For quite a number of years, local authorities accepted virtually every diploma presented by a foreigner as genuine. Some of the certificates were only photocopies while others were blatant forgeries that a closer inspection would have exposed as such. In the 1970s and 1980s, the resident foreign community in Taiwan was relatively small and was comprised mainly of professionals. English teachers back then were much less common than today. In around 1990, things began to drastically change as word spread of easy, high-paying English teaching jobs available in Taiwan. Foreigners began flocking to the island and some of them took advantage of the lax visa policies. As the authorities slowly became aware of the issue of fraud, they began inspecting the diplomas more closely. Soon the blatant forgeries were a thing of the past and would-be applicants stopped submitting grainy photocopies of diplomas.

But, as the Internet gained in dominance, new ways to cheat became available. The most common of these was the purchase of diplomas from 'diploma mills.' These 'universities' sometimes consisted of just an office in some U.S. state or some small island nation. These schools exist mainly in name. Some offer a master's degree for the extremely ill defined major of "life experience" while others simply confer degrees upon payment. Fake transcripts of bogus study courses are also available to help convince prospective employers of the degree's authenticity. It's not just unscrupulous foreigners in Taiwan who have used such degrees. All across the world -- in all sectors -- people have been caught for doing so.

As the years wore on, Taiwan's immigration authorities learned to apply the wise adage "trust, but verify" to overseas diplomas. Today, an authenticated copy of a university degree as well as authenticated transcripts are generally required when a foreigner applies for a work visa or Alien Resident Certificate (ARC). All across the world, the awareness of fake degrees has risen and the rate of fraud has dropped considerably. These days if one tries to proffer such a diploma, their chances of being detected are high.

The scale of potential harm that a fake diploma could cause rises expeditiously with the level of technical skill required for a position. A 'fake' English teacher might deprive several dozen or even a hundred people of proper language instruction and while that would be unfortunate, it's hardly fatal. A 'fake' IT professional might cause the 'death' of numerous computer systems but again, real humans are not being physically harmed. A fake medical doctor, however, could cause the real deaths of real people and this is something society cannot tolerate.

Recent reports in Taiwan have centered on the debate over medical degrees issued by Polish medical schools and institutions. In past years, many local medical professionals earned their degrees from schools in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Hong Kong, Japan or other Western nations. Upon their return to Taiwan these doctors were allowed to bypass the first stage of Taiwan's medical certification procedures and skip ahead to the second stage. But, in 2004 the formerly East-bloc communist nation of Poland officially joined the European Union, and as a "European" country, Taiwanese medical students were subsequently allowed to train there.

The problem is that rules in Poland are somewhat more relaxed than those in other nations. In Taiwan, a medical doctor candidate must struggle though a total of seven years of schooling, which include two years as an intern. In Poland, the entire course can be wrapped up in as little as four years, without an internship. Of course, the educational facilities in Poland are significantly cheaper than in, say, the UK.

But there is genuine concern that the educational standards of Poland may not be rigorous enough to comply with Taiwan law. Some have even charged that there are 'special classes' available in Poland for foreign student doctors, and that in practice, only a sum of money separates the student from the diploma. If true, these schools would be no better than diploma mills.

But let's imagine that's not the case and let us assume for a moment that Poland's medical schools are kosher places of higher learning. Even if this is the case, the fact that a four-year course that does not include an internship is acceptable for obtaining a medical license is cause enough for concern.

The Taiwan Department of Heath seems to be leaning towards modifying their regulations to mandate that all Taiwan medical students who graduated from foreign medical schools be subject to the same rigorous testing that local student doctors are required to undergo. We believe this to be the best course of action. Taiwan's medical community includes some of the best doctors in the world and local citizens do not wish to see a diluting of medical quality. The best solution for both patients and doctors is for all of Taiwan's medical students to take the same tests and receive the same accreditation, regardless of where they went to school. It's the fairest way and certainly the safest.