TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chinese students studying in Taiwan will be allowed to access the country’s national health insurance scheme starting from Feb. 2024.

The change brings the rules around access to health insurance in line with those for foreign students, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said on Thursday (Nov. 23), per the China Times. The change was made via a bill passed by Taiwan’s Cabinet.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chair Chan Chih-hung (詹志宏) said that healthcare is a universal human right. When students from China are able to access Taiwan’s national health insurance, all overseas students will be treated equally, he said.

Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), also vice chair of the council, said cross-strait exchanges remain important and that he hopes the change will build goodwill on both sides. According to education ministry statistics, a little over 2,100 Chinese students were studying in Taiwan in 2022.

That is down from just under 42,000 who studied in Taiwan in 2006 according to government statistics, which by 2019 had reduced to 25,000, and bottomed out during the COVID-19 pandemic. After China resumed allowing students to study in Taiwan earlier this year, just under 380 students were accepted into Taiwan universities, according to the education ministry.

Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said the change will only cause a small increase in the number of users and will have little impact on the finances of the insurance system. He said that the change will allow Chinese students to access the system after six months in Taiwan, but added amending the law to remove this requirement is under discussion.