Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday.
China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials.
A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or facilitating programs with the two Chinese universities would be announced at an annual meeting with Taiwanese college and university deans, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The prohibition would apply to public and private high schools, colleges and universities, and their vocational equivalents nationwide, he said.
Any institution that contravenes the order would have their government subsidies withdrawn, Cheng said in reference to private education providers not subordinate to the Ministry of Education.
The measure is necessary to prevent China from systematically targeting Taiwanese students with its “united front” work, he said, adding that education providers have an obligation to protect national security.
Taiwanese have a constitutional right to education, but the two Chinese universities do not serve an educational role, as shown by the United Front Work Department’s involvement in their affairs, he said.
Taiwanese colleges and universities are already forbidden from collaborating with education providers run by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, Cheng said.
The Ministry of Education’s authority applies only to the administration of high schools, colleges and universities, not students, who are free to attend any institution they want, he said.
The two Chinese universities are continuing their efforts to recruit Taiwanese high-school graduates following the conclusion of this year’s national college entrance examinations, a source said on condition of anonymity.
Separately, in July last year, education authorities warned about the risks of participating in Chinese academic events after the Mainland Affairs Council raised its travel advisory for China to “orange.”
A source familiar with Huaqiao University said that the institution has “extremely low standards” for Taiwanese applicants and that its graduate programs have a fixed quota for students from Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) studied law at Huaqiao University, the source added.
On Tuesday, Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), who attended Huaqiao University, said that professors there taught “Xi Jinping thought” and criticized the US.
“When I applied through a special program [to enroll], Huaqiao University would take any Taiwanese applicant, even if they had not graduated from high school,” said Chen, whose stage name is Mannam PYC (閩南狼).
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS