Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Facing a severe talent outflow and intense international competition for talent, the Ministry of Education has come up with a plan to keep talented scholars in Taiwan by raising their salaries, which could be increased by as much as a whopping NT$5 million (US$165,000) per year.
Education Minister Pan Wen-chung announced Wednesday the "Yushan Project," which he said was proposed to beef up efforts to enroll more top domestic and foreign scholars in the academic and technology sectors and keep those already here from leaving the country.
The project will be made up of three parts -- the selection of "Yushan Scholars," a flexible wage payment system for scholars at higher education institutions and research centers with international competitiveness, and a 10 percent hike to the additional research pay for full professors.
The "Yushan Scholars" will be the biggest beneficiary of the project, Pan said, explaining that upon being selected as a "Yushan Scholar," a full professor will be entitled to a wage hike of a maximum NT$5 million per year.
Currently, the annual wage of a full professor is around NT$1.5 million. With the planned benefit, a "Yushan Scholar" will be able to enjoy an annual income of up to NT$6.5 million, Pan said.
Each "Yushan Scholar" will hold the title for three years at a time, he added.
Yushan or Jade Mountain is Taiwan's highest peak at 3,952 meters above sea level.
Pan further said that the high wage level will be "very competitive," compared with the annual wages of NT$3.72 million to NT$6.11 million for a full professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore or NT$3.68 million to NT$5.06 million for a full professor at the City University of Hong Kong.
Under the "Yushan Scholar" program, the ministry will enroll 500 talented scholars from overseas and keep 500 local scholars in Taiwan within three years, the minister noted.
The draft "Yushan Project" will be delivered to the Cabinet for approval so that it can be carried out in 2018, according to the Ministry of Education.
