NON-SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS DEMAND TO ENTER TAIWAN TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES IN SPRING TERM 2022

連署：非獎學金華語學生要求入境台灣，在明年春季學期繼續學業

This petition is started by a group of Chinese language students who are still unable to continue their studies due to the current border restrictions in Taiwan. We hope that whoever reads this petition, whether you are a language student, an international degree student, a Chinese language teacher or a local student in Taiwan, or anyone else who cares about Chinese language education in Taiwan regardless of individual backgrounds, come together to support our aspirations. Our demand is very simple: to ensure that the border policy treats everyone equally; for example, by opening the borders for non-scholarship language students to enter Taiwan, letting students’ dreams of learning Chinese come true, and letting the Chinese language education in Taiwan continue.

本連署的發起人是一群因為目前的邊境管制而中斷學業的華語學生。不論你是華語學生、境外學位生、華語教師、台灣學生，或任何其他身份背景但關注台灣華語教育的人，我們希望你能一起來支持我們簡單的訴求：確保邊境政策平等對待所有人，允許華語非獎學金學生入境，讓學生能夠實現學習華語的夢想，讓台灣的華語教育能夠繼續發展。

Winter term 2021 is coming soon, but Chinese language students like us are still excluded from the permitted groups of students to enter the country. We have already been waiting for over 1.5 years without certainty and change. The MOE suggested online learning to us before, but it proved much less effective, because to learn Chinese more efficiently, we need to live in a place where the language is spoken, so that we can learn about the culture, write the traditional Hanzi properly, and use our Chinese with locals every day.

2021年冬季學期即將到來，但是像我們這樣的華語學生仍然被排除在可入境的學生群體之外。到目前為止，我們已經在不確定中等待了超過一年半，但邊境政策仍然毫無變化。教育部曾建議我們線上學習，但這一年半的經歷已經證明，線上學習的效果非常有限。因為若要真正有效地學習一門語言，我們必須要置身當地環境中，才能了解語言背後的文化，知道如何正確書寫傳統漢字，並且在每天與當地人的交流中學會活用語言。

In August 2021 (fall term) HES students were finally able to enter Taiwan, and the MOE promised it will also allow non-scholarship students to enter Taiwan, too. Now, Taiwan’s situation has considerably improved; the current vaccination rate is much higher, and the daily COVID-19 cases are much lower than before. Unfortunately, the current proposal regarding non-scholarship students’ entry is not enough, since many students are hoping to begin their studies in the upcoming winter term 2021 in December. Moreover, the CECC recently informed that it plans to ban students from entering between 16th December 2021 and 12th February 2022, since it reserves this period for Taiwanese citizens and others willing to travel to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year. If a large mass of people suddenly enter Taiwan and there is an outbreak of the virus during that time, students are afraid that they will have to wait even longer next year.

2021年8月的秋季學期，華語獎學金學生終於能夠入境台灣，當時教育部承諾亦將允許非獎學金華語學生入境。現在台灣疫情控制取得顯著成效，疫苗施打率已顯著提高，每日新增病例數與之前相比大幅度降低。因此，很多學生希望能夠在即將到來的2021年12月的冬季學期開始華語的學習。但是目前針對非獎學金華語學生的入境政策卻付之闕如。而中央流行疫情指揮中心近日更是通知，為了保障春節期間台灣人和其他旅客入境，計畫禁止境外生於2021年12月16日至2022年2月12日之間入境。我們擔心，一旦在此期間台灣再度發生本土疫情，華語非獎學金學生可能要等到明年甚至更久才能入境。

The border restrictions have already severely influenced our lives: some of us wasted our time simply waiting as they were unsure when they would be able to enter, whereas some of us lost their jobs when they dedicated themselves to study and maintain their Chinese. Instead of studying, we ended up waiting for uncertainty. Furthermore, some of us kept deferring the study term due to the uncertainty and continuous border restrictions, while others even kept paying their rents in Taiwan without having the chance to even stay there.

邊境管制已經非常嚴重地影響我們的生活，由於無法確定何時能夠入境，我們當中一部分人浪費了大量時間等待，有些人甚至為了準備學習華語已經辭去原本的工作。此外，我們有些人因為不確定性和持續的邊境限制只能不停推遲入學學期，還有人一直在付台灣的房租而根本無法去住。我們本應順順當當地學習，最後卻陷入了一種無法安頓的境地。

With the hopeless situation in border control, some of us may be forced to think of other interests to be able to continue their lives professionally through education. However, we still hope that Taiwan would allow us to follow our dreams in the Chinese language, and specialize in the Taiwanese culture and international relations.

在這種邊境管控的絕望處境下，為了讓生活和學習繼續下去，我們之中有些人可能要被迫考慮改道其他學習方向。然而，我們仍然希望台灣能夠允許我們追求學習華語的夢想，成為台灣文化和國際關係的專門人才。

We therefore appeal to the decision-makers in Taiwan to let us enter the country, so that we can continue our Chinese language studies as soon as possible. Let us support each other and bring our voices together, so we can finally be heard. Let the politicians and other stakeholders realize our dedication is real to ensure that we can finally enter Taiwan together. If you agree and/or are affected by the situation, please sign the petition, and feel free to share it to everyone who cares about this situation.

因此，我們呼籲台灣的政策制定者允許我們入境，讓我們能夠儘快繼續學業。請大家彼此支持，聚集我們的聲音，讓我們的訴求被聽到。讓政府知道我們的決心，以確保我們最終能夠一起入境台灣。

如果你支持我們的訴求或者與我們有著同樣的處境，請簽下這份連署，並把這封信連署分享給任何關心這一狀況的人。