Five "Hope" young stars, backed by China's "Hope Project", will become the first batch to go on a study program on the campus of St. Thomas University, Canada.

In 1998, China Youth Development Foundation opened a class for "Hope" stars at a key middle school in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The move has been strongly backed up by a foreign language school in Pingyang County, which has had education cooperative ties established with St. Thomas University. By agreement signed, excellent "Hope" stars are to be enrolled by the Canadian side to pursue further study at St. Thomas and over a period of four study years they will be provided with scholarships, tuition free.

Tuition fee, as reported, will come mainly from donations by the Canadian side and will be helped with working chances offered on campus.

The five "Hope" stars all give the hope that they would come back and contribute their bit in building up the motherland after finishing their academic study in Canada.

(People's Daily 05/17/2001)