Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Don Beyer (VA-08), and Judy Chu (CA-27) recently introduced the Restoring Fulbright Exchanges with China and Hong Kong Act. In 2020, President Trump signed an executive order to end Fulbright exchanges both to and from China and Hong Kong.
“Restoring Fulbright exchanges with China and Hong Kong will help the United States build its China expertise, strengthen people-to-people ties, and give Chinese participants an opportunity to experience the real United States and the benefits of academic freedom,” said Larsen, a co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.–China Working Group and author of a China White Paper published in December 2021.
“Fulbright volunteers represent the United States abroad and forge connections with everyday people, even in countries where official relations are strained,” said Chu. “The decision by the Trump administration to end Fulbright exchanges with mainland China and Hong Kong was short-sighted and intended only to worsen U.S.–China diplomatic relations. The Restoring Fulbright Exchanges with China and Hong Kong Act will give Fulbright exchange students from across the United States the chance to return to China and Hong Kong again, helping to advance U.S. interests diplomatically by improving communication and understanding between our countries.”
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals, and artists from the United States and abroad to research and study abroad and in the United States for one year or longer at universities or other appropriate institutions.
For more information on the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, visit foreign.fulbrightonline.org.