VZCZCXRO4537
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHIN #1627/01 3240939
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190939Z NOV 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0393
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0564
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0422
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 001627 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USTR, STATE FOR EAP/TC,ECA/A/E/EAP, EAP/PD,USTR 
FOR STRATFORD AND WINELAND,NSC FOR LOI, TREASURY FOR 
OASIA/CWINSHIP AND MPISA,COMMERCE FOR 
4431/ITA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ECIN CH TW KPAO
SUBJECT: TAIWAN PREPARES TO ADMIT PRC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 
 
REF: A. TAIPEI 1530 
     ¶B. TAIPEI 1569 
     ¶C. TAIPEI 1584 
 
TAIPEI 00001627  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
  ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On November 10, Education Minister Cheng 
Jei-ching announced that, beginning with the fall semester in 
2009, Taiwan's colleges, universities and graduate schools 
will begin accepting up to 1,000 students per year from the 
PRC.  Increasing cross-Strait contacts by opening Taiwan to 
Mainland students was a platform of President Ma Ying-jeou's 
campaign, but the details of how the policy will be 
implemented suggest that protecting job opportunities for 
Taiwan students is also a high priority for Ma's 
administration.  Minister Cheng stated that "three 
limitations and six noes" will apply to PRC students studying 
in Taiwan, restricting the study of certain subjects as well 
as students' options for employment while in school and after 
graduation.  Taiwan has almost one million undergraduate 
students, so the actual impact on the island's 
undersubscribed post-secondary educational system of the 
small number of PRC students is likely to be minimal.  End 
Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Students to be Admitted Starting Next Fall 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On November 10, Education Minister Cheng Jei-ching 
announced that, beginning with the fall semester in 2009, 
Taiwan's colleges, universities and graduate schools will 
begin accepting students from the PRC.  Initially, the number 
of students accepted will be limited to 1,000, but Minister 
Cheng told AIT that the number could ultimately increase to a 
maximum of one percent of the number of new college entrants 
(Note: typically, more than 200,000 freshmen per year enroll 
in Taiwan's universities and colleges.  End Note.)  Cheng 
said the limit will be reviewed two years after the new 
policy takes effect.  The Ministry of Education (MOE) has yet 
to work out how the quota will be divided among Taiwan's 
various institutions of higher education, according to Wang 
Kung-sheng, the Director of the Cultural and Educational 
Exchange Department of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC). 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In 1988, Taiwan began to invite professionals from 
China to come to the island for short-term cultural and 
educational exchanges, including post-graduate scientific 
research.  In October this year, Taiwan extended the limit on 
the length of stay for Chinese students doing research here 
from four months to one year.  According to MOE, there are 
342 students from the PRC currently doing research in Taiwan. 
 By comparison, Taiwan's National Security Council estimates 
there are approximately 6,500 Taiwan students studying in 
China, and approximately 20,000 students have gone to the 
Mainland since Beijing removed restrictions on Taiwan 
students 15 years ago.  (Note: Taiwan does not keep 
statistics on the number of students from the island who go 
to the Mainland to study.  End Note.)  In 2002, Taiwan first 
allowed Taiwan universities to provide executive MBA (EMBA) 
programs to the PRC staff of Taiwan firms operating in China. 
 There are nine Taiwan universities that now provide EMBA 
programs on the Mainland.  In October Taiwan allowed Chinese 
students to enroll in EMBA programs offered on the offshore 
islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Allowing Mainland students to come to Taiwan for 
post-secondary education was part of the campaign platform of 
President Ma Ying-jeou, which emphasized improving 
cross-Strait relations.  Educational exchange, as well as 
increased cross-Strait tourism, were portrayed by Ma's 
campaign as a way to enhance stability through 
people-to-people ties.  The details about implementation of 
the new policy announced by Minister Cheng indicate that 
there will be a strong emphasis on protecting job 
opportunities for Taiwan graduates and preventing a major 
 
TAIPEI 00001627  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
influx of PRC students who would seek jobs here after 
graduating. 
 
------------------------------ 
Three Limitations and Six Noes 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) According Minister Cheng, PRC students would be 
restricted from studying subjects related to national 
security, high-technology and medicine.  MAC educational 
exchange director Wang told AIT that MOE is reviewing which 
courses at Taiwan's various colleges and universities would 
be prohibited for Mainland students.  MOE is also reviewing 
Chinese university curricula to determine which degrees from 
Mainland universities will be recognized in Taiwan, according 
to Wang. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Chinese students will face restrictions in regard to 
application, enrollment and employment.  The "six noes" 
include no part-time work off-campus, no employment in Taiwan 
directly after graduation, no access to the island's 
universal health insurance system, and no scholarships 
offered by MOE.  The policy, however, will not prevent 
universities and colleges, as well as private enterprises, 
from awarding scholarships directly.  In addition, Mainland 
students who take Taiwan's compulsory university entrance 
examinations will not be accorded extra points, as are 
"overseas Chinese" students and those who are members of the 
island's aboriginal tribes.  PRC students will also not be 
allowed to take examinations for professional certification, 
for example to become a CPA.  They will be allowed to work 
part-time on-campus, for example as teaching assistants. 
Schools will be responsible for providing students from the 
PRC with group health insurance. 
 
---------------------- 
Implementation Details 
---------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) MAC's Wang told AIT recently that MAC is working 
with MOE to draft implementing regulations and an amendment 
to Article 22 of the Act Governing Relations between Peoples 
of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.  This article 
states that rules governing recognition of PRC educational 
certificates must be developed by MOE and submitted to the 
Executive Yuan for approval.  The amendment to the act will 
require approval by the Legislative Yuan (LY).  Wang said 
that MAC and MOE expect that the process can be completed by 
next fall, in order to allow PRC students to enroll in the 
fall semester.  In July, MOE began consulting with schools 
and education experts on how the policy should be 
implemented, so the ministry anticipates that the LY will 
pass the required amendment, according to Wang. 
 
----------------------------- 
What Will it Mean for Taiwan? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) MAC optimistically estimates that as many as 5 
million PRC students may wish to come to Taiwan.  However, by 
limiting the number of students allowed to enroll to 1,000 
per year, the Ma administration is proceeding cautiously on 
expanding cross-Strait educational exchange.  According to 
sources in academia, the actual impact of the new policy on 
the island's post-secondary educational system is likely to 
be minimal.  Professor Wang Dau-chang, who is the Director of 
the Office of International Affairs at National Yunlin 
University of Science and Technology, told AIT recently that 
the new policy will not significantly affect the island's 
major colleges and universities, where competition for 
admission is already keen.  Wang's opinion was echoed by 
Professor Chung Tsung-ting, who heads the university's EMBA 
program.  Yunlin County Deputy Magistrate Li Ying-yuan told 
us separately that, in his view, because most Taiwan 
universities have higher tuition levels than those in China, 
only a limited number of PRC students would apply to study 
here. 
 
 
TAIPEI 00001627  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) With over 160 universities and colleges on the 
island, a university seat is virtually assured for any Taiwan 
high school graduate who wants one.  At the same time, 
Taiwan's college student pool is gradually shrinking, 
according to Professor Huang Chin-tan of Mingchuan 
University's graduate school of management.  Dr. Huang told 
us that he estimates the total number of students entering 
tertiary education will be approximately 20,000 less than 
current levels by 2015.  He added that colleges and 
universities in central and southern Taiwan, in particular, 
could face a shortage of students in the future, and 
therefore, in his view, allowing Mainland students to study 
in Taiwan is a sound policy. 
 
¶10. (SBU) MAC officials say that the next round of talks 
between the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the PRC's 
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) 
could address issues related to educational exchange, for 
example establishing a regular channel for communication 
between education officials on both sides of the Strait. 
MAC's Ms. Wang told us, though, that Taiwan and PRC officials 
had not yet agreed on whether to include education issues on 
the agenda for the SEF-ARATS talks next year. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Criticism of the Ma administration's moves to 
increase economic ties with China (reftels), combined with 
public concern about rising unemployment, may explain the 
various restrictions on PRC students included in the new 
policy.  Although the immediate impact of policy change on 
Taiwan's educational system may be slight, in the long-term, 
enrolling Chinese students may help the island's less 
prestigious universities reduce pressure from a declining 
Taiwan student pool. Another factor Ma must consider is the 
general hostility on the part of his DPP opposition to this 
administration's opening to China.  In the current political 
climate, there is likely to be some opposition as the 
decision is implemented. End Comment. 
SYOUNG