By Sabelo Majola | 2018-11-20

REPUBLIC of China (Taiwan) ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini Jeremy Liang expressed concern over the conditions that Emaswati students are living under in Taiwan.

A majority of students enrolled at the MingDao University for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Degree are believed to be frustrated with the living conditions as they are forced to work long hours to finance their scholarship. They now want out of the university.

Liang yesterday confirmed to this newspaper the case of 40 students who left the country in September heading for Taiwan and that their embassy helped those students to acquire Visas as they were a requirement as stipulated in the admission letter from the MingDao University.

He said that he had already spoken with the headquarters in Taipei and the matter was being looked into.

This newspaper yesterday broke the story of Emaswati students who are made to work in a chicken factory under freezing conditions in Taiwan to pay for their tuition fees and accommodation at MingDao University.

“We read the newspaper report on the matter and indeed we had 40 applications this summer. We went through all the documentation and the admission letter from the university required a student Visa and therefore we helped the students attain them,” said the ambassador.

He added that the embassy did not know about the conditions between the students and the University of MingDao.

“I have already spoken to the headquarters in Taipei and I believe the embassy of Eswatini in Taiwan will meet with the university to discuss the situation, but we have not heard from them yet. We will try and engage the families of the affected students,” he said.  A source who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity revealed that the students were depressed and looking for a way out of the university.

“It is depressing for them, and many, if not all of them regret taking up this opportunity and want to come back home,” said the source.

“It really is hard for them. If a male student was close to tears talking of their situation, you can only imagine how hard it is for a female,” continued the source.

The students’ case at MingDao is different from those who are on government’s scholarship, as MichDao is a private institution. This is why the students have to work to pay for their scholarship. According to the institution’s website, MingDao University is a private university located in Pitou Township, Changhua County, Taiwan. The institution was founded as the MingDao School of Management in 2001 and was accorded university status by the Ministry of Education of Taiwan in 2007.

 MingDao University offers courses and programmes leading to officially recognised higher education degrees such as bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees in several areas of study.

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