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.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
TOKYO SUMMIT: The new Japanese PM’s words have demonstrated Japan’s ‘firm position on urging the prioritization of cross-strait peace,’ the foreign ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for supporting peace in the Taiwan Strait, a day after the two at a summit in Tokyo emphasized the importance of regional stability and ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea today. The previous day’s meeting was the first time Takaichi had met with the US leader since becoming Japanese prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Since taking office on Tuesday last week, Takaichi has urged the international community to
RSS