While most Taiwanese favored allowing Chinese students to study in Taiwan, legal measures must be in place to manage their stay and protect the interests of local students, a poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Thinktank showed.
The survey showed that 54.3 percent of respondents supported allowing Chinese students to study in local colleges and universities, while 44 percent said they were against it.
A majority of the people polled, however, said the government must have strategic measures in place to minimize its impact.
The poll questioned 1,128 adults nationwide on Aug. 9 and Aug. 10.
On the issue of recognizing Chinese educational credentials, more than 54 percent of respondents opposed the measure compared with 41.6 percent who supported it.
Once Chinese students are allowed to study here, 62.8 percent of respondents said they should not be allowed to work here, while 36.3 percent said they should. Nearly 69 percent said they were against Chinese students staying here after graduation, while 29.9 percent said they supported it.
LICENSE
More than 81 percent said Chinese students should not be allowed to take national examinations to obtain licenses or certificates against 16.3 percent who said they should.
Asked whether the government should have a mechanism in place to manage Chinese students, 88.1 percent said it should, while 10.4 percent said no. While the government has proposed implementing such measures through an executive decree, 81.7 percent of those polled said the legislature should approve the measures, while 15.4 percent saw no need for legislation.
The legislature is scheduled to hold a two-week provisional session starting on Tuesday to tackle a number of contentious bills, including proposed revisions to the University Act (大學法), the Vocational School Act (專科學校法) and the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to allow local schools to accept Chinese students.
Taiwan Thinktank executive director Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said a well-thought-out mechanism must be in place to manage Chinese students and restrictions must be written into law.
The restrictions — dubbed “three limits and six noes” — were proposed by the Ministry of Education to protect the interests of Taiwanese students.
The “three limits” refer to restrictions on the number of Chinese universities that the government plans to recognize, the total number of Chinese college students who can enter Taiwan to study and the types of Chinese diplomas that can be accredited in Taiwan.
The “six noes” would prohibit Chinese students from receiving scholarships, obtaining a professional license, working and/or staying in Taiwan upon graduation, receiving extra points on examinations and taking part in civil service examinations.
Cheng said the policy must not cost local students their chances of being admitted to college or winning a scholarship.
Chinese students must also not be allowed to work in Taiwan or take national examinations to obtain licenses, she added.
Cheng also urged the government to offer educational resources to local students or relax restrictions on obtaining such resources rather than favoring their Chinese counterparts.
POLICY EVALUATION
The government must allow at least six years to evaluate the policy and map out necessary measures before increasing the number of Chinese students, she said, while urging the government to abolish or amend executive decrees allowing Chinese nationals to study here in their capacity as professionals.
At a separate setting yesterday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) lauded the policy of allowing Chinese students to study here as a way of laying the foundation for sustainable peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Ma said the policy would help Taiwanese students better understand their Chinese counterparts at an early age and therefore help create peace across the Taiwan Strait.
“Such an opening is conducive to cross-strait peace, sharpening the competitiveness of Taiwanese students and helping local colleges and universities recruit more students,” Ma said while addressing a Buddhist summer camp at Fokuangshan monastery in Kaohsiung County. “To pursue everlasting peace in the [Taiwan] Strait, we should create chances that allow youth from the two sides to know each other at an earlier stage.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS