MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New beneficiaries of Taiwanese scholarships announced in Asunción

Taiwan's Ambassador to Asunción José Chih-Cheng Han vowed the student exchange programs and scholarships will continue over time.

Taiwan's Embassy in Asunción launched this week the 2022 edition of the program for Paraguayan students willing to pursue their educational goals on the Asian island.

“I think we should take advantage of the opportunity to train with excellence and with everything we receive in this country that already has decades of relations with Paraguay,” said Nahiara Gamarra who spoke on behalf of this year's 56 beneficiaries.

The various programs offered include Mandarin Chinese, Police Sciences (for law enforcement personnel and Ministry of the Interior officials), as well as scholarships for undergraduate studies lasting five years.

Since 1991, Taiwan has offered some 609 scholarships to study in Taiwanese universities in different areas, such as Agronomy, Languages, Police Sciences, Mandarin Chinese, Education Sciences, and other branches of Engineering. This year the benefit reaches 56 students.

“Education is the key to the development of our people; for this reason, we have been working with Paraguay in this field for two decades,” Taiwanese Ambassador José Han said. He added that these will continue over time, as planned with bilateral relations.

Han also joked that the Embassy was looking for Guarani teachers so that all staffers are knowledgeable in the country's second language.

The launching ceremony was also attended by Paraguayan Ministers Nicolás Zárate (Economy) and Federico González (Interior).

At a time when most countries openly announce their allegiance to the Beijing-backed principle of “One China,” Paraguay remains one of the few governments to do business openly with Taipei. Even the United States does not have an Embassy in Taiwan despite its support for what Beijing calls “a rogue province.”