In 2013, the MOE will approve 276 two-year departmental degree programs at 73 colleges in Taiwan, and expected to recruit 955 Mainland junior college students in total. That includes 55 degree programs at 15 public schools, with a seating capacity of 298 Mainland students, and 221 degree programs at 58 private schools, to which 657 Mainland students will be recruited. The recruitment will be processed the same as that for students pursuing bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs in 2011, being implemented by the University Entrance Committee for Mainland Chinese Students, which is managed by Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology. The prospectus was announced in early May, 2013 on the University Entrance Committee for Mainland Chinese Students website at http://rusen.stust.edu.tw/. The MOE stated that the approved number of Mainland students for admission is in addition to the pre-approved students quota thus it will not affect any rights or interests of local students.

According to the statistics, there were more than 3.32 million graduates from 1,246 Mainland junior colleges in 2010, a number bigger than that of university graduates at 2.86 million. Taiwan has an excellent, complete technical and vocational education system, and both sides of the strait share a similar culture and language, which will attract Mainland junior college students to study in Taiwan.

In order to recruit Mainland junior college students to study at two-year colleges in Taiwan for Bachelor’s degrees on an experimental basis this year, the MOE has amended some provisions of the Regulations Regarding the Assessment and Recognition of Academic Credentials for Mainland China and Regulations Regarding the People of the Mainland Area to Study in the Higher Education institutions in Taiwan and submitted them to the Executive Yuan for approval. The policy is to officially recognize 191 Mainland junior colleges and also recognize some affiliated junior colleges of Mainland universities which have already been put in the MOE’s recognition list.

The aforementioned recruitment activity is on an experimental basis and is only available for the Fujian and Guangdong provinces of Mainland China. Even though the schedule for the recruitment is too rush, the MOE still believes that the policy of recognizing Mainland junior college credentials and the recruitment of Mainland junior college students will help enhance the exchange foundation of cross-strait cultural and educational exchange and the visibility of technical & vocational education in Taiwan, thereby promoting cross-strait exchange and the interaction of higher education.