Chinese government grants scholarships to six Costa Rican students through the "Let's Speak Mandarin" program (Linked to #89779 and #91160)

In 2021, the Chinese government was expected to grant scholarships to six Costa Rican high school students to attend Chinese universities for higher education. As of June 2021, these six scholarships were planned but were still being processed. The student recipients were to be part of "Let's Speak Mandarin," a program operated by the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, and the Costa Rican Chinese Cultural Association. The value of the scholarships is unknown. In addition to the six awarded in 2021, seven scholarships were awarded in 2019, and another seven were be awarded in 2020. These scholarships cover a stay of five years, the first of which is dedicated to studying Mandarin. Students select a different field of study for the next four years. Over the three years these scholarships were offered, students chose to study Computing, International Relations, Mandarin Teaching, Physical Education, International Politics, Digital Media Art, Visual and Performing Arts, Translation, Veterinary Medicine, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Geological Engineering, Clinical Medicine, and Music Presentation. Students who received the scholarship previously attended public schools in Purral, Hatillo, Zarcero, Flores, Alajuela, Tarrazú, Tirrases, and Bagaces. The scholarship recipients studied at a mixture of in-person and online universities, including Peking University, Beijing University of Language and Culture, Beijing University of Science and Technology, Beijing Sports University, Engineering University University of Harbin, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, and Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Additional details

1. Intent has been coded as Mixed (Representational + Development) given the language study component. 2. The scholarship format (one year language study, four years of subject-specific/professional study) is described in the Costa Rica Ministry of Education's article about the 2019 scholarship recipients. However, given all the scholarships are described as part of the same program, it is assumed that the 2020 scholarships have the same format.

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

4