Once Taiwan’s top source of foreign students, Malaysia has slipped in recent years as Vietnam surged

TAIPEI/KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian student Shuy Zhi Heng knew he wanted to study in Taiwan after a campus tour of National Taiwan University during a holiday in Taipei in 2023.

“It’s a beautiful campus, and because it is more cost-friendly to pursue higher education in Taiwan than in other places, I thought it would be a good option,” the 21-year-old told The Straits Times.

Mr Shuy, now a second-year finance undergraduate at the university, is enjoying himself in Taiwan so much that he convinced his younger brother to also choose Taiwan for his university studies.

While Malaysia has for years been the top source of international students in Taiwan, student numbers from the country have declined in recent years, falling below 10,000 for the first time in about a decade to 9,686 in 2024.

In comparison, Vietnam has become the top source of tertiary students for Taiwan, with numbers surging from around 4,000 in 2015, to almost 40,000 in 2024. Indonesian student numbers have also grown significantly, rising from some 4,500 to more than 16,000 over the same period.

Vietnamese process engineer Le Tan Vinh, 30, who graduated with a master’s degree in electrophysics from Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in 2021, said Taiwan’s offer of generous scholarships was a “big factor” in his decision to study there. His studies were fully sponsored and came with a living stipend – with no mandatory service bond.

He added that the island’s edge in science and technology was also a draw.

“Taiwan is much more developed than Vietnam, and there are good employment opportunities in the tech and engineering industries – I’ve been able to get a good job after graduation and stay on to work,” said Mr Vinh, who is currently working in Taichung, central Taiwan.

Malaysian student Shuy Zhi Heng is a second-year finance undergraduate at National Taiwan University.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHUY ZHI HENG

The spike in student numbers from Vietnam comes amid an overall growth in South-east Asian students in Taiwan.

Taiwan has been actively recruiting international students to make up for its shrinking university enrolment numbers amid a falling birth rate. In 2025, the island’s total fertility rate is projected to have plunged below 0.8, making it one of the world’s lowest.

In particular, Taiwan has been trying to attract students from South-east Asia, which has a relatively young population. This is also in line with Taipei’s New Southbound Policy, introduced in 2016 by then President Tsai Ing-wen, which seeks to deepen engagement with 18 countries in South-east Asia, South Asia and Australasia while reducing its reliance on China.

However, Taiwan has become somewhat less enticing to Malaysian students.

The rise of China has challenged the island’s appeal as a study destination for Malaysians. In 2025, China had more than 10,000 Malaysian students, surpassing Taiwan’s 9,686 in 2024.

Television host Darren Ch’ng, 41, a Malaysian alumnus of Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, said his younger cousin chose to study new media at the Communication University of China in Beijing after growing up on a diet of Chinese entertainment.

His cousin had watched shows on Chinese video streaming sites and social media platforms. “Emotionally and intellectually, he feels closer to China than to Taiwan,” Mr Ch’ng told ST.

Malaysian TV host Darren Chn’g said Taiwanese TV shows played a role in his decision in 2004 to pursue higher education at the College of Communication at National Chengchi University.

PHOTO: DARREN CH’NG/FACEBOOK

Malaysian Chew Ru Xuan, 27, who is pursuing a master’s degree at National Chengchi University, said Taiwanese universities have not leveraged social media effectively to reach out to prospective students.

She told ST: “Chinese, European and American universities attract students with strong campus content, but Taiwan has banned platforms like Xiaohongshu and TikTok, which are popular among Malaysian youth. How can it reach them?”

Ms Chew, who is examining the decline in Malaysian student enrolment in Taiwan in her thesis, noted the growing popularity of international schools in Kuala Lumpur, which provide more direct pathways to English-medium universities in Europe and the United States.

Mr Shuy said there are “too many other options” for Malaysian students, both locally and abroad.

Since the 1990s, the Malaysian government has promoted private higher-education institutions, which are not subject to the racial quotas in place at public universities. This has led to a surge in enrolment at these private institutions, from 35,600 in 1990, to 639,754 in 2024.

Mr K.K. Chew, 61, a Malaysian alumnus of National Taiwan University who was appointed a director at a Chinese independent high school in Kuala Lumpur in 2019, found that “70 per cent of graduates chose to study locally rather than go overseas”.

Taiwan has been actively recruiting international students to make up for its shrinking university enrolment numbers amid a falling birth rate.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SHUY ZHI HENG

Most Malaysians studying in Taiwan come from Chinese independent schools, which issue the Unified Examination Certificate, an A-level equivalent that is recognised by Taiwan universities.

Further studies in Taiwan are still considered relatively affordable compared with the annual tuition fees at private universities in Malaysia, which amount to at least RM15,000 (S$4,800) per year.

Ms Lee Yit Siew, 38, an aide to a Malaysian minister, studied at National Chengchi University in 2008. “I come from a humble background. I paid around NT$80,000 (S$3,200) in tuition fees per year and was able to work part-time to cover my living expenses.”

Others said they were drawn by Taiwan’s pop culture.

Mr Ch’ng, the television host, said Taiwanese TV shows played a role in his decision in 2004 to pursue higher education at the College of Communication at National Chengchi University.

“Delicious Food All Over The World was among the TV shows that heavily influenced my decision to choose Taiwan,” he told ST.

The show, which aired between 2002 and 2011, explored the history and cultural context behind popular dishes across East Asia and South-east Asia.

With the support of Taiwan, the Federation of Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia is going out to secondary schools in some Malaysian states to promote higher education in Taiwan.

The federation’s president, Mr Pang King Hoe, said it is focusing its recruitment efforts in semi-urban and rural areas, where students generally have less educational exposure than their urban counterparts.

He told ST: “We have organised more than 80 showcases in secondary schools across Sarawak, Perlis, Kelantan and Pahang, targeting students in Form 3 and Form 4 (equivalent to Singapore’s Secondary 3 and 4). We anticipate seeing results by 2027 or 2028, when these students complete their secondary school education.”