A total of 80 young Philippine talents have been awarded Chinese government scholarship here and they will leave for China shortly.

At the reception for Chinese government scholarship awardees held in the Chinese embassy on Thursday afternoon, Tan Qingsheng, the deputy chief of mission and minister counselor at the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, announced that the China Scholarship Council has approved the applications of 80 Filipinos to receive the 2019 Chinese government scholarship.

“In recent years, as our bilateral relations improve, more and more Filipino students choose China as their destination for overseas study. The number of Chinese Government Scholarship for Filipinos is also on the increase. This year it has reached a record high of 80. If we take into account the scholarship provided by individual universities in China, the total number is more than 100,” said Tan.

“I hope you can find more time to venture out your campus or your city, and travel extensively in China. I want you to see China, hear China, taste China and make a lot of friends in China,” he added.

According to the Chinese embassy, the issued scholarship grants for this year covered majors such as international relations, corporate management, clinical medicine, engineering management and Chinese language for undergraduate, master and doctorate degrees.

All the 80 scholars will be provided with free tuition, free lodging, stipend and health insurance for Peking University, Tsinghua University, Xiamen University, Jinan University, Fujian Normal University and other universities in China.

The 24-year-old Malcolm Edrich Lim, who has been given a chance to earn a master degree of the international relations at Shanghai International Studies University, will leave for Shanghai, China, in next week.

“I have known it (The Chinese government scholarship) for about three years already, and it is a very famous scholarship and one of the biggest scholarships in our country,” he told Xinhua in an interview, adding that he thought studying in Shanghai would be an extraordinary experience.

“I've learned a lot about China here in the Philippines. I cannot wait to study in China because I know there's a lot of very smart, very hardworking students across the world,” he added.

The Chinese government scholarship is offered annually, providing opportunities to study in over 200 universities in China. The scholarships are awarded through the Chinese embassy in different countries worldwide.