Members of both chambers of the US Congress on Wednesday reintroduced the draft Taiwan Fellowship Act, which would establish a program allowing US officials to study and work in Taiwan for up to two years.
In the US Senate, the bill was introduced by US Senator Edward Markey, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on East Asia, and US Senator Marco Rubio, a committee member.
In the House of Representatives, it was introduced by US Representative Ami Bera, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation, and US Representative Steve Chabot, a subcommittee member.
The bill was initially introduced in June last year, but was not included in the previous term’s congressional schedule.
It would allow officials to spend two years in Taiwan, where they would spend one year learning the language, and about the people, history and political climate of Taiwan, as well as issues affecting the relationship between the US and the Indo-Pacific region.
In their second year, they would work at a government agency or civic institution in Taiwan.
Up to five officials would be selected annually in first two years of the program, and up to 10 fellows would be selected annually thereafter.
The act would “build upon the US strategic partnership with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,” Markey wrote in a statement on his Web site.
“While China seeks to isolate Taiwan from meaningful cooperation in tackling our global challenges, the swift passage of the Taiwan Fellowship Act would be a key step to signal that America is back, as committed as ever to our partnership with Taiwan, and re-engaged in the Indo-Pacific region,” Markey wrote.
Rubio said that the bill is modeled after the Mansfield Fellowship with Japan, a one-year program between the two nations, and aims to expand Washington’s bilateral and cultural ties with Taipei.
Bera said that the program would provide experiences crucial for developing US experts on Taiwan.
Chabot said that it would deepen the relationship between the US and Taiwan.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS