ABSTRACT
Viewed historically, Chinese students were among the earliest Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands. These, however, were ethnic Chinese mainly from the Dutch East Indies. According to available statistical data, there were about 20 Peranakan Chinese students studying in the Netherlands in 1911. This number increased to about 50 in 1920 and to about 150 in 1930. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, sending and training Chinese students and exchange scholars in the developed Western countries became an important strategy of the new government. Nevertheless, thousands of Chinese students went to the Netherlands: some as part of an official arrangement, others because they had relatives or friends in the Netherlands and expected support from them. In order to take care of the mainland Chinese student group in the Netherlands, the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy was set up. The Chinese Embassy, being the representative of the Chinese government, regarded the earliest Chinese students and scholars as China’s future elite.
