2013-2014 MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES)

I’m filling out the application right now and found this…

So now you’re required to have a Facebook account?!

Apparantly, I’m not required to have a Facebook account, but a Chinese name. It says every question has to be answered clearly and completely, and they ask for my Chinese name.

They can’t require me to have one, right?

Steve: That’s… incredible O_O. Fortunately, my district doesn’t ask for Facebook accounts…

Sko: I’m a newbie to this application process (so, I don’t know), but I’d do what they say and fill everything in-- it’s not hard to make up a Chinese name if you don’t have one. If you have a not-too-obscure first name, type it into Google Translate and it’ll give you the commonly accepted translation into Chinese. Of course, if you don’t want your Chinese name to sound like a foreigner’s, you’ll have to ask someone who knows Chinese to help you out :wink:.

I have a question about the references. Who’s a better reference: my boss or my Taiwanese language exchange partner? I’m guessing my language exchange partner, but I’m not sure if they’re looking for a character reference as well? Also, the announcement says nothing about how long the references should be or what language they should be written in… my boss would write English and my language exchange partner would prefer to write Chinese. Is either language OK?

It’s so annoying how little information they post online… perhaps this is their way of weeding out applicants :P.

Thanks ^_^.

[quote=“Caspian”]Sko: I’m a newbie to this application process (so, I don’t know), but I’d do what they say and fill everything in-- it’s not hard to make up a Chinese name if you don’t have one. If you have a not-too-obscure first name, type it into Google Translate and it’ll give you the commonly accepted translation into Chinese. Of course, if you don’t want your Chinese name to sound like a foreigner’s, you’ll have to ask someone who knows Chinese to help you out :wink:.
[/quote]
So, you’re telling me I can name myself whatever I want? :sunglasses: And without registering it somewhere beforehand?

Will what I write there carry any importance? Will I be registered somewhere as someone named “好酷” if I write that?

For many foreigners living in Taiwan, a Chinese name is more like a nickname. It doesn’t carry any legal importance and won’t be recorded anywhere. I’ve been using my Chinese name all over Taipei and no one has ever complained about the fact that I have no way to “prove” that this is, in fact, my name. If you ever do anything offocial where you need to prove your identity, you’ll be using your English name.

I hear that it’s even possible to change your Chinese name if you want-- you just start using your new name and nobody cares.

So, I’m almost positive that the HES won’t care what you put down as your Chinese name. Nobody else in Taiwan has bothered me about it :slight_smile:.

[quote=“Caspian”]For many foreigners living in Taiwan, a Chinese name is more like a nickname. It doesn’t carry any legal importance and won’t be recorded anywhere. I’ve been using my Chinese name all over Taipei and no one has ever complained about the fact that I have no way to “prove” that this is, in fact, my name. If you ever do anything offocial where you need to prove your identity, you’ll be using your English name.

I hear that it’s even possible to change your Chinese name if you want-- you just start using your new name and nobody cares.

So, I’m almost positive that the HES won’t care what you put down as your Chinese name. Nobody else in Taiwan has bothered me about it :slight_smile:.[/quote]

Agreed; just choose (or get help choosing) any name.

The only time I’ve personally found it mattered was dealing with vehicle ownership. I’ve owned 2 scooters—one bought privately from another foreigner and one bought brand new from the shop—and both times I was told I had to provide my Chinese name, and chop, to register them. Apparently they do check the chop when you want to sell the scooter, too. (At least that’s been my experience in Taoyuan).

Thanks, guys! I’ll just get to choosing one then!

And does anyone know what you’re supposed to write on the study plan? Exactly how I plan to study, like how I will plan my days for studying, or what? That doesn’t seem like something they’d ask.

[quote=“Sko”][quote=“Caspian”]Sko: I’m a newbie to this application process (so, I don’t know), but I’d do what they say and fill everything in-- it’s not hard to make up a Chinese name if you don’t have one. If you have a not-too-obscure first name, type it into Google Translate and it’ll give you the commonly accepted translation into Chinese. Of course, if you don’t want your Chinese name to sound like a foreigner’s, you’ll have to ask someone who knows Chinese to help you out :wink:.
[/quote]
So, you’re telling me I can name myself whatever I want? :sunglasses: And without registering it somewhere beforehand?

Will what I write there carry any importance? Will I be registered somewhere as someone named “好酷” if I write that?[/quote]

I thought my Chinese name was like a nick name, too. But then I got married. My English name is on the English translation, but the Mandarin document has my Chinese name on it! And when I had my son, the hospital put my Chinese name on my son’s ID braelet as well as mine. My Chinese name is on my son’s chinese birth certificate and our family registration paper. It’s on my ARC, has been on many of my employment contracts, bank accounts, my divorce decree, and whatever else!

Choose wisely. You could end up with a very official un-official Chinese name.

(I happen to like my Chinese name, so that’s nice, eh? Whew!)

Hey everyone,

So for those of us already in Taiwan, where do we submit our completed application forms? Thanks!

[quote=“umichplatonist”]Hey everyone,

So for those of us already in Taiwan, where do we submit our completed application forms? Thanks![/quote]

Are you originally from the US or Canada? I’m sending mine to the TECO listed for my former US address on this page.

Does your Chinese name choice become an official name on residency documents (an ARC or a JFRV)? I have a Chinese name, and I’ve implanted it into all of my official documents with my English name, but I figure its primary use would be convenient reference for officials who don’t speak English.

Right now I am working on scholarship application and I have little problem in paragraph no. 6. PRESENT EMPLOYMENT 現職狀況, I am student right now so I’m not employed. Shoud I write down anything in this paragraph? I mean I can write down details about my studies but its called EMPLOYMENT but im little concern if this is question about occupation in general, I have some previous experience (3 years) and in REFERENCES 推薦單位 (人) 資料 I should write references as my professors of my past employers? Please help this is very important

I’m a little confused about this application - do I simple fill out the application and attach it to the school I am applying for?

You should have a school in mind when applying for the scholarship and list it on the scholarship application.

If you’re planning to start in Sept. 2013 or later, then you need to apply to a school and send the school’s admission acceptance letter to TECO’s scholarship committee by June 30th.

If you’re planning to attend a summer 2013 2-month program, you should already have applied at the school because you need to include the school’s admission acceptance letter in the scholarship application package, which is due March 31st.

From the instructions online:

• What else should applicants do?
[ol][li]Please note that scholarship applications and language center admission applications are separate. Applicants are responsible for their application to the language centers that they would like to attend. Applicants who are granted scholarships are not guaranteed admission to any language center. Applicants must make note of the different deadlines for scholarships and school admission. As for the list of certified Chinese Language Centers and how to apply for admission, please refer to the Ministry of Education website.[/li]
[li]For summer 2-month program applicants, an admission acceptance letter of a certified language center should be enclosed right in application material package, and send to US for processing before March 31st.[/li]
[li]For those who apply for 3 to 12 months, applicants need to submit a copy of the admission letter to TECO in order to secure their scholarship by no later than June 30th.[/li]
[li]Late submission of these documents will be deemed as a waiver for accepting the scholarship. Candidates will be disqualified if they fail to pass the application review process of respective language centers.[/li][/ol]

My ARC has my English and Chinese name on it.

Just applied at the TECO in Ottawa, good luck to you all!

Thanks. Good luck to you, too.

Finished my application and got it sent to the TECO in NY. Good luck to everyone!!

Does anyone have any idea how much competition there is for the Huayu scholarship? How about what they look for in the people that are applying? I have tried to do some research online but have not come across anything too useful…Anyway, I am trying not to think about it to much!

Competition varies with region. Each TECO office has its own budget for the scholarship so depending on the number of applications per governing residential area there are different acceptance rates. I know this because I had the scholarship the 2011-2012 year.

I applied in Boston, and the staff there said there are 9 full scholarships (or 108 months’ worth) available for the New England area. I know a couple alumni from my school who got it in years past and they took the full 12 months.
I recommend the people in this thread who have questions to contact your local TECO office. In my experience, the TECO staff are very nice and helpful and responded very quickly.
Anyone else have to do an interview?