African Exchange Hindered: Senegal Retracts Notice of Taiwan Scholarship Within a Day
The municipality of Dakar in Senegal retracted its announcement offering a Taiwan-funded scholarship within 24 hours, citing a lack of diplomatic relations, likely due to Chinese pressure.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 22:53
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 23:02 (8 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 25, 2026 at 00:08 (1h 6m after Collected)
Central News
(CNA, Paris, 24th, Special Correspondent Tseng I-hsuan) The municipality of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, announced the opening of applications for a scholarship provided by Taipei City, only to declare the announcement "invalid" the next day, pointedly mentioning its diplomatic ties with China. A local journalist noted that while educational exchanges themselves are not an issue, diplomatic relations are complex and unpredictable.
Several Senegalese media outlets, including Senego, Senenews, and "Le Quotidien," reported that the Dakar municipality announced on the 21st of this month a scholarship provided by Taipei City to encourage the learning of Chinese. According to the announcement circulated on social media, "to strengthen bilateral and international exchanges," Taipei City offered scholarships to Dakar citizens to encourage the learning of Chinese and Taiwanese culture, with winners receiving a monthly stipend of NT$25,000 for 12 months, from September this year to August 2027.
However, the Dakar municipality's attitude drastically changed in less than 24 hours. On the 22nd, it called the matter an administrative "error," thereby rendering the aforementioned announcement "invalid." The municipality specifically mentioned that according to its official stance, Senegal does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has established diplomatic ties only with the People's Republic of China.
Dakar is one of Taipei City's sister cities. It remains unclear whether the Dakar municipality changed its decision independently or faced interference from the Chinese side.
A Senegalese media professional, who chose to remain anonymous, told a CNA reporter in a phone interview that the Dakar municipality passed it off with a "very vague" explanation of an administrative error and provided no further details. Neither the Senegalese government nor the Chinese embassy reacted, and the matter was treated as an isolated incident, quietly fading away without much discussion.
But he added that when such incidents occur, "as a journalist, everyone knows the Dakar municipality was under pressure to retract the decision."
This reporter said that after the scholarship news was announced, since the application window was only 2 or 3 days, some students immediately began preparing their documents, only to be deeply disappointed and surprised when the municipality announced the retraction the next day.
He also stated, "This is the first time I've seen such a situation." He felt that ordinary educational exchanges "personally are not a problem, but diplomatic relations are very complex and hard to predict."
A report by "Le Quotidien" also pointed out: "What seemed like an opportunity for academic exchange turned into a geopolitical quagmire."
Senegal severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2005 and established relations with the People's Republic of China. The report mentioned that Senegal still needs its strategic partnership with China, especially with the Dakar Youth Olympic Games (JOJ) to be held in October. Caught between study-abroad dreams and Realpolitik, the city of Dakar chose to maintain its relations with China.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a researcher at the French think tank "Asia Centre," told the CNA reporter that China exhausts all means to utilize its advantages, often making more demands on developing countries with which it has good relations than on developed ones.
He believes that education remains one of the potential areas for cooperation between Taiwan and Africa, but perhaps it should be conducted in a low-profile and pragmatic manner to maintain a presence and influence in the region. (Edited by Hsieh I-hsuan) 1150424
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(CNA, Paris, 24th, Special Correspondent Tseng I-hsuan) The municipality of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, announced the opening of applications for a scholarship provided by Taipei City, only to declare the announcement "invalid" the next day, pointedly mentioning its diplomatic ties with China. A local journalist noted that while educational exchanges themselves are not an issue, diplomatic relations are complex and unpredictable.
Several Senegalese media outlets, including Senego, Senenews, and "Le Quotidien," reported that the Dakar municipality announced on the 21st of this month a scholarship provided by Taipei City to encourage the learning of Chinese. According to the announcement circulated on social media, "to strengthen bilateral and international exchanges," Taipei City offered scholarships to Dakar citizens to encourage the learning of Chinese and Taiwanese culture, with winners receiving a monthly stipend of NT$25,000 for 12 months, from September this year to August 2027.
However, the Dakar municipality's attitude drastically changed in less than 24 hours. On the 22nd, it called the matter an administrative "error," thereby rendering the aforementioned announcement "invalid." The municipality specifically mentioned that according to its official stance, Senegal does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has established diplomatic ties only with the People's Republic of China.
Dakar is one of Taipei City's sister cities. It remains unclear whether the Dakar municipality changed its decision independently or faced interference from the Chinese side.
A Senegalese media professional, who chose to remain anonymous, told a CNA reporter in a phone interview that the Dakar municipality passed it off with a "very vague" explanation of an administrative error and provided no further details. Neither the Senegalese government nor the Chinese embassy reacted, and the matter was treated as an isolated incident, quietly fading away without much discussion.
But he added that when such incidents occur, "as a journalist, everyone knows the Dakar municipality was under pressure to retract the decision."
This reporter said that after the scholarship news was announced, since the application window was only 2 or 3 days, some students immediately began preparing their documents, only to be deeply disappointed and surprised when the municipality announced the retraction the next day.
He also stated, "This is the first time I've seen such a situation." He felt that ordinary educational exchanges "personally are not a problem, but diplomatic relations are very complex and hard to predict."
A report by "Le Quotidien" also pointed out: "What seemed like an opportunity for academic exchange turned into a geopolitical quagmire."
Senegal severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2005 and established relations with the People's Republic of China. The report mentioned that Senegal still needs its strategic partnership with China, especially with the Dakar Youth Olympic Games (JOJ) to be held in October. Caught between study-abroad dreams and Realpolitik, the city of Dakar chose to maintain its relations with China.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a researcher at the French think tank "Asia Centre," told the CNA reporter that China exhausts all means to utilize its advantages, often making more demands on developing countries with which it has good relations than on developed ones.
He believes that education remains one of the potential areas for cooperation between Taiwan and Africa, but perhaps it should be conducted in a low-profile and pragmatic manner to maintain a presence and influence in the region. (Edited by Hsieh I-hsuan) 1150424
Stand with facts; every sponsorship you make is a force protecting press freedom.
Download the CNA 'First Hand News' APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.