Mainland Students Allowed to Study in Taiwan

The Taiwanese legislature has passed amendments to three laws, providing mainland students access to  Taiwanese colleges.

It also states that it will recognize the diplomas of mainland universities.

As planned by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, around 2,000 mainland students will be accepted by Taiwanese universities every year.

The three laws that have been amended are “University Laws”, “Professional Training School Laws” and “Regulations on Cross-Strait Relations;" the laws are referred to as the “Three Laws of Mainland Students” by the Taiwanese media.

Though these laws have lifted the ban on mainland students to attend Taiwan’s universities, restrictions remain.

For example, the health certificates of mainland universities are still unacceptable in Taiwan; mainland students are prohibited in entering institutions related to Taiwan’s security; and they are not allowed to participate in Taiwan’s civil servant exams.

Additionally, although the tuition fees of mainland students will be comparable to the tuition fees of Taiwan’s private universities, they will not be allowed to work full-time or part-time jobs while studying.

Even with the amendments to the three laws, only diplomas from 41 mainland universities are recognized in Taiwan while the mainland government already recognizes diplomas from all 164 of Taiwan’s universities.

According to Wu Qingji, a principal at Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, those 2,000 mainland students will account for only 1 percent of students recruited locally.

Taiwan’s government plans to publish details about how mainland students can apply for Taiwan’s universities in September. The universities will release their recruitment plans in December. It is predicted that a “United Recruitment Commission” composed of Taiwan’s universities will be founded no later than July next year.

Mainland students applying for bachelor degrees in Taiwan will be judged based on their marks on the college entrance examination (高考) while those who want to pursue a higher degree will be independently examined and reviewed by the university they wish to attend.

Mainland students hoping to obtain a masters degree or a PhD may begin attending Taiwanese universities as early as next March, but undergraduate students will have to wait until September 2011.

According to a survey conducted by the Taiwanese Public University Association, over 80 percent of the presidents of Taiwan’s universities support the decision to allow mainland students to study in Taiwan.

This article was edited by Rose Scobie and Ruoji Tang

Links and Sources

The Beijing News: 大陆学生最快明年3月可赴台就读
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