Huayu Enrichment Scholarship 2020-2021

Language Learning Chinese
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Hi all,
I’ve seen previous topics created regarding the scholarship in past years but I have yet to see much discussion for the upcoming 2020-2021 period. I’m sure there are others who have applied for the scholarship and I’m wondering if anyone has received feedback or what the general process was like for you.

Considering the circumstances, I am worried that the scholarship won’t be administered during this upcoming period. I’m from the western US, my office being in SF. They’ve extended the application deadline by ten days but I have yet to see any other info related to the scholarship. Initially they had said accepted applicants would be contacted in early may, I assume this still stands but my concern, beyond that, is the application process for a student visa and wether things will still be valid and applicable through to September.

Has anyone had any positive news related to the scholarship process?

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Hi,

I’ve also applied to the HES scholarship to the DC branch. I was also told early May originally but just like you, I haven’t heard any yet. I’m sure they won’t cancel the scholarship but who knows these days. I think we’ll lucky to be able to fly out of the country, tbh. I’m waiting to see if I even won anything then I’ll contact them (or attempt to) and see what’s happening with that.

It’s not positive news but I’ll like to hear some too.

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I applied through the DC branch as well and was told I’d hear back by the end of April. I’ve heard nothing since and have been browsing the web for any info. I’ve seen many branches around the world extend their application deadlines ranging from April all the way until end of June. I assume we would have to wait until the end of the new deadline and likely beyond to hear back as they’ll be reviewing those later applications.

New deadlines I found in the US:

April 10th
Areas : Northern California, Nevada, Utah, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming

April 15th
Areas : Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North

Areas : Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

UNKNOWN
Areas: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Bermuda Island, Delaware

Areas : Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont Education

Areas : Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri

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Update:

Per someone posting on Facebook today (May 4th, 2020),

“I emailed my office to ask and they said that the program is continuing as planned, and if there are any changes, they’ll notify us. They also told me that the results are delayed because of COVID-19 and should be out by the end of this week. The results were originally supposed to be out on April 30.”

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Hey all,
I just got confirmation from the SF office that I was accepted for the scholarship. The email explicitly states,

“Taiwan bars foreign nationals entering the country due to the coronavirus. We suggest you pay attention to the updated development of the restriction. If the restriction makes you not be able to go to Taiwan for the program, we suggest to contact us to defer the program.”

I believe that the student visa does not allow you to enter the country, only the ARC does. So the concern now seems to be that if you accept the scholarship, can you still defer if the border remains closed. Regardless, I will be emailing the office today to get clarification on these issues.

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Congratulations on getting accepted!

I assume you have a Fall start date. I’m waiting to hear from the DC office but I wouldn’t be starting until luckily Winter if I get it.

From my current understanding, you would enter Taiwan on a 90 day visitor visa, specifying Chinese studies as your purpose. You would then apply before that runs out to extend another 90 days. You are allowed to apply for an ARC after studying for 4 consecutive months so you would do that a month into the extension.

Also,

Below is what was found on the group for Sweden. Not sure if it’s all across the board. Assuming it should be.

"【Extra Flexibility for 2020 scholarship recipients due to the covid-19 epidemic situation】

If the recipients of 2020 Taiwan Scholarship and Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES) cannot arrive in Taiwan as originally planned due to the covid-19 epidemic situation, they can postpone their arrival within the scholarship period (between September 2020 to August 2021).

If the recipient would like to postpone his/her arrival to the next scholarship year (between September 2021 to August 2022), he/she has the right to be prioritized for receiving the 2021 scholarship. Please note: It is not possible to postpone the scholarship period itself, for example: if you have a one year scholarship and arrive in Taiwan in April 2021, he/she would then only have four months left of the scholarship period, until the end of August 2021."

:link:https://www.roc-taiwan.org/se_en/post/3957.html

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According to the DC branch, they are still deciding and will tell us “May-June.” (That’s literally what I was told.) I asked other questions about the situation but I wasn’t given an answer about it.

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Hi,

I’m from the UK, got awarded the 9 month one (the longest we have) and originally put September start. I was advised to defer until December due to the ongoing issues.

Not sure how much light this sheds as it’s a different country but the Darmasiswa Scholarship in Indonesia cancelled and then automatically prioritised all those that were selected - which seems to be what is alluded to in the Swedish post.

I would assume that if the borders don’t open until April 2021 then there might be some rescheduling going on

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Just an update, I had my SO contact MOFA (in mandarin) to ask about studying being a special visa entry option, they had told her that it would be permissible and I would be able to apply for both a special visa and a student visa through BOCA.

In turn, I emailed MOFA directly in English to confirm that this was true (to have in writing for BOCA), they just responded to me and confirmed that special visas are, in fact, not being issued for anyone seeking to fulfill their studies in TW at the moment.

It is still beyond me why the government would both provide a scholarship for longer than four months (enough for an ARC) and also deny entry to students. It would seem that there is the assumed belief that a scholarship allocation is to be completely fulfilled, the idea that some of us have a scholarship allocation for longer than four months should mean we inherently qualify for an ARC prior to entry. I don’t know what the purpose of providing a scholarship is if the government does not believe we have the capacity to fulfill that allocation.

Regardless, there appears to be no option for entry at the moment. I’m aware that in a different thread there was mention that during one of the recent press conferences the topic was briefly discussed and MOFA was working toward some kind of student visa-entry arrangement, who knows if this will actually be initiated though. I’ve heard a number of reports claiming that borders would re-open for tourists within the next few months, between October - December, next year, until a vaccine is confirmed so I can’t imagine there is much reason to rely on any claims.

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I guess they are preparing to open boarders to students.

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/5475/5478/141457/142068/227503/

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The wording on this is a bit strange, it doesn’t specifically state wether it applies to language learners or not.

I’m trying to apply at the moment and the First-time ARC application button doesn’t appear to be working. Hopefully this can be resolved soon.

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Is it really for students that are not yet in Taiwan? The wording is indeed strange. But when you read instruction pdf it says that you need proof that you’re residing in Taiwan already, to be able to apply.

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The page mentions on newly arrived students.

The NIA urges newly-arrived foreign students to make an application for the ARC at home,

So my guess.

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I also hope for this but I prepare myself for “oh we meant people who arrived in March” as to not get too disappointed.

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I believe this is in reference to students who have already been studying in TW, this is why they’ve referenced that you need proof that you’ve been residing in TW already. I’m guessing some students have been living in TW but didn’t have an ARC, instead just living on the student visa. They had to leave TW because of the current situation, now the government is telling them they can return and continue their university studies but they should get an ARC. It appears to be mentioned in the article below.

The strange thing is that the government is refusing to change its policy of only allowing ARC holders in, I don’t know why they can’t just make the exception for scholarship students. I understand that they might get a big influx of student visa applications if they allowed any student to come, but the purpose of the scholarship is residency, not travel.

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It appears we will still be waiting beyond July, but it seems positive that we may be able to enter TW prior to September now that the government is seeking to prioritize student visas this summer.

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Great news! :banana: Seems a bit odd that it’s dependant on dorms, why can’t people quarantine at hotels (if they would want to)…?

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Nice news.
I hope by mid-July they will tell what will be for non-degree student as well.

I do not want to live in dorms and I won’t, so as Ninashka is saying I hope they will accept quarantine in an hotel.

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I get the impression that non-degree students may have different rules. The end of the article states that if the schools decide to collectively quarantine students they can choose to do so at a hotel or government facilities. In our case, considering there are far more non-degree students who are also spread out across various institutions, the government would likely allow us to quarantine at a hotel, a friend’s house, government facility, etc, the same rules that they’ve been requiring for ARC holders.

Who knows why they are being so stringent on degree students, there doesn’t appear to be much choice for those students when they arrive. Many of these recent policies appear to be a bit odd though.

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They probably want to make sure there is a place to stay at, so the schools have to secure accommodation.