Los Angeles, Oct. 27 (CNA) Taiwan held a higher education fair in Los Angeles Saturday, the first time it has tried to draw students from the United States' highly competitive educational environment to Taiwan.
The unprecedented fair, held at the Culture Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, was primarily targeted at drawing Taiwanese expatriates in the U.S. to study in Taiwan.
Education Minister Chiang Wei-ling, who was in attendance, said the event represented Taiwan's transition from an exporter of students to foreign countries to an importer of foreign students into Taiwan, and he believed Taiwan has plenty to offer.
The high quality of higher education in Taiwan can be seen by the outstanding world rankings of many of its universities, Chiang said, and tuition in Taiwan is relatively low compared to that in the U.S.
A student can get a formal degree in Taiwan for the cost of a semester's tuition in America, he said.
The fair was attended by hundreds of potential students who sought information from the 15 Taiwanese universities and colleges participating.
Lo Hsiu-chen, a mother of three children at the fair, said her children went to elementary, junior high, and high school in the U.S. and felt it would be an advantage for them to get their higher education in Taiwan to enhance their Mandarin skills.
The Education Ministry said it may hold higher education fairs in New York and Chicago in the future if the one in Los Angeles turns out to be successful. (By Oscar Wu and Ann Chen)