Palau Wave Productions

Taiwan provides scholarship to young Palauan students to improve social development and stimulate economic growth in Palau.

Thirteen Palauan students are offered opportunities to study and obtain an undergraduate or postgraduate degree from Taiwan’s universities in 2018. It is a record-breaking number since the Taiwan Scholarship Program started in 2005.

Out of the thirteen scholarship recipients, two students are to be enrolled in the Taiwan Naval Academy to be trained as Palau marine law enforcement officer. Seven students receive Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Scholarship and two receive International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF) scholarship. Another two scholarship are offered by Kainan University, whose President Mr. Lin, Chin-Po, is also the founder of the Taiwan Royal Group and owner of the Palau Royal Resort, as an aspiration to feed back to the Palauan society.

On July 31, 2018, Taiwan Scholarship recipients and their parents were invited to an Orientation held by the Taiwan Embassy at the Meeting room of the Ministry of Education (MOE). Ambassador Wallace Chow congratulated the recipients for passing the highly competitive selection process and expressed his gratitude for the assistance provided by the MOE and the Palau National Scholarship Board (PNSB). Ambassador Wallace said the purpose of the Taiwan Scholarship is to provide recipients with skills and knowledge to drive change and influence economic and social development in Palau.

Minister of Education Sinton Soalablai emphasized that the success rate of the Palaun students in Taiwan is the reason why the number of recipients increases. Therefore, the performance of the recipients not only affects them, but also has influence on future opportunities provided by the Taiwan Government. PNSB chairperson Dr. Christopher Kitalong reminded recipients not to fear challenges and difficulties and encourage them to work hard. In the end, all the efforts will pay off. Ambassador Wallace also invited scholarship recipients from last year to share their experiences in Taiwan.

Each year, Taiwan Government provides around 10 scholarships to Palauan students. Scholarships are merit based and applicants will be assessed on their leadership, potential, academic competence and their potential to impact on development challenges in Palau. The scholarship program demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to providing educational opportunities to improve social development and stimulate economic growth in Palau. The priority fields for the scholarship include health, education, engineering, environment, and agriculture.