By Nigel Edgar
KUCHING, Jan 25: The consulate-general of the People’s Republic of China in Kuching will continue to provide scholarships for Sarawakian school leavers to pursue tertiary education in Chinese universities.
Its Consul-General Cheng Guangzhong said this scholarship was open to all ethnic groups in the state regardless of racial and religious backgrounds.
“Apart from the Chinese community, friends of other ethnic groups in Sarawak including Malay, Iban, Bidayuh and others (in Sarawak) are all welcome to pursue higher learning in China.
“The Chinese consulate will make continuous efforts to promote the education cooperation and people-to-people connectivity between China and Sarawak,” he said at the consulate’s Chinese Lunar New Year Dinner Reception 2019 here on Friday.
Cheng expressed content that the state government highly valued Chinese education by allocating financial resources and providing campus land to Chinese independent schools in Sarawak.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, which has developed rapidly, he said.
Cheng noted concrete results achieved in economic and trade cooperation between China and Sarawak last year, including infrastructure development, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, education, culture and many others which delivered benefits to the people of both sides.
“The year 2018 witnessed so many important occasions in China-Sarawak collaboration, including the photo exhibition ‘Building A Better Future Together’, the first electric city bus in Sarawak, a joint language center by University College Technology Sibu (UCTS) and North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power.”
He also noted the successful introduction of the Sarawak Laksa into the China market during the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai in November 2018.
He said the popularity of Sarawak Laksa in China shows that the cooperation between the two regions would truly benefit people from both sides.
“The second CIIE will be held from November 5-11 in Shanghai this year. We welcome high quality products with competitiveness to enter China’s huge market of 1.3 billion consumers.”
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg expressed hope that the relationship between China and Sarawak would continue to be enhanced not just by official visits but also exchange of visitors between the people of both nations.
He also commended the Yunnan province in China for its rapid development.
“I have the opportunity to visit Kunming in Yunnan, also Fuzhou. With that visit I have the insight of knowing the policies brought about by the open door policy based in state capitalism in China,” Abang Johari said.
Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and Toh Puan Ragad Kurdi Taib were present at the dinner. — DayakDaily
