A Chinese university policy apparently aimed at luring Taiwanese students will have minimal effect because the nation only recognizes 151 out of 2,000 Chinese universities, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
Starting in October, Comprehensive Assessment Program scores that would be accepted on applications by Taiwanese students at Chinese universities are to be lowered from the second category, or scores in the 75th percentile, to the third category, or scores in the 50th percentile.
The policy means that more than half of Taiwanese high-school students could apply for admission at Chinese universities, Department of Higher Education Deputy Director-General Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said.
The policy is not uncommon, but there will not likely be a lot of students applying at Chinese universities in the short term, Chu said.
The question is how Taiwanese universities will maintain their competitive edge compared with Chinese universities, he said.
The ministry wants to promote more student-centered teaching methods at higher-education facilities, while seeking to increase education-related innovations and research abilities, Chu said.
Chu said that because the nation only recognizes diplomas from 151 universities in China, unless a student does not intend to return to Taiwan to work, studying in China presents some risks regarding vocational opportunities.
After amendments to the University Act (大學法), the Junior College Act (專科學校法) and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) in 2010, the number of Chinese students in Taiwan is 9,300, while there are 10,000 Taiwanese studying in China, Chu said.
The numbers from each side have remained balanced, with about 1,200 Chinese students arriving each year, Chu said.
The government will not implement Chinese-style policies and will leave it up to each student to decide if they want to enrol at a university in China, Chu said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper