The government yesterday put forward a proposal to recognize Chinese diplomas and allow Chinese students to study in Taiwan.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said in a statement that the approval of proposed amendments to the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), the University Act (大學法) and the Junior College Law (專科學校法) during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting signaled “the opening up of a substantial and constructive interaction in cross-trait cultural and education exchanges.”
The proposal, however, marked a departure from one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign pledges. He had said that he would not recognize Chinese diplomas.
Director of the Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education Ho Chuo-fei (何卓飛) told a press conference that the government would impose a series of restrictions and conditions on Chinese students to ensure that Taiwanese students’ right to an education would not be threatened.
Under the amended laws, Taiwan will recognize diplomas issued by reputable Chinese universities and set a quota for the number of Chinese studying in Taiwan. Chinese students will not be awarded scholarships by Taiwanese universities, will not be allowed to work in Taiwan, must leave after the completion of their studies and will not be allowed to take civil service exams.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department