Guidelines to Taiwan Fellowship

I.  To implement the Taiwan Fellowship (hereinafter referred to as “the Fellowship”), and encourage experts and scholars overseas who are interested in topics related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), cross-strait relations, mainland China, the Asia Pacific, and Sinology to pursue advanced studies at Taiwan’s universities, colleges or research institutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has issued the following guidelines.

II.  A scholar’s field of study should be in the social sciences and humanities, with a topic related to Taiwan, cross-strait relations, mainland China, the Asia Pacific, and Sinology.

III.  The Fellowship recipients (herein referred to as “the recipients”) are as follows:

A. foreign nationals who are professors, associate professors, assistant professors, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, or doctoral program students at related departments of overseas universities, or are research fellows at an equivalent level in academic institutions abroad;

B. candidates recommended by ROC (Taiwan) overseas missions with a field of study on Taiwan’s foreign relations or cross-strait relations.

Those who are currently conducting research, teaching, or studying in Taiwan are ineligible.

IV. The Fellowship includes the following:

A. Ticket subsidy:

1. The recipients will be entitled to one direct round-trip economy-class ticket subsidized between their country of residence and Taiwan.

2. Tickets will be subsidized according to the actual purchasing price, but with a maximum subsidy for each area as follows:

a) Northeast and Southeast Asia: NT$35,000;

b) Europe and West Asia: NT$60,000;

               c) North America: NT$55,000;

               d) Central and South America: NT$75,000;

          e) Africa: NT$90,000;

          f) Oceania: NT$65,000.

3. After the recipients arrive in Taiwan, they must submit the following documents and sign receipts to apply for the subsidy:

a) stub of their tickets or e-tickets;

b) receipts for their tickets or other paperwork proving payment was made.

B. Monthly stipends are as follows:

1. Professors, associate professors, research fellows, or associate research fellows: NT$60,000; and

2.  Assistant professors, assistant research fellows, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, doctoral program students, and other candidates recommended by ROC (Taiwan) missions: NT$50,000.

3. The minimum duration of a fellowship is three months, and the maximum one year.

 C. Group accident insurance is provided during the term of research in Taiwan (NT$1 million for an accidental death, and NT$50,000 for accident injury medical benefits.)

V. The total number of recipients is subject to MOFA’s annual budget.

VI. Applicants should first submit an on-line application form and then submit the following documents to the ROC Embassy or Representative Office in or nearest to their country of residence, as appropriate, for preliminary review:

A. Application form;

B. Resume (including a publication list);

C. Research proposal (Three pages in principle using a standard research format); and

D. Two letters of recommendation, or one letter of recommendation and one letter of consent from the chief administrator of their institute.

VII. The evaluation process is as follows:

A. The ROC Embassy or Representative Office receives the application, verifies the data, and evaluates the applicant’s academic influence or potential;

B. The ROC Embassy or Representative Office describes the reasons for recommending a candidate as a reference for the evaluation committee;

C. MOFA invites scholars, experts and representatives from MOFA to form an evaluation committee for screening the candidates for the Fellowship;

D. The candidate receives and submits to MOFA a “Letter of Consent for Research” from one or more universities or academic institutions in Taiwan, thereby completing the Fellowship application process.

VIII. The recipients should observe the following regulations:

A. The research proposal and research area provided in the application   cannot be changed without MOFA’s approval. If any change is needed, prior consent from MOFA should be sought.

B. The recipients should submit their research findings in writing (at least 20 pages) to CCS within three months after the end of the program. During their stay in Taiwan, the recipients should attend academic seminars and relevant activities held by MOFA and commissioned organizers.

C. During the Fellowship period, the recipients are not allowed to receive any scholarships granted by other governmental agencies or public or private academic institutions and schools based in Taiwan. In addition, recipients cannot engage in part-time work without consent from MOFA.

D. While in Taiwan, the recipients must abide by ROC law. If a recipient is convicted of violating the Criminal Code or engages in any severe misconduct during the duration of the Fellowship, the recipient’s Fellowship will be revoked.

E. All expenses exceeding the Fellowship amount must be covered by the recipients.

F. All related oral or written research reports made by recipients must mention or note the support of the Taiwan Fellowship program.

G. Recipients must make their own research arrangements in Taiwan.

H. Recipients must submit their travel itinerary and information on the cooperating research institution(s) in Taiwan to the ROC Embassies and Representative Offices in or nearest to their country of residence, as appropriate, before leaving for Taiwan.

IX. For those awarded a fellowship shorter than six months in duration, the ROC Embassies or Representative Offices abroad will issue a visitor visa. For those awarded a fellowship over six months in duration, the ROC Embassies or Representative Offices abroad will issue a residence visa. Visa fees will be waived in both cases, and “FR-Taiwan Fellowship Recipient” will be noted on the visa.