Representative to India Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱) on Friday presented scholarships to more than 100 Indian students, saying he hoped they would become an “important bridge” between the countries.
The recipients were introduced to elements of Taiwanese life and culture, including food, clothing, housing and education, at a ceremony at the New Delhi-based Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the country.
More than 40 students were awarded Taiwan Scholarships, which fund university-level study, while more than 90 received Mandarin-language Huayu Enrichment Scholarships, Ger said.
Photo: CNA
“Indian students are very enthusiastic about going to Taiwan to pursue further studies or learn Chinese,” he said.
Ger said he was optimistic that the students would “become an important bridge for economic, trade and other exchanges between Taiwan and India.”
Sugandha Tandon, a doctoral candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University who was awarded a one-year scholarship to study Mandarin in Taiwan, said that learning the language is essential for her research.
Tandon’s research explores the relationship between art and politics during the era of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東), the Web site of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, says.
Krishna Anoop, a recent high-school graduate, said she learned about the opportunity from her teacher and was happy to receive a scholarship to study courses related to artificial intelligence in Taiwan.
Taiwan was her first choice and an “ideal environment” for overseas study, because of its outstanding living conditions, relatively low tuition fees and world-leading levels of personal safety, she said.
Chen Li-ying (陳立穎), director of the Education Division of the TECC in India, said that even after raising the eligibility criteria, the Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship each received more than 200 applications this year.
About 3,000 Indians are studying in Taiwan, while more than 500 have been awarded government scholarships in the past decade, the center said.
However, this year’s scholarships come as Taipei seeks to bolster ties with India, Taiwan’s 16th-largest trading partner.
In June, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election in a post on X.
Modi replied the same day.
“Thank you (@ChingteLai) for your warm message. I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership,” he said.
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