Taipei, Taiwan- Six Caribbean nationals studying at the Ming Chuan University in Taipei were on Thursday 30th April awarded for copping top placements in their school’s Literary and Arts competition. 

The 26th edition of the activity saw  Mr. Jean Karlos Almonte of the Dominican Republic receiving an award for outstanding performance in the film category for his short film 'Balloon at MCU', a video he made with a Taiwanese friend.

The other big wins for the Caribbean came when five other students; Miss Keryn Nelson  and Miss Deja John of Saint  Lucia, Miss Shennica David and Miss Trel-Deen Lewis of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Mr. Donya L. Francis of Saint Kitts and Nevis who outshined the other participants in the English writing section to win individual prizes. 

The English section of the competition was divided into two categories, one being Poetry and the other Prose. For the poetry category individuals were allowed to submit pieces on a topic of interest. The submitted poems carried different themes such as lust and love, nature, freedom, history and lifestyle. For this section Trel-Deen Lewis placed 3rd and received NTD (National Taiwan Dollar) $2000 for her piece she named  ‘ An Open Letter’ while Deja John’s ‘Tiffany’s’  received NTD $1000 for her outstanding performance. John who is a 4th year International Business and Trade student has participated in this competition three (3) times and has received awards each year. 

Being limited to the topic ‘Taiwan and Me’ students were encouraged to submit pieces for consideration in the Prose category. This caught many students off-guard as explained by the finalists. Over the years the students were able to choose any topic to write about but this year was different.

This did not stop the five students from participating. Having been living in Taiwan for quite some time- the topic encouraged students to express their feelings and to speak of their experiences. 

Keryn Nelson of Saint Lucia, a  third year Journalism and Mass Communication Student was announced as the overall winner of this category.  She penned of how Taiwan and Saint Lucia share many things in common and of her experiences in a foreign land.

The prizes for this category were awarded as seen below:

First Prize: Keryn Nelson- The Gift of the Unknown (NTD $6000)

Second Prize: Trel-Deen Lewis- Taiwan and Me – A Culinary Experience (NTD $4000)

Third Prize: Shennica David- Queen of Hearts (NTD  $3000)

Outstanding: Deja John- A Walk Down Memory Lane (NTD $2000)

Outstanding: Donya L. Francis-Formosa, my love. (NTD $2000)

Taiwan is home to over three hundred Caribbean students. These students hail mainly from Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The students are benefiting from scholarships  due to their islands having diplomatic ties with the Asian nation.

-1 Eastern Caribbean dollar is roughly 10 National Taiwan dollars-

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