President Ma Ying-jeou had previously said that the government would allow Chinese graduate students to study in Taiwan starting February 2010 and allow undergraduate students to enroll from September the same year.

However, Lin said that two related amendments to the Act Governing the Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and the University Act are still being reviewed in the Legislative Yuan. Even after they clear the legislative floor, it will take six months before they could be implemented, he said, adding that he does not anticipate any admission of Chinese students until next February.

If the legislature approves the two bills in the current session, the Ministry of Education will consider allowing graduate and undergraduate students from China to attend Taiwan schools from next September, he said.

New Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi had said earlier that the Taiwan government would give priority to Chinese technical college students.

Lin said that the ministry had originally planned to first recruit students from prestigious universities in China, but is now considering a 50 percent university enrollment quota for students from general universities and 50 percent for technical college students.

Stressing that the government will not open Taiwan schools fully to Chinese students, Lin said that the ministry will impose a limit on the intake of Chinese students. Only top students from top-tier universities and technical colleges will be allowed to study at Taiwan universities and colleges, he added.

(Y.L. Kao)