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School Starts and the Number of Scholarship Recipients Hits a Record High
Department of International and Cross-strait Education
Contact: Lin, Hsin-Pei Tel: (02)7736-5731 Email: hslin@mail.moe.gov.tw
The number of recipients of the Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program (the Program) hit the record high! The Program was established in 2004 to encourage outstanding foreign students to study in Taiwan. Held on October 2, 2017, the 13th Program Welcome Party attracted over 600 scholarship recipients from 74 countries.
The Program organized annually by Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Science and Technology attracts more and more outstanding foreign applicants year by year. This year, the number of applicants hit the record high and there were 1,490 scholarship recipients from 84 countries.
According to the New Southbound Policy, Ministry of Education promoted the New Southbound Talent Development Program in 2016, which takes a people-oriented approach and aims to foster bilateral exchange and mutual resources sharing. One of the highlights is to expand bilateral exchange between students. In 2017, Ministry of Education granted the Taiwan Scholarship to 193 freshmen from new southbound countries, nearly doubled compared with the number of the recipients last year (100); the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (one-year) was granted to 82 recipients, compared with 63 recipients last year. This year, a total of 363 freshmen from new southbound countries were granted the Program by Ministry of Education, an increase of 148 recipients compared with last year.
In the speech, Yao, Leehter, Political Deputy Minister of Education, indicated that according to the New Southbound Policy, Ministry of Education encourages students to experience Southeast Asia and South Asia, while hoping to recruit more outstanding foreign students to study or learn in Taiwan. He encouraged scholarship recipients to interact with the locals and make new friends during their study in Taiwan, further becoming cultural ambassadors.
Tooly Burocher, a scholarship recipient from Haiti, has studied in Department of Diplomacy, National Chengchi University for two years and speaks Chinese fluently. He even participated in a singing talent show called Super Red and sang Taiwanese songs, making him become the defending champion for ten weeks. He loves traveling and has traveled attractions in the West Taiwan. He is no stranger to all kinds of Taiwan's snacks and has tasted stinky tofu, which most foreigners are afraid to try. He is fully immersed in Taiwanese life.
Masatoshi Nakamura, another scholarship recipient from Kyoto, Japan, currently studies in Graduate Institute of Management, National Taiwan Normal University. Having studied in Taiwan for 6 years, he loves Taiwan very much, especially Taiwanese that is full of hospitality. He even said that he has the blood of Taiwanese people. He hopes to stay and work in Taiwan and make a contribution to land that supports him throughout the journey.
The 2017 Welcome Party is divided into two parts. The first part is the seminar where freshmen get to understand the notice of scholarships fast; the second part is the welcome party where Tooly Burocher sang two Taiwanese songs (No Sleep and Fool) and shared his stay in Taiwan. Last, a tea party was scheduled to treat ambassadors, guests, and students with Taiwanese snacks and facilitate interaction in a relaxed atmosphere, while celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in advance.