A new scholarship program is to sponsor youth from Taiwan's diplomatic allies for exchange in Taiwan, with 75 openings this year under two categories, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. Eric Lin, a deputy chief at the ministry's Department of Policy Planning, says at a news conference that the new scholarship program is one of the programs under the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative, which President William Lai announced on Jan. 24.
The initiative facilitates young Taiwanese to study abroad as well as bringing young people from Taiwan's diplomatic allies to Taiwan. Under Lai’s instruction, the foreign ministry and Ministry of Education are cooperating to launch the Youth Allies Global Pathfinder Program, which would be implemented by the International Cooperation and Development Fund, Lin said.
"This program would deepen ties with diplomatic allies by sponsoring young people to come for exchanges in Taiwan", he says. "The program is divided into two categories", Lin stated.
The first one is program-based, in the sense that participants would apply to take part in a two-week government-organized programme, the ministries explained, with 50 spots available. There would be two cycles taken under this category this year, one during July and one in December, that would include sustainable tourism and smart agriculture, he explained.
"The second category of 25 slots is proposal-based, and applicants would submit separate proposals to work on a project in Taiwan", Lin says. The projects under this category will begin in September, he said, noting that they would be between two weeks and three months.
Besides, Lin also stated that the ministry aims to double the recipients of the Taiwan Scholarship over the next two years, increasing the quota from 200 to 500 by the following school year.
The quota for the Taiwan Fellowship is also being raised this year from 100 to 125 recipients annually, he added. Since its inception in 2004, the Taiwan Scholarship has funded over 3,000 Taiwanese young people from the country's diplomatic allies to pursue studies in Taiwan. Since its inception in 2010, the Taiwan Fellowship program has granted fellowships to over 1,500 scholars from across the globe, he added.
