Epoch Times reported that, in recent years, the CCP in mainland China has strengthened its effort to lure Taiwan college students as part of its united front work. Instead of issuing dinner invitations as they did in the past, they have started to use scholarships or easy admission to colleges in the mainland in order to allow Taiwan college students to adapt to the way of life in the mainland and gradually gain their recognition (and acceptance) of the CCP’s political system. They use three different approaches. One is short-term such as summer camps or tourist visits. The second is done through exchange programs or summer work-study programs. The third is a long term plan which allows the Taiwan college students to study or work in the mainland. Tianjing University is the organizer in one example. It organizes the “Youth Leadership Forum on Both Sides of the Taiwan Strait.” Each year since 2008, it has been inviting Taiwan college students to the mainland for exchange programs with program subsides amounting to tens and thousands of yuan for each student. Another example is that the mainland issued 31 preferential policies to Taiwan in 2017 to lure talent and investment from Taiwan.
The number of Taiwanese students going to the mainland has increased slowly every year. According to statistics, the biggest reason for Taiwanese students to go to the mainland is that it provides a number of scholarships and reduces the economic pressure on students. The ranking of Chinese universities is generally higher than those in Taiwan. In recent years, the mainland has also continuously lowered the threshold for going to the mainland to attend school. However, the enrollment situation in 2019 showed a downward trend. The reason was the effect of the US-China trade war. The Chinese economy has declined, so students are not as optimistic about China’s future prospects.
Source: Epoch Times, November 3, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/11/3/n11630283.htm