US senators yesterday introduced a resolution urging US universities to collaborate with Taiwan to create Mandarin-language education programs as an alternative to China’s state-funded Confucius Institutes.
The move comes amid a sharp decline in Confucius Institutes, which are facing pressure from the US government due to allegations that they are involved in propaganda and espionage activities directed by Beijing.
The number of Confucius Institutes has fallen from more than 100 in 2017 to only seven this year due to pressure from Washington, a report published on the Axios news Web site said on Monday.
Photo: AP
The bill calls on US institutions of higher learning to support the US-Taiwan Education Initiative by creating Taiwanese-run language programs in favor of language programs run by the Chinese government, the report said.
“Communist China has had a strong presence at American colleges and universities,” US Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who cosponsored the bill, said in a news release on Tuesday.
“Our institutes of higher learning must be free from China’s grasp while still teaching students about the culture, history and language, and Taiwan can help fill this critical void,” Blackburn said.
“If we want to continue building a strong relationship with Taiwan, then we need to support foreign-language exchange between our two nations,” US Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Nebraska who cosponsored the bill, said in the news release.
“This resolution reaffirms our nation’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities for people at home and abroad to learn English or Mandarin,” Markey said.
In 2020, the US Department of State ordered that Confucius Institutes must register as foreign missions of the Chinese government, while the US Congress in August barred universities that host the institutes from receiving defense-related research aid from the Pentagon.
That followed similar moves by the UK, which last week struck a deal with Taipei to provide Mandarin-language education in Taiwan to 200 British students per year.
The Ministry of Education said that a delegation it sent to the UK initiated discussions to broaden Taiwan’s participation in the Turing Scheme, a British international language and professional education program.
Taiwan receives 200 British students for Mandarin-language education and vocational training per year, a number the ministry wants to double, Deputy Minister of Education Liu Mon-chi (劉孟奇) said in a statement on Wednesday last week.
The UK has become wary of the national security risks posed by Confucius Institutes in its territory and urgently needs to replace the language-training capacity that they provided, Liu added.
In May, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that British government funding for the 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK would be halted, but declined to shutter the institutes outright, backtracking on an earlier pledge to close down the Chinese programs.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS