The number of “overseas compatriot students” studying in Taiwan has grown rapidly since last year, despite increasingly tense cross-strait relations, the Overseas Community Affairs Council said yesterday.
Council Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) made remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, where she briefed lawmakers on plans to tap the resources of the overseas compatriot community to bolster domestic industries.
The council on its Web site defines “overseas compatriot students” as a person of Taiwanese or Chinese descent who “has come to Taiwan to study, who was born and lived overseas until the present time, or who has been living overseas for six or more consecutive years in the immediate past and obtained permanent or long-term residency status overseas.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that The Economist has called Taiwan “the most dangerous place on Earth,” while US officials and experts frequently predict when they think China might invade.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) has speculated about a potential attack in 2027, Chiang said.
These assessments might be preventing overseas compatriot students from studying in Taiwan, so the council should assuage doubts among them and their parents, he said.
The council should also take note of the results if international media continue to reinforce the impression that there is a precarious situation across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
“This would place Taiwan in an unfavorable situation, causing ratings firms to downgrade the country’s risk assessment,” Chiang said. “It would also affect overseas investment in Taiwan and overall economic performance.”
The council should brief national security officials on the geopolitical risks the nation faces and the government should not give the international community the wrong message by parroting the idea that Taiwan is in danger, he said.
Hsu said that institutions have increased their risks assessment across the Taiwan Strait because Beijing created tension by increasing military exercises around Taiwan.
“Despite the risks, our data showed that the number of overseas compatriot students has grown from 5,000 last year to 6,000 this year,” she said. “Students participating in the Industry-Academia Collaboration Program have increased from 2,400 last year to 4,500 this year.”
“The state of cross-strait relations does not seem to be affecting students’ plans to study in Taiwan,” she said.
The number of overseas compatriot students who remain in Taiwan after finishing their studies or programs has increased, with a majority of them working in manufacturing, retail and the service industry, Hsu added.
Meanwhile, the council is assisting overseas compatriot businesspeople to set up headquarters, and research and development centers in Taiwan, she said.
As of last month, the Overseas Credit Guarantee Fund (Taiwan), which provides credit guarantees to businesses operated by overseas compatriots, has initiated 486 cases to provide relief funds, Hsu said.
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