国内英语新闻:China's education ministry welcomes Taiwan law amendments allowing colleges to recruit mainl

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Education on Friday said that Taiwan's new amended laws would be beneficial to the cross-Strait educational exchanges.

On Thursday, the Taiwan regional legislature adopted amendments to three laws, which would allow local colleges to accept students from the Chinese mainland and recognize degrees from mainland schools, except for medical schools.

The ministry said in a statement that Taiwan should not put in place discriminatory policies that might harm mainland students.

"We hope related authorities in Taiwan could make good plans, offering attractive colleges and majors for, and take effective measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of mainland students," said the statement.

Under the amended laws, mainland students can not apply for schools and colleges related to the island's security nor attend the exams of civil servants and professionals such as doctors and lawyers.

Taiwan's education department said in a statement that it would issue two detailed regulations in line with the amendments in September. The first group of postgraduate students are expected to arrive next March and the first college students can enroll next September.