Taiwan’s top China policy-making body is looking to lift some of the restrictions on Chinese nationals studying in Taiwan. Current laws have strict regulations on the total number of Chinese students and the benefits they receive.
A spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Xiaoguang, recently called on Taiwan’s government to lift the restrictions. He said they “seriously harm the students’ rights.”
MAC spokeswoman Wu Mei-hung said Friday that the government is already discussing the issue.
"The Education Ministry is already in talks with the relevant authorities, discussing the possibility of easing restrictions on Chinese students," Wu said. "For example: recognizing more Chinese degrees, allowing more Chinese students to study in Taiwan, easing skills testing requirements, allowing them to become research assistants in their field, and simplifying entry and exit procedures."
Wu said that since October, 2012, the MAC has also been pushing to allow Chinese students to benefit from National Health Insurance in the same way that other foreign students do.
A report in the Taipei-based China Times quoted Deputy Education Minister Chen Der-hwa as saying that officials were looking to lift all but two of the restrictions on Chinese students. Those two restrictions prevent students from staying and working in Taiwan after graduation, and rule out the recognition of Chinese medical degrees.