The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China stated that in order to protect Taiwan’s core key technologies and scientific research achievements, it has banned exchanges between Taiwanese universities and the “National Defense Seven Sons” – seven universities overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China. However, these seven universities are still listed in the Ministry’s list of accredited institutions.
Minister of Education of the Republic of China, Zheng Ying-yao, announced at a national conference of university presidents on the 20th that domestic universities are prohibited from cooperating or exchanging with schools affiliated with the Communist United Front Work Department, including Jinan University in Guangzhou, Overseas Chinese University in Fujian, and Beijing Chinese Culture College.
Zheng Ying-yao further confirmed in an interview with the Liberty Times on February 28th that seven military-industrial universities have also been placed under strict scrutiny, essentially banned from exchanges.
These seven schools, under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, are known as the “National Defense Seven Sons”, including Beihang University, Beijing University of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Harbin Engineering University.
Zheng Ying-yao expressed that these seven universities are reputable institutions, but for Taiwan, there are concerns about the potential risks of theft of many key defense and technology-related technologies. Therefore, he hopes that domestic universities will reduce their interactions with these institutions.
Zheng Ying-yao also mentioned that high school graduates from Taiwan who choose to study at Chinese universities sometimes make mistakes due to inadequate information. The Ministry of Education will proactively provide more information, promote it online and through high schools, so that students and parents can have a clearer understanding of accurate information.
The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China explained to the Central News Agency today via text message that according to the “Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area”, cooperation with organizations of the Party, government, and military in the mainland region requires approval from competent authorities.
The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China pointed out that apart from educational institutions directly under the Communist United Front Work Department like Jinan University, Overseas Chinese University, Beijing Chinese Culture College, there are also seven schools under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology like Beijing University of Technology, closely related to China’s defense and military-industrial complex.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China stated that for the protection of students’ learning rights and to safeguard Taiwan’s core key technologies and scientific research achievements, exchanges and cooperation between domestic universities and such schools with political and military attributes are not appropriate as they may have specific political purposes.