China plans to take over projects in Malawi: report

Beijing also wanted Malawian students in Taiwan to transfer to China, but the Ministry of Education in Taiwan said they were welcome to stay

China is planning to take over some construction projects in Malawi that were left uncompleted by Taiwan, a Central News Agency report quoted a Chinese diplomatic official as saying.

Malawi switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China on Jan. 14, ending 42 years of diplomatic relations.

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Fan Guijin (樊桂金), who was visiting Malawi, also said Beijing planned to have the 26 Malawian students studying in Taiwan on scholarships transferred to China, the report said.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials declined to respond to Fan's comments.

The Ministry of Education, however, said yesterday that Malawian students studying in Taiwan could continue with scholarships offered by the Taiwanese government in spite of the abrupt manner in which Malawi terminated diplomatic ties.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told the Taipei Times that the government would not suspend any scholarships and Malawian students were welcome to stay as many of them had established close social networks in Taiwan and a number were close to graduation.

Yeh said the students should not be punished for their government's actions.