A Chinese policy to accept Taiwanese exam results for applications at universities is an attempt to lure young Taiwanese to China for political and social indoctrination, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Wednesday.
The statement came after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) announced that 412 Chinese universities — including the country’s top institutions — would this month start accepting college entrance exam results from the “Taiwan area” without additional fees.
Each student could apply to six schools, and for six majors at each school, Zhu said.
Photo: CNA
Beijing has since 2020 used education policies to attract Taiwanese to China, including the new unified online admissions system, for which it ran trials last year, the council said.
By simplifying administrative procedures, the policy seeks to reduce the number of Taiwanese whose applications are accepted by Chinese universities, but who do not enroll, the council said.
The new policy limits the number of schools to six per student to make the system appear exclusive, it added.
Surveys have shown that support for allowing Taiwanese to study in China has declined in Taiwan, it said, adding that only about 300 Taiwanese have started their studies in China in the past few years.
Beijing has long viewed young people as an important target for its “united front” efforts, the council said.
Especially since the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (CCP) 20th National Congress in October last year, Beijing has stepped up efforts to promote cross-strait integration, it said.
These include preferential measures for Taiwanese to study and start careers in China, the council said, calling them efforts to entice Taiwanese to identify as Chinese.
Beijing seeks to amplify its message by using examples of successful Taiwanese based in China, it added.
“The preferential measures offered to young Taiwanese students by the CCP have a political goal and united front intention,” the council said.
The new system might make it easier to apply, but it still requires prospective students to declare support for the “one country, two systems” formula and “unification” before they can enroll, the council said.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have significantly different ways of life, and political and legal systems, the council said.
Beijing has in the past few years clamped down more severely on academic freedom and is stringently enforcing political indoctrination on campuses, it added.
To protect students’ interests, the council said it has set up a section on its Web site with tips for prospective students interested in studying in China, including context to the CCP’s political propaganda and what they can expect after moving to the country.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to