Head of the Education Department of Yunnan Province, He Tianchun, said on Tuesday that almost 70 percent or more than 2,800 of foreign students in Yunnan, are from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. He believed Yunnan's geographical position and local colleges and universities' favorable policies to foreign students would prompt many more students from ASEAN countries to choose to study there.

He Tianchun revealed that among 4,596 foreign students enrolled by 16 colleges and universities in Yunnan, more than 65 percent were from GMS countries -- the five Greater Mekong Subregion nations of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia with almost 1,000 of them being from Vietnam.

Honghe College and many other professional training schools in Yunnan also endeavored to enroll more foreign students, He said. The education head indicated that the local government would set up new scholarships for students from ASEAN countries in the hope of helping to cultivate more professional personnel for neighboring nations.

The total amount of scholarships will also increase from 1.8 million yuan (US$230,000) to 7.2 million yuan ($920,000) in the next two years.
 
(Chinanews December 7, 2006)