• 2020-03-12

At noon on February 5, 2020, NationalCentral Library’s Center for Chinese Studies held a tea gathering forrecipients of the Chinese studies research grant. It is hope that in additionto their research, foreign scholars can better understand the cultural connotationbehind traditional celebrations in Taiwan. To that end, the Center for Chinese Studies especially arranged for foreign scholarsto enjoy this time together.

In 1989, NCL began offering research grantsto foreign scholars to conduct research on Chinese studies in Taiwan. To datethe program has been running for 30 years, with scholars having come from morethan 40 countries. Each year, in addition to providing Chinese studies grants, CCSalso processes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan Fellowship applications.Both grants together provide enough for more than 125 scholars to come toTaiwan each year.

NCLDirector-General Tseng expressed a warm welcome to the scholars, aswell as told them about National Central Library’s collaborative projectsoverseas and the resource exchange in Chinese studies with foreigninstitutions. She also expressed concern for their health in Taiwan with the COVID-19epidemic. She explained what Taiwan was doing to prevent an outbreak and remindthe scholars to pay attention to their health, to get adequate exercise, and toincrease their immune ability. The scholars shared what topics they would beresearching in Taiwan, their experiences with preventing epidemics in their owncountries, and their approval of Taiwan’s emphasis on world health. The atmosphereof the Spring Festival Tea Gathering was warm and relaxed, as everyone enjoyedthe festive spirit and interacted with one another.