Since the organization of the "Aid Refugee Chinese Intellectuals, Inc.," in the U.S., the question of how to resettle these intellectuals has come to the fore. As the responsibility for the well-being of these intellectuals is mainly that of the Chinese Government, one may legitimately ask what the Chinese authorities have done along this line. Of course the term "intellectuals" may be taken in a very broad sense to include all educated persons in all kinds of professions. But in China we usually refer, by "intellectuals," to professors, teachers, and college students. So far as these people are concerned, the Chinese Ministry of Education has, for the last three and half years, endeavored its best to solve their problem.
As early as December, 1948, when Peiping and Tientsin were under imminent danger of falling into Communist hands, special planes were chartered by the Ministry of Education to evacuate university presidents, college deans and professors from these two cities to Nanking. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, a joint office of the universities and colleges in Peiping and Tientsin was set up in Nanking under the directorship of Dr. Mei I-chi to find employment for these intellectuals.
In April, 1949, many of the faculty members of the universities and colleges in the Northeastern Provinces succeeded in escaping to Nanking. To furnish them aid and employment, a joint commission of the universities and colleges in North and Northeastern China was established by the Ministry of Education under the chairmanship of Dr. Yuan Tun-li.
After the Communists had crossed the Yangtze River, many professors and teachers evacuated to Canton, which was then the provisional capital of China. To provide them relief and employment, the Ministry of Education organized a reception committee under the chairmanship of Vice Minister Wu Tsuin-shen. Altogether, 396 faculty and staff members from 62 different national, provincial and private universities and colleges and 230 faculty and staff members from 35 national high schools were benefited by services rendered by this committee.
To provide relief and employment to the faculty and staff members of colleges in China's Northwest, the Ministry of Education set up an office in Chengtu, Szechuan. By then, the National Institute of Compilation and Translation had moved to Taiwan, so that refugee professors who wished to go to Taiwan could find employment with that Institute, while those who preferred to stay in Szechuan, Yunnan and Kweichow were either recommended by the Ministry to the various colleges and universities in the above-mentioned provinces, or appointed compilers or editors in the Ministry itself.
After the evacuation of the Central Government to Taiwan, more than 100 refugee professors and teachers have been absorbed by the Provincial Junior College of Administration and the Youth Service Corps. Another 300 professors were recommended by the Ministry to teach in the National Taiwan University, the to Provincial Teachers College, the Provincial College of Agriculture, the Provincial College of Engineering, and the Provincial Junior College of Engineering. Those who failed to secure employment in these institutions were appointed by the Ministry as compilers and editors. Altogether, 278 persons have served in such capacities at one time or another. At the moment, there are still 57 compilers and 41 editors on the payroll of the Ministry. They do research work at home and need not go to the office.
When the Chinese mainland fell into the hands of the Communists, the majority of the intellectuals stayed on in their respective institutions. During the last two years, owing to Communist tyranny and persecution, about 500 professors have fled the Iron Curtain to find refuge in Hongkong and Macao. Through arrangements made by the Ministry of Education, many of them have come to Taiwan and are already employed. It is estimated that those still staying in Hongkong and Macao number probably 300. Of these 300 professors, 138 have registered with the Ministry of Education. Half of them have some sort of employment.
As to the question of refugee students, the National Taiwan University, the Provincial College of Engineering, the Provincial College of Agriculture, the Provincial Teachers College, and the Provincial Junior College of Engineering have been instructed by the Ministry of Education to enlarge their enrollment on various occasions. Among the 1,196 students who have been registered with the Ministry of Education, those who were registered prior to March, 1950 have already been provided the opportunity to resume their studies, while those who were registered in November, 1951 will be admitted to different colleges this fall.
To absorb a larger number of refugee students from the mainland, the Provincial Junior College of Administration was set up by the Provincial Board of Education under instructions from the Ministry of Education in September, 1949. This college has five departments, namely, civil administration, public finance, statistics and accounting, land economy and social administration. So far, it has absorbed 596 refugee students, while a further 3,000 have been taken care of by special evening classes set up in different high schools by the Taiwan Provincial Board of Education.
In June, 1949, about 5,000 high school students withdrew from North China with the troops to Taiwan. To dispose of this batch of students, a high school was established by the Ministry of Education in Makung, Penghu (Pescadores), which provides free board and tuition.
For refugee students who have not been able to enroll in colleges in Taiwan, the Taiwan Youth Service Corps was jointly established by the Ministry of Education and the Taiwan Provincial Government in March, 1950. More than 800 refugee students have gone through their 6-month training there.
In the spring of 1950, after the fall of Hainan and the Chusan Islands, hundreds of students arrived in Taiwan along with the troops. To give them a chance for advanced learning, the Ministry of Education requested the Taiwan Youth Service Corps to set up a special class for administrative personnel in the fields of land economy, public finance and educational administration. Three hundred and nineteen refugee students are being educated under this program.
Encouragement has also been given to refugee students to enter various service institutions, such as the Military Academy, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, etc. The Ministry keeps close contact with these institutions and has recommended many refugee students to them.
Of the refugee students in the Tiao-Chin-Ling Camps in Hongkong, 128 have been approved by the Taiwan Pacification Command to enter Taiwan. Recently 87 of these students have arrived and the rest will come to Taiwan soon. After their arrival, the Ministry of Education will provide them a short course of training in the Taiwan Youth Service Corps and then arrange for their resuming studies or employment.