Brain Drain Concerns Rise as Belizean Students Stay in Taiwan Post-Scholarship

Over the past years, hundreds of Belizeans have received scholarships to study in Taiwan and pursue higher education in various fields. Unfortunately, on many occasions, those very Belizeans remain in Taiwan instead of coming home to contribute to Belize’s development. The brain drain phenomenon has led many to question whether measures can be established to stop Belizean students from taking their skills and talent abroad. Yesterday, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-Lung was asked about the issue and what is being done to allay the concerns. 

Lin Chia-Lung, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Your question. Confirms that I think education is important for talent cultivation and social mobility. So the fellowship recipient from Belize now many of us stay in Taiwan and make their contribution to our society. We are thankful for that. We will also encourage Belizean people in Taiwan to learn from Taiwan and then return to their home country to make more contributions. We will work with your government on providing more incentive to help them start their business here in Belize and we want to make the talent flow, it’s a two-way flow. So we will also encourage……our government has a new policy encouraging people to go abroad for participating in international affairs. So we will choose Belize as a good destination for Taiwanese young people to work here and to have more exchanges with your young people. So we are ready to discuss on the design of this project to attract more the Belizean people who are now in Taiwan and can go back to their home country.”

The next cohort of scholarship recipients is expected to be released soon.