Taiwan to no longer recognize qualifications from United Front schools (update)

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said Thursday that his ministry will no longer recognize qualifications from educational institutions that are affiliated with China's United Front Work Department.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) will also ban any cooperation or interaction between Taiwanese universities and schools affiliated with the United Front Work Department, which is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Cheng told the press.

The minister said that while he encourages Taiwan's youth to look beyond the country's boundaries and seek global opportunities, he does not think they should study in academic environments that serve political purposes.

Schools affiliated with the United Front Work Department have special aims and are not regarded as "normal academic-oriented" institutions, so it is necessary to halt any association with them, including sister school partnerships, he said.

Cheng said he planned to inform Taiwan universities Thursday of the ban on any cooperation with United Front Work Department schools. Failure to comply with the MOE's policy will result in penalties such as a reduction of government subsidies, he said.

The ministry's K-12 Education Administration will communicate with Taiwan high schools and their principals about the new policy, Chen told the media, prior to attending a conference of university presidents in Yilan County.

Taiwan's high school graduates, however, will still have the right to choose their universities, but they should understand that qualifications obtained from United Front Work Department schools will not be recognized in Taiwan, he added.

According to Cheng, the Chinese schools currently affiliated with the United Front Work Department are Huaqiao University in Fujian province, Jinan University in Guangdong province, and Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College.

As of Thursday, there were 2,100 Taiwanese students at the previous two schools, Cheng said. The MOE will discuss relevant measures for those students to retain their rights during the transition period before the policy takes effect, he said, without giving an implementation date.

The MOE has a list of overseas universities and higher education institutions whose qualifications are automatically recognized. For schools not listed, the qualifications can still be recognized after a number of required documents are submitted. Jinan University was on the qualified list.

In recent years, China has stepped up its recruitment of Taiwan high school graduates, offering scholarships and reduced tuition and accepting the General Scholastic Ability Test results in Taiwan, a credential for entry to its universities and other higher education institutions.

Commenting Thursday on the MOE's new policy, Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said it had "mean political motives."

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is seeking to disrupt cross-strait academic interactions, as it has fouled up cross-strait tourism, said Chu, who has been heading the main opposition party in Taiwan since 2021 and is viewed as a veteran China-friendly politician.

Interactions should be encouraged with any school that meets global educational standards, he said, adding that he would like to see more foreign students coming to study in Taiwan.

Later in the afternoon, Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said that it was "not surprising" for United Front Work Department-run schools to engage in activities to "absorb" Taiwanese students or hope they return to Taiwan for united front work, as such efforts are "precisely the work of the United Front Work Department."

Asked why such a ban is being imposed at this time, especially since the three schools have long been run by the United Front Work Department, Liang said at a regular news briefing that authorities have observed a growing number of intermediary agents facilitating the recruitment of Taiwanese students to those schools, along with a rising trend in enrollment.

"Article 23 of the 'Cross-Strait Act' explicitly prohibits facilitating student recruitment for schools in Mainland or acting as [their] intermediaries in Taiwan -- such actions are banned under the Act," Liang said.