Fiji hails China's government scholarship program

Fiji's Minister for Education Mahendra Reddy hailed China's government scholarship program Thursday, as 12 Fijian students were issued university admission letters at the Chinese Embassy, getting ready to pursue further studies in the friendly Asian country.

The 12 students, after going through a complete process of recommendation, assessment, interview and panel review, have been admitted by a range of colleges and universities in China for undergraduate or postgraduate programs with full scholarships provided by the Chinese government, said Chinese Ambassador Zhang Ping.

"On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I would like to extend warm congratulations to these students and their families," Zhang said, shortly before he handed out the university admission letters to the students.

Reddy, present at the ceremony, spoke highly of Fiji-China ties as well as the Chinese government scholarship program.

"Fiji was the first Pacific island country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1975, followed by the establishment of the Chinese Embassy in Suva in May 1976. Since then, Fiji has not looked back in terms of nurturing that relationship with China to great heights," Reddy said.

Since 1984, he said, more than 130 Fijian students have gone to study in China under the Chinese government scholarship program, and many students who have benefitted from the Chinese government scholarships have come back to Fiji and assisted in the various sectors of the economy.

"Fiji really needs experts in the disciplines of science, aviation engineering, law, medicine and tourism management, thus, the investment by the Chinese government is both timely and visionary," said the Fijian education minister. Endit