Yeah I’m not commenting on the legality of it. I’m just saying they do exist.
That still doesn’t answer the question: why give a permanent resident a new permanent residency? What am I missing here? To me this whole thing just looks like a giant PR stunt for the university without providing any tangible benefit to the professor.
If he decides to later on naturalize it will be easier for him. But I think it’s more about the prestige of being a plum blossom.
with the speed of Indian bureaucracy and the sheer numbers of Indians overseas, i guess it will take them decades to catch eveyone 
Which route?
Plum blossom naturalization
The contributions to Taiwan route. Can be applied directly with a HRO without having to get Plum Blossom first. The qualifications required are essentially the same as getting a Plum Blossom, if not easier.
What’s the Chinese test like for it?
I believe this thread has all you’d ever want to know about it Cracking the Naturalization Language Exam - A Guide
A Jordanian engineer … has been awarded the Plum Blossom Card by the National Immigration Agency (NIA).
Mohammed Amer, a Jordanian senior engineer, researches heat sources such as nanofluid heat transfer, heat exchangers, and frosting and defrosting, according to the NIA. He came to Taiwan in 2015 to study for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Wasn’t the whole goal of this program to give skilled professionals outside of Taiwan a quick path to permanent residency? Unlike India Jordan doesn’t have any restrictions on dual citizenship, so that can’t be the issue here.
You are right in observing that the Plum Blossom card allowed applicants to skip over the five year residency rule that standard APRC holders needed to fulfill. But it doesn’t follow that applicants need to be outside of Taiwan to benefit from this program. The guy applied and got it—good for him.
Guy
What is the benefit beyond a regular APRC, which presumably someone living in Taiwan for 8 years already has? If this engineer’s goal was a fast track to citizenship he could have simply applied directly with the HRO, given his qualifications.
The HRO application is, to put it mildly, not straightforward compared to the Plum Blossom application. I’ve just begun, and I already feel like punching some walls. 
And given the guy’s background (having done years of graduate school in Taiwan), I don’t even know if he had the years for a regular APRC. Remember that for quite while (possibly when this guy applied), all those years of school meant nothing in terms of the five years needed for a regular APRC. The Plum Blossom card would allow him to bypass that (as well as avoid the pesky NT$10,000 application fee, and the police check—at least that was the case when I went through this process).
Guy
So is guy going local? When do you estimate you’ll get your passport… if all goes well? Also, through that route, do you still need to be a NWHOR for a year?
If by “guy” you mean “Guy,” then yes I am trying.
It will take a while. No idea about the NWHOR situation, I’m just at the beginning of the process.
Guy
Well I’m not sure if you are just a guy, or you are Guy.
My friends avoid that ambiguity by calling me “afterspivak.” 
Guy
Well, I was told by NIA when I tried to apply for Plum Blossom that they don’t accept applications from individuals and then they went ahead and refused to accept my application. I would say the HRO route is much more straightforward.
Which office? The Taipei City NIA guys I dealt with were very happy to receive PB Card applications including mine.
Guy
Yes the Taipei office. Although to be fair this wasn’t the only reason they cited for not accepting my application. Others included:
Thankfully MOST and MOEA disagreed with that assessment!