Taiwan urges China to lift study ban amid Chinese student group visit

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday urged Beijing to lift a suspension on mainland students studying in Taiwan, amid a visit by a group of 40 Chinese students and faculty members to Taiwan.

The group of students from seven elite Chinese universities was invited to Taiwan by a foundation established by former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

One notable member of the group, which is scheduled to visit schools and places of interest, is six-time Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long (馬龍).

The government has always supported lawful and healthy cross-strait student exchanges, but such short-term exchange visits have limitations in helping participants truly understand Taiwan's culture and society, said Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head and spokesperson of the MAC.

"Allowing all mainland students to interact freely and independently with Taiwanese students in an environment free of preconditions and political influence is the only way to experience the true essence of Taiwan," he said.

Liang noted that since the pandemic ended last year, Taiwanese authorities have consistently urged their Chinese counterparts to lift the suspension on mainland students studying in Taiwan, which was announced in April 2020.

"More than four years have passed, but the suspension has yet to be lifted," Liang said.

To encourage the resumption, Taiwanese authorities even added mainland students to be covered by the National Health Insurance last year, he noted.

Liang said that the MAC continues to urge the Chinese authorities to genuinely facilitate student exchanges that are "free from a United Front agenda," with the deputy head noting that the 40-member Chinese student group had been "carefully selected."

A report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times cited unnamed officials as saying that the visiting Chinese students are members of the Communist Youth League of China or affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and were selected to spread political propaganda.

The MAC believes that under normal circumstances, the mainland students visiting Taiwan should represent a diverse range of backgrounds, opinions, and perspectives, Liang said.

"That is what we consider normal," he added.

Meanwhile, the group visited spots including the Taipei Confucius Temple and National Chengchi University (NCCU) on the second day of the trip, engaging in one-on-one conversations with students during their time at the university.

Yang Qian (楊倩), a gold medalist in shooting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said in a media interview that she shared many stories about Beijing and Tsinghua University during her conversations with NCCU students.

She expressed hope that people would visit Tsinghua University for exchanges in the future, adding that Taiwanese students were very friendly and enthusiastic throughout the exchange, and she felt they could become good friends.