The most popular class choice this year for university students in Haiti turns out to be Chinese. That’s according to a report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency on Friday.
Taiwan’s ambassador to Haiti, Peter Hwang said after taking up his post last year, he has been promoting Chinese classes and scholarships for Chinese learning. Hwang said that Haitians feel a connection with Taiwan because the Caribbean country is about the same size. Growing interest in Taiwan has led to a growing interest in learning the Chinese language as well.
The Universite Notre Dame d'Haiti opened its first ever Chinese class on Monday. It was originally opened to 30 students, but 37 have been allowed to sign up, and over 50 have elected to audit the course.
Taiwan and Haiti established diplomatic ties in 1956. Taiwan is one of Haiti's major trading partners. The two countries have regular exchanges in the areas of medicine, business, and culture.