Taiwan has restricted entry to the island from the mainland to prevent a coronavirus outbreak
Beijing will not allow university students from mainland China to start studying in Taiwan for the rest of the year, following Taipei’s temporary ban on students returning to the island amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"In view of the novel coronavirus outbreak and current relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, we have decided to suspend the operation regarding [permission] for mainland graduates of various academic levels to study in Taiwan in 2020,” the mainland’s Ministry of Education said.
"Those who have already studied in Taiwan and want to continue studying there can choose to do so.”
Schoolchildren use plastic dividers at a school
The ministry said Taiwanese students wanting to study on the mainland could also continue to do so.
Many mainland students returned home for the Lunar New Year holiday in January but about 7,000 have not been able to go back to Taiwan since then because of Taipei’s temporary ban on visits by mainlanders to contain the pandemic.
The building manager monitors temperatures of bank customers before they enter a bank in Taiwan
The island’s health minister, Chen Shih-chung, said on February 3 that a temporary ban on mainland Chinese students returning to Taiwan was necessary to reduce the risk of a local Covid-19 outbreak.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said various government bodies had put a range of measures into place to help students continue their studies outside Taiwan. These measures included digital learning programmes and online classes.
Taiwan has restricted entry to the island from the mainland to prevent a coronavirus outbreak
Schoolchildren use plastic dividers at a school
The building manager monitors temperatures of bank customers before they enter a bank in Taiwan
