President Ma Ying-jeou says Chinese students in Taiwan should be eligible for health insurance subsidies.
Chinese students studying in Taiwan do not have health insurance. The legislature has been discussing this issue. Ma said Chinese students should be given the same privilege as other foreign students.
“Recently the Democratic Progressive Party has decided to support [the move] but they hope the subsidies would not come from the government," said Ma.
"Currently foreign students and overseas Taiwanese students have subsidies from the government. We don’t think we should discriminate against Chinese students just because they are from Mainland China. It is not a fair and smart policy.”
Ma was speaking on Tuesday while receiving Harvard University Professor of China Studies, William Kirby. Ma said allowing Chinese students to study in Taiwan helps competitiveness and understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Ma said such exchanges are very important to cross-strait peace.