New | Taiwan reaches out to Southeast Asian students to help cut economic reliance on Beijing
Island hopes to attract 60,000 students from Asean countries by 2019 as part of its New Southbound Policy to diversify the economy
Taiwan plans to recruit 60,000 students from Southeast Asia in the next three years, as part of the New Southbound Policy adopted by the government to help cut the island’s economic reliance on the mainland.
However, opposition critics have questioned the plans, which call for working with countries that have language and cultural barriers with Taiwan, and that have close links to Beijing, which has warned other countries against forging official ties with Taipei.
Taiwan had active economic exchanges with the mainland when the Kuomintang’s Ma Ying-jeou was president between 2008 and this year. But his successor, Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, said the island had relied too heavily on the mainland, and introduced the new policy to diversify the economy.
Officials said the government aimed to find a new driving force for growth now that relations between the island and the mainland had turned cold.
“We hope by launching these projects, we will be able to enhance bilateral communication and to share resources with Association of Southeast Asian Nations,” said Yang Min-ling, director general of international and cross-strait education at the Education Ministry.