The often rancorous dispute about Taiwan's relationship with China spilled over into higher education yesterday, as a media frenzy over a student's choice of university sparked agitated hand-wringing among officials.
The issue at stake was whether Taiwan should recognize university degrees from China.
A series of sensational stories in the Chinese-language print and electronic media explained how Helen Kuo (郭沛礽), who had attended high school in China as the daughter of a Taiwanese businessman, had met with difficulties in choosing a university three years ago. Kuo is now a senior in university.
The stories appeared after Kuo was contacted by reporters from the Chinese-language media, although it was not immediately clear how or why the media had suddenly decided to take an interest in her story.
The stories alleged that Kuo had believed that her high-school diploma obtained in China was invalid in Taiwan. Kuo said that she had graduated from the Xiamen International School in China.
Some media reports said that Kuo had been accepted to Harvard University after high school -- which she confirmed -- but had been unable to attend due to financial difficulties. The Central News Agency even claimed that she had attended Harvard Law School after high school -- a claim she denied, and which seems unlikely in any case, as a law-school candidate is usually required to have at least a Bachelor's degree.
But the various stories and Kuo agreed on one thing: At some point, Kuo decided to return to Taiwan to attend university.
NOT ENOUGH HECTARES
Kuo chose to go to Christ's College (CC), an institution that is not accredited by the Ministry of Education (MOE) because of various obscure regulatory requirements, such as having only 3.2 hectares of property, rather than the required 5 hectares.
Currently, CC is registered as a "religious school" under the Ministry of the Interior, instead of with the MOE.
The media stories asserted that Kuo had been forced to choose an unaccredited institution because her Chinese diploma was invalid, and therefore she was unable to take the entrance examinations.
Kuo confirmed that she had been confused about the government regulations, but also admitted that she wanted to avoid taking the entrance exams because she was concerned about her performance, having been educated in a different school system.
In what is best described as something of a stretch, politicians then made a connection between the media circus and the government's policy of refusing to accept higher education degrees from China -- although that policy clearly had no impact on Kuo's case.
Nevertheless, these obvious discrepancies did not stop commentators from rushing to defend or attack the government's policy. Meanwhile, officials hastened to clarify the applicable policies.
MOE officials explained yesterday that Taiwan does in fact re-cognize Chinese diplomas obtained from high schools.
After verifying the diploma with the Straits Exchange Foundation, a student is able to apply for a certificate of proof with local education departments in Taiwan, and thus able to participate in college entrance exams, officials said.
The officials said Kuo may have misunderstood ministry regulations, and therefore did not try to apply for a certificate of proof in the country to enroll in entrance exams, officials added.
NO COLLEGE DEGREES
However, the government does not currently recognize any degrees from institutes of higher education in China, due to the state of cross-strait relations.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Cheng Chen-lung (
Once the diplomas are recognized, China may use tactics such as lower tuition and lower entrance scores to lure away Taiwanese students, Cheng said.
"The government must consider very carefully whether recognizing Chinese diplomas is a smart move," Cheng said. "Much of our top technological talent may be drawn to China because of the low cost."
Cheng added that US universities had higher tuition fees and used a different language, and therefore only a limited amount of Taiwanese students would go there.
As for China, he said, with the same language and lower prices, too many students could choose to go and thus become ingrained with China's ideologies.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Pi-ling (管碧玲) said that certain Chinese university degrees should definitely not be recognized in Taiwan.
Degrees related to security studies, police training or law should not be accepted for fear of endangering the rights of the Taiwanese public, Kuan said.
Also, the surging number of colleges in the country already poses a big enough problem for the education ministry, Kuan said.
The ministry should first effectively manage and regulate those institutions before considering whether to recognize Chinese college diplomas, she added.
KMT Legislator Kung Wen-chi (
The education ministry should evaluate all Chinese schools and provide a list of acceptable universities, Kung said. Not all US university degrees are recognized either, he said.
Lin Teh-chang (
"Education has been globalized, but it should not be politicized," Lin said.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS