Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-02), Don Beyer (VA-08) and Judy Chu (CA-27) recently introduced the Restoring Fulbright Exchange with China and Hong Kong Act. In 2020, President Trump signed an executive order terminating Fulbright travel to and from China and Hong Kong.
“Reviving Fulbright engagement with China and Hong Kong will help the United States build its Chinese expertise, strengthen people-to-people ties, and give Chinese participants the opportunity to experience the true benefits of American and academic freedom,” Larson said. Co-Chairman of the China Bipartisan Working Group, author of the China White Paper published in December 2021.
“Fulbright volunteers represent the U.S. overseas and connect with ordinary people, even in countries where official relations are strained,” Zhu said. “The Trump administration’s decision to end Fulbright exchanges with mainland China and Hong Kong is short-sighted and will only worsen U.S.-China diplomatic relations. The Restoring Fulbright Exchanges with China and Hong Kong Act will allow people from across the U.S. The Fulbright exchange students have the opportunity to return to China and Hong Kong again to help advance U.S. interests diplomatically by improving communication and understanding between our two countries.”
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals, and artists from the United States and abroad to conduct research and study abroad and in the United States for a year or more at a university or other appropriate institution.
For more information about the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, visit foreign.fulbrightonline.org.
