TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei-based international think tank, the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation, hosted a panel on US–China academic decoupling on Monday.
Foreign ministry highlights security risks
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Ming-chi (陳明祺) gave opening remarks about Taiwan’s need to be vigilant of potential security risks in academic exchanges with China.
“True academic exchange is impossible,” according to the minister, who argued the CCP had weaponized some forms of academic exchange for technology transfer, censorship, and geopolitics.
He added that some Taiwan universities that financially depend on Chinese tuition practice self-censorship, out of fear that future Chinese enrollment could be curtailed. The minister also said Taiwanese scholars have become increasingly unwilling to travel to China, as some have reported facing harassment, being detained at airports, or being subjected to questioning.
During Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) presidency, academic exchanges declined amid worsening cross-strait relations and pandemic restrictions. Yet, Chen said that while Chinese enrollment numbers declined in Taiwan, international students from other countries have filled the gap. He emphasized the foreign ministry's commitment to global exchange programs.
Scholars back international exchanges
The panel consisted of Wei Shyy (史維), former president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Harry Harding, founding dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia; and Randall Nadeau, executive director of Fulbright-Taiwan. As the Trump administration cuts research funding and exchanges, the three scholars called for a reexamination of international collaboration.
Shyy argued “decoupling is not practical” in the wider research context. He said decoupling does not solve the security problem, as major academic journals contain articles with authors from China. He said these divisions will only stifle international research.
In addition to Shyy, Harding emphasized the importance of student and scholarly exchanges. He said, “It’s an enormous tragedy that some people in powerful places and important countries seem to be concerned about the risks and costs as they see them, or simply do not understand the benefits.”
Harding said it would be a great loss if China and the US did not take advantage of exchanges. Reflecting on his experiences traveling and studying abroad, Harding said, “It was a way of understanding other parts of the world … not just to learn about them but to view the US through the mirror they presented to us.”
He said these people-to-people exchanges are important to international relations, “at a fraction of the cost of other kinds of diplomatic relations.” However, Harding emphasized that study abroad programs need to find new ways to attract and retain students.
Nadeau pointed out that US 2026 budget proposal includes a 93% cut to government-funded international exchange programs, which impacts Fulbright. Regarding Trump in his first term, suspending the Fulbright-China program in 2021, “I think it was a terrible decision to make,” said Nadeau.
Nadeau said there were 25,000 US students in China six years ago. Now, there are fewer than 1,000, and he does not expect those numbers to recover.
He said that US-China exchange programs through US universities such as Johns Hopkins, Duke, and NYU are reportedly back to full strength in applications. However, it is still a “niche market” when examining study abroad numbers overall, Nadeau said.
Last year, Nadeau said he spoke with Taiwan Caucus representatives in Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who were all behind Fulbright. Despite the reductions in funding, Nadeau highlighted the growing interest in US-Taiwan student exchanges. In Taiwan this year, the number of US students studying abroad rose 250% to 1,600, setting new application records.
In addition, since the US-Taiwan Education Initiative was established five years ago, Nadeau said Fulbright-Taiwan has grown from 180 to 440 students. This includes over 100 Taiwanese in the US and 300 Americans in Taiwan.
As China becomes less appealing for foreign students, Nadeau said it is an opportunity for Taiwan to develop its market. He said more students are choosing Taiwan over China for their master’s degree programs or language studies.
