Key facts
- The American Institute in Taiwan said fellows will work in Taiwan parliamentary offices, ministries, other agencies or organizations outside the public sector.
- The program is funded under Washington's 2023 Taiwan Fellowship Act and includes up to one year of intensive Mandarin language training.
- AIT said the program aims to expand the US-Taiwan partnership and US officials' expertise regarding Taiwan.
- AIT did not say how many people would take part each year.
- AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson said the program reflects strong bipartisan support for the US-Taiwan relationship.
- The US has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier.
The American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei, said on November 11 that some US federal employees will work in Taiwan government offices for up to one year under a new scheme to strengthen ties between Taipei and Washington.
Under the Taiwan Fellowship Program, funded under Washington's 2023 Taiwan Fellowship Act, US federal employees will spend up to one year in intensive Mandarin language training and studies. AIT said that upon completion of training, fellows are expected to work for up to one year in Taiwan parliamentary offices, ministries, other agencies or offices, or organizations outside the public sector in Taiwan.
AIT said the program's main objectives are to expand and strengthen the US-Taiwan partnership and US officials' expertise regarding Taiwan. It did not say how many people would take part each year. The program will build a group of federal professionals with language skills, cultural knowledge and "lasting working relationships across Taiwan," AIT said.
The memorandum of understanding for the program was signed on November 10 in the United States, AIT said. "TFP reflects strong bipartisan support for the US-Taiwan relationship and a shared commitment to the people-to-people ties at its core," AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson said in the statement.
In 1994, the US Congress established a similar scheme for Japan, called the Mike Mansfield Fellowship. AIT's large, fortress-like office in Taipei functions like an embassy.
China says Taiwan is its most important and sensitive diplomatic issue and has repeatedly demanded Washington curtail its contacts with Taipei and end arms sales. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet next week for the third time this year on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit in Shenzhen.