Using Taiwan Test Scores to Apply to Mainland Universities

Using Taiwan Test Scores to Apply to Mainland Universities
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
July 13, 2009


On the basis of one's test scores, students from Taiwan will be able to gain admission to any university on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. If one cannot get into National Taiwan University, one can get into Beijing University. If one cannot get into Tsinghua University in Hsinchu, one can get into Tsinghua University at Beijing. If one cannot get into the department of one's choice at National Chengchi University, one will be able to at Fudan University in Shanghai. For students from Taiwan, this is mighty tempting.

Mainland China's Vice Minister of Education Yuan Guiren announced this policy at the bilateral forum in Changsha. Students from Taiwan will be able to apply to Mainland universities using their Taiwan test scores. Some people think this will not impact universities on Taiwan. Others think this may lead to a wave of students studying on the Mainland over the next few years.

Let's talk about some peoples' doubts and fears. If this policy takes effect and spreads, every year as many as 10,000 students from Taiwan will chose to cross the "Blackwater Ditch" (Taiwan Strait) for four or more years of academic studies in Mainland cities. This means that a a significant proportion of young people from Taiwan would be "transferred" to the Chinese mainland. Since these students are the academic elites, how should we interpret such a population movement?

A deeper concern is that because the CCP is authoritarian, it can control the admissions process to elite Mainland universities. It can even give preferential treatment through scholarships. Will this increase the temptation for students from Taiwan to cross the Strait for higher learning? After these students cross the Strait, will these young people from Taiwan eventually wind up as Beijing's political bargaining chips?

This sort of negative thinking begins with the assumption that everything must always be to our disadvantage. As a result, its conclusion will always be that we must take every possible measure to confront and obstruct such a trend.

But one can also adopt a more positive point of view. The final result of bilateral exchanges will not necessarily manifest itself in one or two generations. We hope the two sides will fully understand each other during these one or two generations. Such an understanding is only possible when people on both sides have free access to each others' social environment, educational environment, and lifestyle. Only a generation that grows up in such an environment will be able to internalize and resolve the problems the two sides face.

Over the past sixty years, several generations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have remained mired in a zero sum game of hatred and confrontation. Governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait manipulated cross-Strait relations to their own political advantage. The public on both sides of the Taiwan Strait was relegated to the role of an amen chorus, waving flags and shouting angry slogans. If we believe the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should share a vision of peace and mutual prosperity, the first task is to increase bilateral exchanges, enabling the public on both sides to guide cross-Strait relations. If we think in these terms, open exchanges between universities on both sides is a forgone conclusion. Because as university students develop concepts of right and wrong, they will be the ones who introduce and implement a vision for the future. If the Taiwan side lacks confidence even in cross-Strait exchanges between university students, then it is going to have even less confidence in cross-Strait exchanges between ordinary members of the public.

This gesture by the Beijing authorities can be described as audacious. Beijing did not ask Taiwan to open its doors. Beijing opened its doors first. Students from Taiwan need not take any additional exams. Given such an opportunity, they are highly likely to consider such alternatives. Moreover, Beijing opened the door. Once opened, Taipei can hardly demand that Beijing to close it. In other words, the situation is out of Taipei's hands. Therefore, from Taipei's perspective, it must adopt a posture of greater openness. Otherwise it will merely wind up in a posture of passivity.

This gesture by Beijing will make it even more difficult for Taiwan to reject Mainland academic credentials, and to prohibit Mainland students from studying on Taiwan. Because even under the current system, 2000 students from Taiwan went to the Mainland to study. Now that students from Taiwan can gain admission to Mainland universities based solely on their Taiwan test scores, and receive all sorts of preferential treatment to boot, their ranks will rapidly increase. Refusal to recognize Mainland academic credentials will be both infeasible and pointless. If students from Taiwan study on the Mainland, but students from the Mainland are prohibited from studying on Taiwan, such a lop-sided situation will only be disadvantageous to Taiwan.

If the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not wish to slam their doors shut and engage in confrontation, then they must open their doors and engage in cross-Strait exchanges. Economic and trade exchanges are good, but not as good as people to people exchanges. People to people exchanges on university campuses should be encouraged. After all, young people have a powerful sense of right and wrong, a global outlook, and hope for the future. We look forward to a future in which both sides can win and create mutual prosperity. We hope such a future will germinate and grow on university campuses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

以台灣學測成績申請大陸大學之後
【聯合報╱社論】
2009.07.13 05:55 am

只需憑學測成績，即有可能躋身於兩岸任一所大學。如果上不了台大，卻可能上北大；如果可上新竹清華，卻亦可嚮往北京清華；如果政大選不上理想科系，卻可在上海復旦找到志願。這對於台灣學生來說，很難令人不心動。

大陸教育部副部長袁貴仁在長沙兩岸論壇上宣布這個政策，台灣學測成績可以用來申請大陸的大學。有人認為撼動不了台灣的大學，有人則認為這可能在幾年內將引發登陸的留學潮。

先談帶著些許憂慮疑懼的看法。倘若此一政策發酵擴散，以至於每年出現近萬或上萬的台灣莘莘學子，寧可西渡黑水溝，到大陸各城市以四年或更長歲月勤學苦讀，這意味著台灣將有極大比例的年輕人「輸出」到中國大陸，而這批學子如果又多是秀異的學生，則這樣的人口移動將作何解讀？

更深一層的顧慮則是，由於中共是專制政體，可以充分調度大陸名校名系的籌碼，甚至加以獎學金等的優遇，會不會對台灣學生提升了渡海留學的誘因？這一群橫渡海峽、負笈登陸的台灣青年，最後會不會成為北京當局的政治籌碼？

這類的負向思考，皆以對我必不利的懷疑論出發；其結論因而必是主張採取一切對抗與封鎖的措施，必欲阻止這個趨勢的放大與延伸。

然而，也可持比較正面與積極的觀點。兩岸之間的終局解決，必不在這一兩代人的手中出現；而當寄望於兩岸之間充分理解彼此、熟知彼此的世代之手。這樣的世代只能出現於兩岸人民皆能自由地在對方社會受教育與生活的環境之中；在這樣環境下長成的世代，才有可能發展出最妥適、最為兩岸皆能接受的終局解決模式。

六十年來，兩岸數代人物皆在「漢賊不兩立」的仇恨對立中度過；兩岸關係的主調分別操縱在兩岸政權的手中，兩岸人民只能相互銜恨作搖旗吶喊的角色。爾今，倘若認為兩岸應當以和平雙贏為共同願景，則首要之務自然是在增加兩岸人民的交流，使兩岸人民的心願能夠成為兩岸關係的領航因素。那麼，在此種思維下，兩岸大學的相互開放與交流，應當是必然及應然的趨勢。因為，大學生的是非對錯觀念已漸成熟，而大學生又是未來願景的引導者及實踐者。台灣方面倘若對兩岸大學生層次的校園交流亦缺乏自信，那就更不須提兩岸人民在其他方面的深度交流了。

北京當局的這一手，可謂「來勢洶洶」。並未要求台灣開門，而是北京自己先把門打開。台灣學生在不必另外考試的便利下，極有可能憑學測成績來考慮擺在面前的這種另類選擇。何況，門是北京開的，一旦打開，台北也不可能命他關上；換句話說，情勢已非操在台灣當局手中。所以，對台灣而言，欲因應此一新情勢，已只能朝開放的方向思考，否則將更加處於被動地位。

北京的此一舉動，將使得台灣方面拒絕承認大陸學歷，及反對陸生來台讀大學等主張更站不住腳。因為，即使在現行體制下，台灣去年登陸讀大學者就有二千人；未來開放憑台灣學測成績入學，再輔以各種優遇，人數當有顯著增加。而若未來人數快速累積，不承認大陸學歷的政策非但更不能維持，且即使維持亦無意義；至於若只是台生赴陸，而不進一步開放陸生來台，此種傾斜情勢之不利台灣，尤是不言可喻。

兩岸若不欲閉門對立，就須開門交流。經濟貿易的交流，其實不如人民的親身交流；而在人民的親身交流中，應當又以大學校園的交流最應鼓勵與期待。畢竟，青年有較正確的是非心、未來感與國際觀；我們深切期待，一個有益於雙贏共榮的兩岸憧憬，能在兩岸大學校園的深度互動交流中萌發成長。