3. Analysis of Competitiveness Concern
3.3 Higher Education and Job Obtainment
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current issues globally. To compare with Taiwan’s news, there is a big difference.
Furthermore, the situation reflects on children’s contact with international news：
Taiwan is an island country and the news rarely includes global news.
However in China, the news channels like CCTV9 or ICS, they broadcast global news in English and Chinese all day. There is more foreign news.
As a mother, I find this is good for kids since the condition provides children broaden horizons. (interview2009073102)
From the angle of children’s social networks, Taiwanese parents mostly approve of their children’s learning drive positively. They consider their children would become more international and competitive. However when they take future higher education or job market into consideration, what attitude will these Taiwanese parents hold is the point of next section.
3.3 Higher education and job obtainment
When the market in China is bigger and bigger, one chairman of an advertisement company points out that for children’s job market, local networking is meant to take into account：
Take Master Kong for instance, in a very short time, the market share increases sharply. Take children’s education or adaptation ability into account, good educational environment surely consists of networking. Let kids study in China, once they have one classmate to become a president of State Council in China and that will be more helpful than in Taiwan.
Children’s prospects need to be thought over. (interview2009072702)
To combine the cross strait experiences of family, school and society, Taiwanese parents’ plan of letting children study further or seek jobs in China weighs high.
Mrs. Chen’s husband was dispatched to work in Shanghai, she personally indicated：
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My husband and I both take a liking in big market and job opportunities in China. If my child studies here to have better networking and he
understand local consumption style and living types, he will have beneficial assets for his future career. (interview2009072804)
Mother Wu said that she just bought a house in Shanghai recently and it seemed to have no road back. They have family business in Shanghai and their family
members have migrated to China. When she mentioned about her kids’ study plan：
We have stayed in China for 9 years and we plan to stay here in the future.
(interview2009073001)
Having real estate is the key reason to transfer children’s study to China. Except for real estate, future career prospects also take into consideration. Mrs. Hsu’s husband works as an travel study consultant in Shanghai. Mrs. Hsu presented her opinion toward her kids’ study plan：
The kids’ father’s working prospect is in China so do the kids’. We have bought a house in Chang-Ning district in Shanghai and plan to stay here.
We will let our kids grow up and be educated in China.
(interview2009073101)
Mrs. Sun’s two sons enter local colleges smoothly in China. One son majors in electrical machinery in Tong Ji University. Another one majors in oral surgery medical in Wu-Han University. Mrs. Sun’s idea is as followed：
There is no much room for progress in Taiwan but there is a wide space in China. Mr. Reboot said Taiwan is superior to China but last no more than one year. I find it is a pity for Taiwan. I will let my children know market
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locates in China and if they have the ability, just keep on studying.
(interview2009073102)
Another real concern is military service problem. When Taiwanese parents’ kids have the condition for military service, go back to Taiwan or not will become a no turn round decision：
I have asked my child whether he wants to go back to Taiwan or stay in China to continue his college education. In the end we decide to stay in China. My child has local friends and if he stays in China he can do nothing but do his best. Since the military service problem, when he is 19 years old, he can’t go back to Taiwan anymore. (interview2009073102)
My child is going to be the 2nd year student in senior high school. I haven’t considered something far away but my child has the military service problem. If he goes abroad to study, I wish he can complete college in China, in order to make sure he has learnt more firmly.
(interview2009072801)
As the above two cases, for Taiwanese parents in China, they have the choice to let their children study abroad, except for studying in China or Taiwan. The decision mixes the concerns of dislike to stay in China or advantage to study abroad, that is the mixture of emotion and reality concerns：
I wish to let my two daughters study in China, not to give up the Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan examination. I hope she can complete her college education in China. After that I hope she can study abroad.
(interview2009072903)
I plan to let my daughter study college in China. There are many colleges having cooperative relation with foreign colleges. Even the branches of
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those international colleges have built up in China. There is one new system called 2-2 system, that is, you can study in China for two years and study abroad for two years. I find that is good. (interview2009072901)
I will try to let my son study senior high school courses locally and then let a foreign teacher to teach him the 3rd year curriculum in senior high school. I wish he can study college in foreign countries since I hope he can have a colorful university life. And we husband and wife plan to move back to Taiwan after finishing our work. (interview20090072902)
However for Chairman Kao who has an electrical machinery company in
Shenzhen, his idea of their children’s future plan, he and his wife hold an open attitude, just depends on their kids’ development：
We feel us as nomadic people. We came to Shenzhen just for work. In the future, if our children have chances to study abroad, we will sell 60% of shares to go to foreign countries with our kids. If our children want to study college in Taiwan, we will move back to Taiwan altogether. If they study college in China, we will keep staying in China till our kids are able to be independent. (interview2010012801)
As for these Taiwanese parents in China, what course to follow depends on the advantageous position of their children. Parents emotionally want to give their kids the best but have the various mixed rational concerns. For them, except for going back to Taiwan, let their kids study abroad is also a choice. What if their kids don’t reject the environment in China, they will let their kids study locally. Therefore, from the aspect of children’s study plan, we have found every parent has different inclination. In general, they mostly are willing to stay in China.
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