Los Angeles, Feb. 22 (CNA) The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) recently announced receipt of a US$2 million donation from Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), some of which will be used to establish a program dedicated to the study of Taiwan in a global context.

Of the total US$2 million given to UCLA's Asia Pacific Center, US$800,000 will be used to create a program on "Taiwan in the World," while the remaining US$1.2 million will go toward establishing an endowment fund to help permanently support the Taiwan Studies Program, the university said in a press release last week.

According to the university, the new program will "promote Taiwan studies in a global context and train a new generation of scholars and professionals in Taiwanese society, history and culture."

Students in the program will gain bilingual proficiency in English and Mandarin Chinese, including the ability to read and write in traditional Chinese characters, it said.

Louis M. Huang, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, expressed hope that the initiative will become a benchmark for U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in higher education and cultivate students with "global vision" for the two countries.

The university said, meanwhile, that its existing Taiwan Studies Program, which it launched in 2014 with funding from Taiwan's Ministry of Education, currently has enough support to see it through 2024.

The new donation from MOFA to create an endowment fund will help the program continue to grow, the university said.

UCLA's Taiwan Studies Program maintains close academic ties with National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University and National Taiwan Normal University.

The Asia Pacific Center, of which it is a part, also offers a range of Taiwan-related exchanges, conferences and grants. Recently, it held a forum on the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and launched a new course on Taiwanese language and culture, according to the press release.