It was an important, historic phenomenon for Taiwan to separate from mainland China in 1949. Mainland China and Taiwan were originally a unified country, using the same language and same alphabet characters. Now there are still similarities in many aspects; the differences are primarily governmental. Taiwan has become more Westernized and more developed in many ways. For instance, Taiwan is generally more affluent and open to Western influences. With different social environments, the higher educational systems on the two sides have gradually become different. The development of higher education is closely related to a nation's power, especially in an era of globalization and knowledge economy. Because of the antagonistic situation that has always existed between the two sides, the system of cooperation and the exchange of ideas for higher education have encountered difficulties. However, since the end of 2001, with both sides successively entering the World Trade Organization (WTO), both are confronted with the trends of the world. In such circumstances, how can communication and cooperation be facilitated between the international community and both sides as higher education becomes an important issue? It is necessary to promote the awareness that mainland China and Taiwan both have the need for higher educational development, which can result in massive returns on investments. The purpose of this study was to find characteristics and weaknesses of higher education in the two sides from a macroscopic perspective, which could be used as reference for exchange by both sides and for conformity with international higher education. (Contains 1 table.)