離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》MOE instructs schools to care for Nauruan students
The entrance to the Ministry of Education building in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education （MOE） yesterday instructed schools in which 52 Nauruan students are enrolled to provide them with any necessary care and counseling after the two countries severed official diplomatic ties earlier in the day.
There are 52 Nauruan students enrolled in schools in Taiwan, including 21 who are degree-seeking students and 31 who are learning Mandarin, ministry statistics show.
Of those students, 30 are currently receiving scholarships awarded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs （MOFA）.
The MOE said it would respect the MOFA’s decision on whether to continue granting scholarships to those students.
No Taiwanese students are studying in Nauru, the MOE said.
The MOE added it would contact schools with Nauruan students to remind them to provide the students with care and counseling.
Ming Chuan University in Taipei has eight Nauruan degree-seeking students and seven students enrolled in its Mandarin Studies and Culture Center.
Lynne Lee （李藍瑜）, vice president of international affairs at Ming Chuan University, said the school would ask whether its
Nauruan students would like to continue studying in Taiwan.
Citing past experiences of nations severing official ties with Taiwan, Lee said that sometimes countries provide individuals with student loans to help them finish their studies in their home country or they transfer them to a third country.
If they choose to stay, Ming Chuan would assess whether it can offer them any assistance, Lee said.
Andy Liou （劉艾華）, secretary-general of Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said the school has five Nauruan students and all of them are MOFA Taiwan
Scholarship recipients.
If MOFA discontinues scholarship payments as a result of the ending of official ties, Tamkang would ask the students whether they wish to stay in Taiwan and finish their studies, Liou said.
A spokesperson for Tunghai University in Taichung said the university has five Nauruan students receiving a MOFA Taiwan Scholarship.
School administrators would contact each of them individually to find out whether they want to continue their studies or whether the Nauruan government has contacted them about their education.
It would also contact the relevant agency to find out whether the MOE’s Huayu Enrichment Scholarship would be affected by the severance of diplomatic ties, the spokesperson added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
