The Taiwan region has suspended the entry of Hong Kong and Macao residents starting from today. The Higher Education Bureau is paying close attention to the Macao students who fail to resume classes in Taiwan on time, and has formulated a series of measures to reassure the affected students and their parents, including working with the Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) to coordinate the air ticket arrangements. At the same time, AACM will continue to communicate with the airlines concerned. Additional flights to Taiwan will be increased to enable students to continue their studies after the relevant suspension measures are cancelled.
Appropriate air ticket arrangements is made to help students return to Taiwan
In order to ease the worries of Macao students who fail to resume classes in Taiwan on time and reduce their economic burden, the Bureau is cooperating with AACM to coordinate the air ticket arrangements. After communicating with the airlines concerned, AACM has obtained cooperation and support from the following airlines. Air Macau and Eva Air allow affected students to change their ticket dates at no charge, while Tiger Airways allows affected students to cancel their tickets. The Bureau has sent an email to affected students to inform them of the air ticket arrangements. In addition, AACM will continue to communicate and coordinate with the airlines concerned. After the suspension measures are cancelled, there will be additional flights to enable students to continue their studies in Taiwan. At present, Air Macau has shown positive response and support. It has made special arrangements for the affected students, including ticket refund at no handling charge, unlimited changes of ticket dates, and exemption from making up the fare class difference. After the epidemic eases, Air Macau will increase flights and adjust aircraft models according to the actual situation so as to help students resume their studies in Taiwan as soon as possible. Besides, for other special cases, such as students who do not depart from Macao to Taiwan, the Bureau and AACM will provide follow-up assistance on a case-by-case basis.
Students continue their studies in accordance with the “studying-at-ease” scheme
It is understood that the education department in the Taiwan region has launched the “studying-at-ease” scheme. The affected students can entrust others to complete enrollment registration, payment and course selection procedures in higher education institutions by means of communication. In addition, students can continue to take courses through distance learning. For the arrangement of experiment courses and professional internships, students should first ask about their higher education institutions whether they will provide backup plans. The Bureau will maintain close communication with the Macao Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan to understand when students can return to Taiwan and the corresponding arrangements so that students can prepare as early as possible.
Affected students register at their earliest convenience
The Bureau has launched the online system to collect data on the number of affected students to make appropriate arrangements. As at 3 p.m. on 11 February, 1,197 students have already registered. According to the data, 1,145 students are currently doing their bachelor’s degree programs, 44 master’s degree programs, 4 doctoral degree programs and 4 other diploma programs. The largest number of students study in the following higher education institutions: Tamkang University, Ming Chuan University, Taiwan University, Soochow University, Taiwan Normal University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chinese Culture University, Taipei University, Chengchi University. Students originally headed to the Taiwan region between February 12 and 17.
The Bureau calls on affected students to register on its website (https://aeees.dses.gov.mo/TWData/) as soon as possible. Students should fill in the following information, including their major, year of studies, basic contact information, original travel plan (departure date and time, airline). For enquiries, please call 2834-5403 during office hours.