70 Thai students gain full scholarships from China to study in vocational colleges in Tianjin

BANGKOK, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 70 Thai students are confirmed to gain full governmental scholarships from China's Tianjin Municipal Education Commission to study in dozens of vocational colleges for three years in the northern Chinese city.

Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute in Thailand together with other partners held opening ceremony of a short-term orientation for the 70 selected Thai students at Office of the Vocational Education Commission in northern Bangkok on Tuesday.

Song Ruoyun, First Secretary of Education Affairs of the Chinese Embassy to Thailand, congratulated the 70 students and encouraged them to learn skills and the Chinese language, make new friends as people-to-people bonds are an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

She said China is willing to cooperate with Thailand on advanced technology such as high-speed rail, automation, aviation and so on. She also spoke highly of Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, which increased the number of scholarships.

Song also thanked Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan, or Chao Khun Thongchai, for his contribution in promoting Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute as a platform that boosts China-Thailand cooperation.

Chao Khun Thongchai also encouraged students to work hard in learning in China to understand more about the country and its people.

Wang Shangxue, Chinese acting director of the Maritime Silk Road Confucius Institute, told Xinhua that the 70 students will take part in intensive Chinese language course in Tianjin Normal University for a semester and then go to six different vocational colleges in Tianjin, according to the major they chose for two and a half years.

Wang said there are a total of 11 majors for the Thai students to choose, which includes Railway Signal Automatic Control, High Speed Train Maintenance Technology, e-Commerce, tourism, logistic, photovoltaic power generation technology and application, etc.

The Chinese acting director said that the scholarship project, started in 2015, has been granted to 118 Thai students to learn in Tianjin so far and the number increased to 70 scholarships per year as it is deemed fruitful.

Wang also said the 70 students were selected from 155 students of 49 vocational schools throughout Thailand this year and they would be granted with Chinese graduate certificates recognized by Thailand after they finish the three-year learning.

"I am very excited to get the chance to learn in China", Noppasorn Visutti, a 19-year old student from a vocational school in Suphan Buri Province, told Xinhua.

"I want to master the Chinese language and the major (international business)I chose, in order to find a good job when I came back to Thailand after three years of study there," the student said.