According to a July 29 news release from Control Yuan members Lin Wen-cheng and Tien Chiu-chin, a newly released investigation report reveals that youth and student exchanges between Taiwan and mainland China have formed a stark, one-way imbalance, accompanied by widespread failures by schools to properly report student trips.
Investigation Findings and Escalating Student Travel Numbers
The Control Yuan investigation details how mainland China continues using research projects, talent contests, and other diverse methods to draw Taiwanese students across the strait, outnumbering mainland students participating in educational activities in Taiwan. The report notes that the Chinese Communist Party consistently targets Taiwanese youth for united front work, expanding these outreach efforts from university students down to middle and elementary schools.
Data cited in the report shows a sharp rise in Taiwanese student travel to the mainland following the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023. Between 2011 and 2014 of the Republic of China calendar (corresponding to 2022 through 2025), the number of Taiwanese college and university students visiting the mainland surged from 2,196 to 5,745. Senior high and vocational school participants grew from 676 to 1,161, junior high school students climbed from zero to 1,021, and elementary school participants jumped from 38 to 1,045. Accompanying teachers increased from 661 to 1,281. Conversely, mainland students participating in Mainland Affairs Council activities in Taiwan dropped steadily, falling from 76 in 2022 to just 16 in 2025.
Did You Know? The Ministry of Education established a dedicated platform for logging educational exchanges with the mainland back in 2018 to track these movements, though recent Control Yuan findings point to severe reporting gaps.
Administrative Loopholes and Government Response
The Control Yuan’s joint meeting of the Interior and Ethnic Minority Committee and the Education and Culture Committee passed the investigation report on July 21, urging the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Education to review and improve oversight. The report highlights that despite the 2018 establishment of the “Mainland Education Exchange Activity Reporting Platform,” serious under-reporting persists. Furthermore, some teachers have privately recruited students for mainland trips, leading parents to mistakenly believe the school organized the programs while administrators remained completely unaware.
In response, the Mainland Affairs Council stated it will work alongside the Ministry of Education to upgrade the reporting platform’s functions and refine related mechanisms. The council plans to guide schools at all levels by utilizing social media, press conferences, and student camps to warn participants about mainland travel risks and rules governing cross-strait academic exchanges.
Expert Insight: Managing the influx of grassroots youth exchanges requires balancing open academic engagement with robust risk awareness. As administrative gaps emerge through private recruitment channels, strengthening institutional oversight and information literacy remains a central policy challenge for educational authorities.
Future Administrative Measures and Cross-Departmental Oversight
To counter ongoing youth-targeted united front initiatives from the mainland, the Mainland Affairs Council has teamed up with the Ministry of Education and other agencies. By integrating domestic university general education centers and private academic resources, authorities aim to strengthen mainland China literacy education among teachers and students and build psychological defense mechanisms.
Regarding civic organizations recruiting students for mainland trips that may involve regulatory violations, the Mainland Affairs Council indicated it will gather preliminary information upon receiving reports. Officials will verify potential breaches before transferring cases to competent authorities or convening cross-departmental consultations when necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
[Question 1]
What prompted the recent Control Yuan investigation into cross-strait student exchanges?
[Answer]
Control Yuan members Lin Wen-cheng and Tien Chiu-chin launched the investigation after observing a distinct one-way imbalance in cross-strait youth exchanges, alongside widespread school failures to report student travel information to mainland China.
[Question 2]
How did student travel numbers change between 2022 and 2025?
[Answer]
According to the report, university student participants increased from 2,196 to 5,745, senior high and vocational students grew from 676 to 1,161, junior high students rose from zero to 1,021, and elementary students climbed from 38 to 1,045. Meanwhile, mainland students participating in Mainland Affairs Council activities in Taiwan fell from 76 to 16.
[Question 3]
What steps are government agencies taking to address reporting gaps and travel risks?
[Answer]
The Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Education are working to upgrade the “Mainland Education Exchange Activity Reporting Platform,” enhance school guidance regarding travel risks, and promote mainland China literacy education through university general education centers and public platforms.
How should educational institutions balance international engagement with administrative oversight to protect students from unverified recruitment?