_{Taiwan Scholarship ceromony}

By Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 13, 2025

More than 60 Belizean students were granted scholarships through the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Belize to further their education in the Republic of China, Taiwan. A total of 64 students will be departing the country – 34 under the Taiwan MOFA Scholarship and 30 under the Taiwan ICDF Scholarship.    

The students were officially presented with the scholarships during an orientation ceremony on Monday, August 10, at the Belize Biltmore Plaza.

“You are our ambassadors. Make use of that opportunity. Learn about the Taiwanese culture, their experiences, and be able to return home to put to good use that knowledge, the skill, the attitudes and values that you’re going to be learning,” said Hon. Oscar Requena, Minister of Education, during his remarks.

The students will participate in mandatory Mandarin Chinese courses before pursuing their program of choice.

This year, the areas of study selected by the students includes digital media, sustainable energy, tropical agriculture, business administration, human resource management, public health, ICT, AI, education, tourism, and international relations.

Over 700 Belizean students have had the opportunity to pursue a higher education in Taiwan since the program’s inception over two decades ago.

“I think these kinds of people-to-people connections are the foundation for our bilateral relations, and because the field was offered to Belizean students who study in Taiwan, it’s so vast and diversified, and it is much related to the development of Belize, and I always consider these young ambassadors can be the connection between the two countries,” said Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize.

Those in attendance at the ceremony included Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Culture, and Immigration; Hon. Oscar Requena, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management; and distinguished alumni Katherine Meighan, Ambassador-Designate of Belize to Taiwan; and Dr. Kenrick Williams, Deputy Permanent Representative of Belize to the UN.

Belize and Taiwan have maintained bilateral relations since 1989.