Chapter 6. Conclusion
6.3. Prospects for Further Research
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international configuration of neoliberal trade.2 As American tariffs on goods
manufactured in China raise costs for international companies, some of these corporations are starting to move manufacturing operations elsewhere: Singapore’s Economic
Development Board views the trade war as beneficial for foreign investment into Southeast Asia.3
Evidence also exists of Taiwanese companies considering withdrawal from China and relocating to other markets or returning to Taiwan; recently the computer
manufacturer Acer announced that it is considering moving manufacturing operations outside of China, citing the trade war as a threat to the global market.4 Taiwanese experts point to Taiwan possibly benefiting from the trade war as Taiwanese companies relocate investments back to the island.5 These economic changes may in turn affect the flow of Taiwanese students to mainland China as market conditions create a different
environment for cross-strait students. Due to these potential changes, economic reasons to study in China may wane as its trade relationships change over the course of the trade war.
While economic changes may make China less attractive over the coming years, the PRC’s continued commitment to enhancing the status and quality of its higher
education institutions will continue. Advances in scientific endeavors and building up the resources of STEM-related institutions and departments may in turn increase the quality of mainland higher education institutions vis-à-vis Taiwan’s. Moreover, if political changes in the cross-strait relationship result in continued policies to attract Taiwanese students, the Mainland may become a more attractive option for Taiwanese students in coming years.
6.3. Prospects for Further Research
This study has created preliminary research that can be developed further in several directions. Firstly, research specifically on the cross-strait mobility of Taiwanese
2 Naná de Graaf and Bastiaan van Apeldoorn, “US-China Relations and the Liberal World Order:
contending elites, colliding visions?” International Affairs, vol. 94, no. 1, 2018, pp. 113-131.
3 Economic Development Board, Singapore, “U.S.-China Trade War Boosts Fast-Growing Southeast Asia,”
February 26, 2019, accessed June 4, 2019,
https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/news-and-events/insights/headquarters/us-china-trade-war-boosts-fast-growing-southeast-asia.html.
4 Judy Lo, “Taiwan’s Acer Considers Moving production out of China,” Taiwan News, May 29, 2019, accessed June 5, 2019, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3712660.
5 “U.S.-China trade war to push companies back to Taiwan: think tank,” Focus Taiwan, May 11, 2019, accessed June 5, 2019, http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201905110013.aspx.
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students will clarify and settle the debate on whether “brain drain” from Taiwan to China exists and to what extent it affects the Taiwanese economy. Secondly, push factors relating to the internationalization (or lack thereof) in Taiwan’s higher education system point to the need for a thorough assessment of Taiwan’s higher education
internationalization policies and practices. Further research therefore should focus on the extent to which internationalization efforts at Taiwanese universities meet student
expectations and how they may be improved. Finally, as more cohorts of Taiwanese students complete undergraduate and advanced degrees in China, further research on their employability after graduation will shed light on the comparative value of degrees from Taiwan and mainland China in the global labor markets.
In conclusion, this study has delineated the political and economic developments that make cross-strait student mobility possible. Marketization and massification of higher education have created a global environment in which institutions compete for resources and students, while developments in the cross-strait relationship have set the stage for people-to-people integration to occur among students. As China becomes a growing hub for international education, examining the flow of students from Taiwan to China provides an opportunity to view cross-strait integration within the context of the larger economic relations between the two sides. Results from the present study show that while economic considerations do play a part in the decision-making process of the students surveyed, an equally important factor is the opportunity to gain international perspectives from locals in Chinese universities. This shows that investigating student exchanges as a site of linkage community formation to promote understanding and collaboration at the “low politics” level across the Taiwan Strait, despite periods of tension in formal relations between Taiwan and China.
In conclusion, this study contributes to the growing literature in higher education and international higher education that focuses on student mobility in the Asia Pacific region, especially as it conceptualizes China as a growing destination for international and cross-border student exchange and movement. As global networks of higher education continue to develop and more countries enact internationalization policies in higher education, the discourse of student mobility from the Global South to the Global North must be reassessed as China emerges as a powerful economy with the largest higher education system in the world that both sends and receives international students.
As the advanced economies in the Asia Pacific and those of the western world experience similar challenges to Taiwan, such as wage stagnation, graduate underemployment, and
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population decline, examining student mobility will prove crucial to understanding and improving the future of higher education in these economies. This study has provided a starting point for further discourse on cross-border student mobility not only in the Asia Pacific but also around the globe.