Introduction to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Huayu (Mandarin) Enrichment Scholarship (MOFA HES)
To encourage students and individuals from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC, a.k.a. Taiwan) to undertake Mandarin study in Taiwan, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) established the MOFA Huayu (Mandarin) Enrichment Scholarship (MOFA HES) Program in 2010. The MOFA HES aims to promote friendship between peoples of Taiwan and its diplomatic allies as well as give the recipients a better understanding and appreciation of Taiwan’s culture.
1.The monthly stipend is NT$25,000 (approximately US$862, 1 Taiwanese dollar = 0.034 US dollar as of January 31, 2011). Recipients should study Mandarin at a Mandarin training center affiliated with a university or college accredited by the ROC Ministry of Education. The centers are to remit the scholarship to the recipients no later than the tenth day of each month, and assume that the recipients maintaining good attendance and academic performance records.
2.One economy-class, direct-route round trip international airfare ticket will be provided.
1.Duration: between six months (minimum) and 1 year (maximum).
2.Award periods
(1)The yearly award period is from September 1 of the beginning year through August 31 of the following year. Failing to undertake the study in Taiwan during this period will result in the cancellation of the recipients’ award status.
(2)Recipients should arrive and enroll for the study term/quarter at the Mandarin training center as specified in the MOFA HES. Recipients may defer their matriculation if the case first approved by the related Mandarin training center and MOFA, nonetheless, the award period expires on August 31 of the following year.
(3)In the event that a recipient arrives late in Taiwan due to the completion of the application processing, he/she will start receiving the stipend from the month of their enrollment at the mandarin center in Taiwan.
3.In the event that a recipient quits the program or is expelled, or the scholarship is revoked, the recipient will no longer receive the scholarship.
Each year, MOFA notifies the overseas embassies the scholarship quota by Dec 31. The embassies should announce the scholarship quota and application by Feb 1.
The applicant must meet all of the following criteria:
1.Be 18 years of age or older, possess a high school diploma or above, perform well at his/her most recent academic institution and be of good moral character;
2.Is not an ROC national;
3.Does not have the status of being an ROC overseas compatriot student;
4.Is not currently a registered student at any Mandarin training center and never has been a degree-seeking student at a university or college in Taiwan;
5.Is not an exchange student in accordance with an academic cooperation agreement between an overseas university/college and an educational institute in Taiwan at the time of receiving the MOFA HES;
6.Has never received an award under this scholarship program, the Ministry of Education Huayu Enrichment Scholarship or the Taiwan Scholarship Program;
7.Is not a recipient of any other scholarship or subsidy offered by the ROC government or any other educational institutions in Taiwan at the time of receiving the MOFA HES.
1. Application regulations and selection process: The ROC embassies should establish regulations on applying for the scholarship according to this introduction, as well as application and selection process. The latter two may be completed in cooperation with a local governmental or educational institution. The application and selection regulations should be publicized by Feb 1, and a copy sent to MOFA for review.
2. Application period: The recommended application period is from Feb 1 through March 31 each year, but the respective embassies may set their own application periods. For application guidelines and forms, as well as information on a particular country’s quota, selection process and results, interested persons should contact the ROC embassy in his/her home country directly.
3. Application documents: The applicant should send the following documents to the nearest ROC embassy in his/her home country:
(1)One copy of the completed application form;
(2)One photocopy of the passport or other certificates proving nationality;
(3)One photocopy of the highest-level diploma received and transcript;
(4)Supporting admission application materials (e.g. photocopies of application forms for Mandarin training centers); and
(5)Any additional documents specified by the relevant ROC embassy.
4. Selection: After reviewing all the applications, the ROC embassies send a list of pre-selected recipients to the appropriate Mandarin training centers for their reference when considering whether to admit the prospective applicants by April 30.
5. Admission: Interested students must submit all of their application materials before the application deadline. After receiving the list of recipients and wait-listed candidates for the MOFA HES, the Mandarin training centers will review the applications for admission and mail them the results by June 15.
6. Notification of admission: After receiving an admission letter from a Mandarin training center, the recipients must send a photocopy of the admission letter to the ROC embassy in his/her home country to verify the award status by June 30. Should they fail to do so, the ROC embassy will offer the recipient’s scholarship to the next person on the waiting list. The ROC embassies are to issue an official award status (see Appendix 1) to the recipients. Those recipients unable to obtain admission to a Mandarin training center letter will forfeit their candidacy.
7. The embassies should fill out the recipients’ information in the Taiwan Scholarship MOFA HES website by July31. A name list (Appendix 2) should be sent to the Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program Office (“Scholarship Office”), with photocopies being sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, as well as the Mandarin training centers accepting the recipients (the attached appendices also sent to the said agencies).
1. Suspension:
(1)If a recipient is absent from his/her language classes for 12 hours or more within a single month for reasons other than medical and critical reasons, the stipend will be suspended for one month.
(2)Beginning from the second term/quarter of his/her study in Taiwan, a recipient must earn an average score of 80 out of 100 or have the stipend suspended for one month.
(3) Recipients must submit their TOP (Test of Proficiency-Huayu) score transcripts to the institutions where they are studying within their award period. It should be noted that the test level will depend on the teacher's suggestion of test taker based on their in-class performance. Recipients who fail to do so will lose one month's stipend. Recipients have to pay their own fees for TOP.
2. Revocation:
(1) A recipient will have his/her remaining stipend (if any) cancelled and be permanently disqualified from receiving another MOFA HES, should one of the following situations arise:
a.Fail to submit at the registration for each study term a photocopy of his/her Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) with the reason "Pursuing Studies" by the deadlines as specified by his/her Mandarin training center.
b.Fail to achieve an average score of 80 or above (out of 100) for two consecutive terms/quarters of study, beginning from the second term/quarter of his/her study in Taiwan.
c.Fail to earn a final score for any study term/quarter, unless for serious medical reasons.
d.Drop out or be expelled from their institutions, violate R.O.C. laws, receive major demerits.
e.Concurrently receive one or more other scholarships / subsidies from an ROC governmental or educational institution.
(2) If a recipient withdrawals or is expelled from school, the Mandarin training center should immediately suspend the scholarship and notify MOFA in writing of the cancellation of the recipient’s award. A photocopy of the correspondence then will be sent to the Scholarship Office, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, the ROC embassy and the recipient.
(3) Should the authorities discover that a student has been receiving two (or more) scholarships or subsidies at the same time, the student will not only lose the remainder of the MOFA HES, but also be required to return the part already disbursed.
1.Transfer criteria: After studying for a term/quarter at a Mandarin training center in Taiwan, a recipient with an award period of one year may request to transfer once during the rest of his/her scholarship tenure, but only if both educational institutions involved approve the request. Recipients having an award period of less than one year may not apply for a transfer.
2.Notification of the transfer of award: After a recipient’s transfer request is approved, the new Mandarin training center should notify the previous one in writing to transfer the remaining stipend and send photocopies of the notification to MOFA, the related embassy, the Scholarship Office and the recipient.
The Mandarin training centers are expected to comply with the following schedule and methods to apply for the scholarship payments and reimbursements/distributions to the Scholarship Office each year.
1. Schedule
(1) The monthly scholarship for the period from September to December should be paid by August 10 and reimbursed by December 15.
(2) The monthly scholarship for the period from January to August should be paid by December 10 the previous year and reimbursed by August 31.
2. Method
(1) Payment: The recipient name list and the receipt of payment are attached. The name of the paying institution is the “Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program Office”. If the Scholarship Office cannot issue the payment on time due to unusual circumstances, the Mandarin training centers should pay the monthly scholarship to the overseas students on time and wait for reimbursement by the Scholarship Office.
(2) Reimbursement: Payment receipts or other documents proving that the scholarship has been disbursed to the recipients’ account should be sent to the Scholarship Office for reimbursement, and the balance should be paid.
1.After the scholarship recipients enroll, every Mandarin training center should hold an orientation for them to explain the payments, including the conditions for the suspension and revocation thereof. The centers are responsible for the scholarship payments, as well as the suspension and revocation thereof.
2.The Mandarin training centers should submit a list of recipients who fail to enroll at the scheduled time to the Scholarship Office and MOFA within two weeks of registration of each study term. Photocopies of the list should be sent to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, and the related embassies.
3.During the recipients’ stay in Taiwan, the Mandarin training centers should designate personnel to maintain contact with the scholarship recipients and provide counseling and assistance, if needed.
4.The Mandarin training centers should arrange cultural courses, outdoor excursions, keynote speeches and other activities for the scholarship recipients. This is to complement the compulsory language courses arranged for them, with classes lasting a minimum of 15 hours per week.
5.The Mandarin training centers are to arrange the TOP for the recipients, with the fees for the tests to be paid by the scholarship recipients directly or be deducted from the scholarship for the month of the test.
6.The recipients are required by law to participate in the National Health Insurance Plan and purchase student accident insurances during study in Taiwan. The recipients’ schools are to deduct the fees for these insurance plans from the stipends directly.
7.Recipients should submit to the Mandarin training center an article in Mandarin or English about their learning experiences in Taiwan and give authorization to MOFA to be published.
1.ROC embassies should introduce the scholarship program to the local government, universities and students by providing information about learning Mandarin in Taiwan. The embassies are also responsible for processing the scholarship applications and, therefore, selecting the recipients. They also have to help the recipients with their visa applications and have the recipients sign the Terms of Agreement for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program (Appendix 3).
2.Before the recipients come to Taiwan, the ROC embassy should host an orientation to explain the regulations of this scholarship and the process for applying for an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC). Recipients should also be reminded not to work illegally and be given information on living in Taiwan. The embassy should try to maintain contact with the recipients after they return from Taiwan, invite the recipients to give presentations on their learning and living experiences in Taiwan, and submit a comprehensive review of their trip to MOFA for its reference.
