The 2017 Ministry of Education Huayu Enrichment Scholarships for students from eastern Canada was awarded at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada (TECO in Canada) in Ottawa on June 29. This year, 11 Canadian applicants successfully passed the competitive selection process, with their excellent academic background and strong motivation. The Education Division of TECO in Canada hosted an orientation to briefly introduce studying Mandarin in Taiwan and to hand out the Award Certificates.

The orientation gave the recipients a great opportunity to ask questions, exchange information and opinions, raise any concerns they have, and taste some of Taiwan’s famous traditional desserts. Some of the recipients have been to Taiwan and others had heard good reports from their friends about things they really like about Taiwan, including its people, food, weather, culture, and the convenience of living, and everyone is looking forward to studying Mandarin in Taiwan.

The Huayu Enrichment Scholarships are designed to bring foreign students who are interested in Mandarin to Taiwan, to promote the learning of Mandarin and the traditional Chinese characters, and to increase foreign students' understanding of the culture and historical development of Taiwan. It is hoped that having outstanding young overseas students spend time studying in Taiwan will help establish long-term cooperative relationships between Taiwan and other countries, promote economic, commercial, educational and cultural exchanges, and improve Taiwan's global competitiveness, and international profile.

Globalization trends are now affecting higher education all around the world, and international exchanges and cooperation allow young students to understand and have exchanges with other cultures. This is an important step in turning young scholars into global citizens. Taiwan is taking an active part in this by welcoming overseas students and offering a number of scholarships.

The Executive Yuan launched the Taiwan and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Programs in 2004. This is a joint project of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the National Science Council as part of a broad program of innovation in the areas of education, diplomacy, economics, and academics.

Picture:2017 MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship recipients at the orientation