During the Double Ten National Day holiday, the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) held a Parents' Day event for parents of overseas compatriot students. 175 parents from Vietnam were invited to better understand their children(CNA)s educational progress in Taiwan. (CNA)
OCAC Minister Hsin-hsing Wu asks parents of overseas compatriot students to entrust Taiwan with their children. (CNA)
Overseas compatriot students from Juang Jing Vocational High School confidently showed off their movie character hair and makeup. (CNA)
An overseas compatriot student from San Sin High School of Commerce and Home Economics demonstrates his flair bartending skills. (CNA)
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) invited 175 parents of overseas compatriot students from Vietnam to learn about the progress of their children's studies in Taiwan during the Double Ten National Holiday.
Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Hsin-hsing Wu, expressed that the government is actively promoting the New Southbound Policy, and the number of overseas compatriot students studying in Taiwan has grown substantially in recent years. OCAC hopes that when these students return to their regions of residence upon graduation, they would make good use of what they had learned, contribute their strengths, and become the best spokespersons for Taiwan.
Minister Wu mentioned that in order to encourage overseas compatriot students to come to Taiwan for schooling, the Overseas Credit Guarantee Fund has provided student loans, so that the students need not worry about funding and can concentrate on their studies.
Additionally, the OCAC said that ever since 2014, overseas compatriot students who pursue schooling in Taiwan may choose to remain in Taiwan to develop their careers, as long as they pass the "New Scoring Criteria for Foreign and Overseas Chinese Students to Work in Taiwan" conducted by the Ministry of Labor.
During Parents' Day activities, students who came to Taiwan to take part in "3+4 Vocational Education Program for Overseas Compatriot Students" (3 years of vocational high school plus 4 years of science and technology university) held performances to showcase their achievements.
OCAC noted that the overseas compatriot students who participated in Parents' Day came from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. There was a variety of performances including robot dance, fruit carving, and a fashion catwalk, to demonstrate the results of their studies at the technical and vocational schools. Furthermore, two students who have graduated from vocational high school and entered the science and technology university this year, shared about their experiences of studying in Taiwan.
Fu-hai Xu, who came from Vietnam, shared that it was his dream to pursue education in Taiwan. He recalled that when he first arrived, he could not speak a word of Mandarin . But after immersing in the school's perfect Chinese language learning environment, he is now proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and is full of confidence and expectations for the future.
Another student from Indonesia, Jiajia Guo, said that this is her first time to leave home and study abroad. Initially, her parents had opposed, but after understanding her schooling and life in Taiwan, they are now fully supportive, and this makes her feel very contented.
OCAC expressed that parents of overseas compatriot students were invited to Taiwan to participate in the Double Ten National Day celebration and the Parents' Day event for the first time this year. In addition to providing parents with a better understanding of their children's schooling progress in Taiwan, OCAC also hopes that as the government promotes the New Southbound Policy, this will increase the number of overseas compatriot students from Southeast Asia pursuing education in Taiwan.
The number of students enrolled in the "3+4 Vocational Education Program for Overseas Compatriot Students" last year was approximate 750, and the number of students enrolled this year has increased to 1,034.
(CNA)
