Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education of the Ministry of Education

In response to the sharp increase in the number of students going to Taiwan, the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) interviewed Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education of the Ministry of Education for a satellite channel program broadcast worldwide on March 8. It gave a comprehensive analysis of the factors that attract many international students to Taiwan.    

From an international relations perspective, the program wanted to explore the reasons why the number of countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan has been declining in recent years, but the number of students studying in Taiwan has been steadily increasing year by year. It also wanted to explore the strategies that are attracting students from so many countries to Taiwan.

Welcoming international students is an indispensable part of Taiwan’s friendly relations with the international community. The Ministry of Education and the universities in Taiwan work together to assist international students with their education and arranging internships, and also with finding employment. Some universities host job fairs and career fairs.

During the interview, Dr. Lee pointed out that Taiwan is free, friendly, and safe. Countries all around the world benefit from exchanges with Taiwan, and want to continue and expand such exchanges in the future. For this reason overseas governments and other bodies are providing effective assistance for their students to study in Taiwan.

Student exchanges and the connections international students make with people and institutions in Taiwan contribute to deepening these exchanges. Such relationships will continue to develop and contribute to economic development, diplomacy, and mutual assistance and cooperation in a wide range of fields.

Taiwan is actively recruiting students from Southeast Asia and so these international students are also able to meet and interact with those from Europe, North and South America, and other parts of the world and expand their personal networks. This has been another factor leading to so many more international students coming to Taiwan in recent years.