• By Lee Hong-jen 李宏仁

New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said that if elected, he would reopen dialogue with China and rebuild trust based on the principles of equality, respect and congeniality.

He proposed renegotiating the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which has been suspended for eight years. He also welcomed the idea of permitting Chinese students to study and work in Taiwan.

However, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rejected the idea, saying it would be detrimental to young Taiwanese, especially their employment rights.

As part of its COVID-19 measures, China on April 9, 2020, suspended all applications from Chinese students to study in Taiwan.

However, the Ministry of Education lifted its own ban in July last year and last month opened the doors to Chinese students visiting Taiwan for exchanges or short-term study. It said it would continue to encourage Chinese students to study here.

As a lecturer who has tutored Chinese students, I am all for permitting them to study here, but not to stay and work.

Those who have taught Chinese students know they are usually hard-working, diligent and perform well in academic settings. Some even wonder why Taiwanese students would give up learning opportunities by skipping class.

They have always been impressed and envious of Taiwan’s culture and customs.

By permitting them to study, they would experience many aspects of Taiwanese life, especially democracy, freedom, diversity and openness.

After their stay, their experiences would promote and facilitate cross-strait understanding and exchange.

If Beijing does not introduce reciprocal employment measures for Taiwanese students, or if Taiwan permits Chinese students to work here without a

plan in place, it would be a heavy blow to the employment rights of young Taiwanese.

Lee Hong-jen is a professor of law at National Taichung University of Science and Technology.

Translated by Rita Wang