By Finau Fonua

In 2015 there were 151 Tongan nationals studying in the People’s Republic of China according to the country’s Department of North American & Oceanian Affairs. Of the 151 students, 99 were scholarship students.

The total count of Pacific Islander students in China in 2015 numbered 844, more than half (483) of which were scholarship students with the largest number attending from Papua New Guinea.

Counsellor Zhao Jian, of the Department of North American & Oceanian Affairs, told Pacific Islander journalists in Beijing, “Sometimes, at some of the functions held by the Pacific Island Nations in Beijing we have met some of the students from the Island countries and they can speak very good Chinese, of course they have their own Majors such as in the Agricultural and Economic areas”.

Since 1998, China has offered numerous scholarships to Tongan students. In 2014, President Xi of China told Pacific Islander leaders that China intended to offer 2000 scholarships and 5000 training opportunities to Pacific Island countries.

In 2015, Tonga’s former Ambassador to China, Hon Siamelie Latu and his wife, and a returned PhD graduate, Ms Kilisitina Puleiku, told Tongan students not to get involved in playing rugby in China, but to concentrate on their studies. He said that all students who got involved in playing rugby had failed miserably in their studies.