More Samoans are heading to China to study after receiving scholarships from the People’s Republic of China adding to the currently 73 already there.
Of the 16 students, 13 are undergraduates and 3 are postgraduates.
There are already four (4) Samoan students currently undertaking studies in China who have also been granted extensions.
A farewell ceremony was held on Wednesday evening and hosted by the Embassy of China to Samoa for the successful candidates before leaving the country for their academic journey expected to start as early as sometime this month.
Since 1982 there have been 300 students that were funded by the Program to study in China.
In his keynote address, the Ambassador of China to Samoa Fei Mingxing congratulated the 20 Chinese Government Scholarship awardees for the 2024/2025 academic year.
And according to the Ambassador, “China is among the most favored destinations for international students with promising career development.”
Studying in China he told the awardees ‘will be an invaluable asset in many industries in Samoa and the world’.
“China is also one of the safest major countries in the world, for which your parents can have sound sleep every night,” he further guaranteed.
The Ambassador took the opportunity also to encourage the successful candidates ‘to strive for knowledge’ even as far as China by quoting Prophet Muhammad from 1400 years ago.
And told the students that although China is 10,000 km from Samoa, their journey is going to be worthwhile.
He then urged the students to be good ambassadors of Samoa and to promote the Samoan culture and traditions wherever they go in China to ensure their opportunity is not wasted and that they are good representatives of Samoa.
“Early this year, a Samoan journalist Marc Membrere attended a four-month training program in China and a Samoa Tourism Authority dancing group visited and performed in Chengdu and Qingdao,” said the Ambassador.
“Wherever they went, they promoted Samoan culture and traditions with ula fala and singing and dancing, resulting in a huge success. Now it’s your turn!”
He said that Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa once said to always ‘remember that opportunities are very hard to come by’, and ‘if you get it, grab it with both hands and make the most of it’.
He urged them also to tell their stories to China and his third wish was to ‘serve the China-Samoa friendship and cooperation’.
Samoa and China celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties in 2025 said the Ambassador and ‘forefathers have laid a solid foundation for our relations that have brought great benefits to the two peoples’.
As part of the celebrations, in June this year 3 Primary school projects were launched in Apia while this month the Samoa Police Academy will be handed over to the Government of Samoa.
“Looking into the future, younger generations of both countries including every one of you are expected to shoulder responsibilities for building a closer China-Samoa community of a shared future.
“Na tagisia La’ulu o se va’a ia goto” (Meet challenges with confidence and courage and you will be assured a great bounty), according to a Samoan saying,” he says.
The Ambassador added that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, which was said by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Zi.
“Your families, teachers, and communities are proud of your first step. We have confidence in you and good luck to you,” he says.
Samoa-China Strong Bilateral Ties
Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Nonu Lemauga Saleimoa Vaai who spoke on behalf of the Government of Samoa thanked the People’s Republic of China for their support with providing educational opportunities for Samoans.
“China and Samoa have strong bilateral ties and close relations for ongoing development cooperation in many areas. China has been helping Samoa to foster human capital development through the provision of short-term training opportunities and scholarship awards since 1982.”
According to Nonu, around 328 Samoan students have set foot in China for further tertiary education in the fields of commerce, engineering, information technology, business and marketing, international relations, science, and many others.
He spoke about how Samoa has benefitted immensely from these capacity building and scholarship opportunities as returning graduates are making significant contributions in the Private and Public Sectors for Samoa’s overall development.
The successful candidates that were bid farewell that evening will be studying Business Administration, International Trade and Economics, Urban and Rural Planning, Environmental Science, International Business, Marketing, Tourism Management, Computer Science and Technology, Civil Engineering, Software Engineering, and Agricultural Entomology.
“The Commission is also grateful for the areas of studies identified which are directly in line with the priority areas for the Human Resources Development Needs in the service. The Commission is at the final stage of developing the first National Workforce Plan and these scholarship opportunities will contribute significantly to addressing the skills gaps in our workforce,” he says.
Nonu also congratulated 14 students who have completed their studies from China this year.
Written by Leota Marc Membrere
