwanese to identify as Chinese.
Beijing seeks to amplify its message by using examples of successful Taiwanese based in China, it added.
“The preferential measures offered to young Taiwanese students by the CCP have a political goal and united front intention,” the council said.
The new system might make it easier to apply, but it still requires prospective students to declare support for the “one country, two systems” formula and “unification” before they can enroll, the council said.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have significantly different ways of life, and political and legal systems, the council said.
Beijing has in the past few years clamped down more severely on academic freedom and is stringently enforcing political indoctrination on campuses, it added.
To protect students’ interests, the council said it has set up a section on its Web site with tips for prospective students interested in studying in China, including context to the CCP’s political propaganda and what they can expect after moving to the country.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a