Introduction to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Huayu (Mandarin) Enrichment Scholarship

(MOFA HES)

I. Purpose

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 MOFAHuayu (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.

II. Offers

  1. The monthly stipend is NT$25,000 (approximately US$775, 1 Taiwanese dollar = 0.031 US dollar as of June 17, 2010).Recipients should study Mandarin at a Mandarin training center affiliated witha university or college accredited by the ROC Ministry of Education. The centers are toremit the scholarship to the recipients no later than the tenth day of each month,and assume that the recipientsmaintaining good attendance and academic performance records.
  2. One economy-class, direct-route round trip international airfare ticket will be provided.

III. Duration of Scholarship

  1. Duration:between six months (minimum) and1 year (maximum).
  2. Award periods

(1)The yearly award period is from September 1 of the beginning year through August 31of the following year.Failing to undertake the study in Taiwan during this period will resultin 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 31of the following year.

(3)In the event that a recipient arrives latein 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.

  1. In the event that a recipient quits the program oris expelled, or the scholarship is revoked, the recipient will no longer receive the scholarship.

IV. Scholarship Quota

Each year, MOFA notifies the overseasembassiesthe scholarship quota by April 30. The embassies should announce the scholarship quota and application by May 15.

V. Eligibility

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 anROC 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 overseasuniversity/college and an educational institute in Taiwan at the time of receiving theMOFA HES;
  6. Has never received an award under this scholarship program, the Ministry of Education Huayu Enrichment Scholarshiporthe 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.

VI. Application and Selection Process

1.Application regulations and selection process: The ROCembassies 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 May 15, and a copy sent to MOFA for review.

2. Application period: The recommended application period is from May 15 through June 30 each year, but the respective embassiesmay 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 followingdocuments to the nearest ROCembassyin 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 relevantROC embassy.

4. Selection: After reviewing all the applications, the ROCembassiessend a list of pre-selected recipients to the appropriateMandarin training centersfor their reference when considering whether to admit the prospectiveapplicants.

5. Admission: Interested students must submit all of their application materials before the applicationdeadline. After receivingthe list of recipients and wait-listed candidates for the MOFA HES, the Mandarin training centerswill review the applicationsfor admission and mail them the resultsby July 31.

6. Notification of admission: After receivingan admissionletter from a Mandarin training center, the recipients must send a photocopy of theadmission letter to theROCembassy in his/her home country to verifythe award status before the deadline. Should they fail to do so, theROCembassywill offer the recipient’s scholarship to the next person on the waiting list. The ROC embassies are to issue anofficial 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 ScholarshipMOFA HES website by August 20. A name list (Appendix 2) should be sent to the Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship Program Office (“Scholarship Office”), with photocopiesbeing sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, as well astheMandarin training centers accepting therecipients (the attached appendices also sent to the said agencies).

VII. Suspension and Revocation

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) cancelledand be permanently disqualified from receiving anotherMOFA HES, should one of the following situations arise:

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.

Failto 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.

Fail to earna final score for any study term/quarter, unless for serious medical reasons.

Withdrawal or be expulsed from school.

Concurrently receive one or more other scholarships/ subsidiesfrom an ROC governmental or educational institution.

(2) If a recipient withdrawalsor 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.

VIII. Transfer of Schools

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 photocopiesof the notification to MOFA, the relatedembassy, the Scholarship Office and the recipient.

IX. Scholarship Payment and Reimbursement

The Mandarin training centers are expected to comply with the following schedule and methodsto apply for the scholarship payments and reimbursements/distributionsto the ScholarshipOffice each year.

1. Schedule

(1) The monthly scholarship for the period from Septemberto December should be paid by August 10 and reimbursed by December 15.

(2) The monthly scholarshipfor the period from January to August should be paid by December 10 the previous year and reimbursedby August 31.

2. Method

(1) Payment: Therecipient name list and the receipt of payment are attached. The name of the paying institution is the “Taiwan Scholarshipand 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 receiptsor otherdocuments proving that the scholarship has been disbursed to the recipients’ account should be sent to theScholarshipOffice for reimbursement, and the balance should be paid.

X. CounselingServices and Hours of the Mandarin Training Centers

1. After the scholarship recipientsenroll, every Mandarin training center should hold an orientation for them to explain the payments, including the conditions for the suspension and revocationthereof. The centers are responsible for the scholarship payments, as well as thesuspension and revocationthereof.

  1. The Mandarin training centers should submit a list of recipients who fail to enroll at the scheduled time to the ScholarshipOffice and MOFA within two weeks of registration of each study term. Photocopiesof the list should be sent to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, National Police Agency, National Immigration Agency, and the related embassies.
  2. During the recipients’ stay in Taiwan, the Mandarin training centers shoulddesignate personnel to maintain contact with the scholarship recipients and provide counseling and assistance, if needed.
  3. 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.
  4. The Mandarin training centers are to arrange theTOPfor the recipients, with the feesfor the tests to be paid by the scholarship recipients directly or be deducted from the scholarship for the month of the test.
  5. The recipientsare 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.
  6. Recipients should submit to the Mandarin training center an articlein Mandarin or English about their learning experiences in Taiwanand give authorizationto MOFA to be published.

XI. Assistance from ROCembassies

  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 andthe process for applying for anAlien 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 recipientsafter 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 MOFAfor its reference.

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