TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After Honduras indicated it plans to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China, National Taiwan University (NTU) expressed hope that the government would not terminate the Honduran students’ scholarships, reports said on Wednesday (March 15).

Three hundred and fifty-nine students from the Central American country are studying in Taiwan, including 104 with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) scholarships. The group consists of one exchange student, 138 who are studying Mandarin Chinese, and 220 students officially enrolled at universities and colleges, according to data from the Ministry of Education (MOE).

NTU said it was offering courses to 29 of the MOFA scholarship students and to two others in departments including engineering, chemistry, machinery, and biology. The MOE has not offered any scholarships to students from Honduras, while no Taiwanese are currently studying in the Central American country, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI).

NTU expressed willingness to help Honduran students find other scholarships or employment so they could complete their studies in Taiwan, in the event that their scholarships were canceled. The school said it had already written to the students, offering them psychological and financial assistance if necessary, the report said.