I’m seeing some news about pauses to Fullbright funding. Does this only affect grantees studying in the US? Or does it also affect grantees from the US here in Taiwan doing things like working as teaching assistants in Taiwanese schools or doing research here? What about Critical Languages Scholarships?
This is pretty vague but still…
In 2025, the US under DJT seems intent on torching every last bit of its soft power. It’s unsurprising that programs like this would be cut, as they involve international exchange, learning, and broadening one’s horizons—in short, helping to nurture social identities that would be utterly opposed to the current regime and its slashing and burning in DC.
Guy
Ok but has the Taiwan part of the program been cut or ‘paused’. Hoping to get some reports from the field. Madness if there is any truth to this.
From what I’m getting… it has all been cut.
The only funding to Taiwan that is being unfrozen are funds for defense it seems.
Oh no…the horror. College graduated students have to spend own money to go abroad to study a foreign language or teach english. The sky is falling
That may be a fair point. But if the administration halts payments for people who have already been awarded the fellowship and made their education and financial plans accordingly, that would not seem reasonable. Hard to tell from the article what the exact plans are.
Perhaps.
When South Korea recognized China, dropping recognition of ROC, the Taiwan government pulled all scholarships given to Korean students studying Chinese in Taiwan. Such things happen as a result of political decisions and are the small/big risk of receiving a scholarship from a government.
True about risk, though I don’t know how often this has happened in the US in the past. Not something I would have considered if applying for a Fulbright scholarship.
The S Korea/Taiwan example was clearly retaliation, the current US situation seems to result from the move fast and break things approach the administration is applying to government spending.
Yet here you are, reading and posting, despite you claiming you don’t care about this topic.
Guy
The horror indeed. Now, they’ll have to get mommy and daddy to get them a real job through nepotism rather than join an entitled program named after a second-rate Arkansas Senator that supported segregation (and one of the most anti-Israeli ones to boot). 
Doubt these entitled folk would come to Taiwan were it not for Fulbright. Can’t see such Eastern establishment dilettantes wanting to sing “Kid Castle” hymns with the proletariat just for the sake of it! 
No joy in Mudville or TrustFundVille tonight in Martha’s Vineyard.
And Bill Clinton worked on US Armed Forces Committee chaired by Fulbright while in college. So, if not for that on his CV, the world may have never known the name of Monica Lewinsky.
Given Senator Fulbright’s dislike of AIPEC, I wonder what we would have made of the Clinton Foundation had he lived to be 120