TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Education (MOE) said Wednesday (July 5) it had given the go-ahead to the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation to contact the National Immigration Agency (NIA) about the planned visit of 50 Chinese students.

Former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wanted to select the students from top universities in China to spend nine days in Taiwan. During the trip, they will visit National Taiwan University (NTU), National Chengchi University (NCCU), National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST), and Chinese Culture University (CCU) in Taipei City, and National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) in Hualien County.

Education Minister Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said Wednesday the MOE had completed its review of the case. As a result, the foundation could turn to the NIA to start applying for entry documents, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

Ma’s plans for the visit have come under fire, with critics alleging China might use it for propaganda purposes. They also voiced suspicions that the participating students had been handpicked by Chinese Communist Party officials for their loyalty to the Chinese government.