Taiwan Fellowship Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4327 To establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 27, 2020 Mr. RUBIO (for Mr. MARKEY for himself and Mr. RUBIO)) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on For- eign Relations A BILL To establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96– 8 8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) affirmed United States 9 policy ‘‘to preserve and promote extensive, close, and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4327 IS friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations be- 1 tween the people of the United States and the people 2 on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China main- 3 land and all other peoples of the Western Pacific 4 area’’. 5 (2) Consistent with the Asia Reassurance Ini- 6 tiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–409), the 7 United States has grown its strategic partnership 8 with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy of 23,000,000 peo- 9 ple. 10 (3) Despite a concerted campaign by the Peo- 11 ple’s Republic of China to isolate Taiwan from its 12 diplomatic partners and from international organiza- 13 tions, including the World Health Organization, Tai- 14 wan has emerged as a global leader in the 15 coronavirus global pandemic response, including by 16 donating more than 2,000,000 surgical masks and 17 other medical equipment to the United States. 18 (4) The creation of a United States fellowship 19 program with Taiwan would support a key priority 20 of expanding people-to-people exchanges, which was 21 outlined in the President’s 2017 National Security 22 Strategy. 23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4327 IS (1) to further strengthen the United States-Tai- 1 wan strategic partnership and broaden under- 2 standing of the Indo-Pacific region by temporarily 3 assigning officials of any branch of the United 4 States Government to Taiwan for intensive study in 5 Mandarin and placement as Fellows with Taiwan 6 authorities or a Taiwanese civic institution; 7 (2) to provide for eligible United States per- 8 sonnel to learn Mandarin Chinese and expand their 9 understanding of the political economy of Taiwan 10 and the Indo-Pacific region; 11 (3) to better position the United States to ad- 12 vance its economic, security, and human rights in- 13 terests in the Indo-Pacific region; and 14 (4) to encourage further expansion of other 15 people-to-people exchanges, including by expanding 16 the Fulbright Scholars Program, the International 17 Visitors Leadership Program, and other exchange 18 programs that permit the people of Taiwan to work 19 and study in the United States. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 23 means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4327 IS (A) in the case of the executive branch of 1 United States Government or an agency of the 2 legislative branch other than the Senate or the 3 House of Representatives, the head of the re- 4 spective agency; 5 (B) in the case of the judicial branch of 6 United States Government, the chief judge of 7 the respective court; 8 (C) in the case of the Senate, the Presi- 9 dent pro tempore, in consultation with the ma- 10 jority leader and the minority leader of the Sen- 11 ate; and 12 (D) in the case of the House of Represent- 13 atives, the Speaker of the House, in consulta- 14 tion with the majority leader and the minority 15 leader of the House of Representatives. 16 (2) AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERN- 17 MENT.—The term ‘‘agency of the United States 18 Government’’ includes any agency of the legislative 19 branch and any court of the judicial branch as well 20 as any agency of the executive branch. 21 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 23 mittees’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4327 IS (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 1 the Senate; 2 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 3 the Senate; 4 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 5 the House of Representatives; and 6 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 7 the House of Representatives. 8 (4) DETAILEE.—The term ‘‘detailee’’ means an 9 employee of an agency of the United States Govern- 10 ment on loan to the American Institute in Taiwan 11 without a change of position from the agency at 12 which he or she is employed. 13 (5) IMPLEMENTING PARTNER.—The term ‘‘im- 14 plementing partner’’ means any United States orga- 15 nization described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev- 16 enue Code of 1986 that— 17 (A) performs logistical, administrative, and 18 other functions, as determined by the Depart- 19 ment of State and the American Institute of 20 Taiwan in support of the Taiwan Fellowship 21 Program; and 22 (B) enters into a cooperative agreement 23 with the American Institute in Taiwan to ad- 24 minister the Taiwan Fellowship Program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4327 IS SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAIWAN FELLOWSHIP PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 3 establish the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship Program’’ to provide 2- 4 year fellowship opportunities in Taiwan for eligible United 5 States citizens. The Department of State, in consultation 6 with the American Institute in Taiwan and the imple- 7 menting partner, may modify the program name. 8 (b) GRANTS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The American Institute in 10 Taiwan should use amounts appropriated pursuant 11 to section 7(a) to provide annual or multi-year 12 grants to an appropriate implementing partner. 13 (2) FELLOWSHIPS.—The Department of State, 14 in consultation with the American Institute in Tai- 15 wan and, as appropriate, the implementing partner, 16 should annually award not fewer than 10 2-year fel- 17 lowships (based on available funding) to eligible 18 United States citizens. 19 (c) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT; IMPLEMENTING 20 PARTNER.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 21 enactment of this Act, the American Institute in Taiwan, 22 in consultation with the Department of State, should— 23 (1) begin negotiations with the Taipei Economic 24 and Cultural Representative Office, or with another 25 appropriate entity, for the purpose of entering into 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4327 IS an agreement to facilitate the placement of fellows 1 in an agency of the Taiwan authorities during the 2 second year of their fellowships; and 3 (2) begin the process of selecting an imple- 4 menting partner, which— 5 (A) shall agree to meet all of the legal re- 6 quirements required to operate in Taiwan; and 7 (B) shall be composed of staff who dem- 8 onstrate significant experience managing ex- 9 change programs in the Indo-Pacific region. 10 (d) CURRICULUM.— 11 (1) FIRST YEAR.—During the first year of each 12 fellowship under this section, each fellow should 13 study— 14 (A) the Mandarin Chinese language; 15 (B) the people, history, and political cli- 16 mate on Taiwan; and 17 (C) the issues affecting the relationship be- 18 tween the United States and the Indo-Pacific 19 region. 20 (2) SECOND YEAR.—During the second year of 21 each fellowship under this section, each fellow, sub- 22 ject to the approval of the Department of State, the 23 American Institute in Taiwan, and the implementing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4327 IS partner, and in accordance with the purposes of this 1 Act, shall work in— 2 (A) a parliamentary office, ministry, or 3 other agency of Taiwan authorities; or 4 (B) an organization outside of Taiwan au- 5 thorities, whose interests are associated with 6 the interests of the fellow and the agency of the 7 United States Government from which the fel- 8 low had been employed. 9 (e) PILOT PROGRAM.—Notwithstanding any require- 10 ment under this section, during fiscal years 2021 and 11 2022, the Secretary of State may select fewer than 10 fel- 12 lows for placement in a parliamentary office, ministry, or 13 other agency of Taiwan authorities for a period shorter 14 than 1 year. 15 SEC. 5. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 16 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A United States 17 citizen is eligible for a fellowship under section 4 if he or 18 she— 19 (1) is an employee of the United States Govern- 20 ment; 21 (2) has at least 2 years of experience in any 22 branch of the United States Government; 23 (3) has a demonstrated professional or edu- 24 cational background in the relationship between the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4327 IS United States and countries in the Indo-Pacific re- 1 gion; 2 (4) has demonstrated his or her commitment to 3 further service in the United States Government; 4 and 5 (5) meets any other qualifications established 6 by the Department of State, the American Institute 7 in Taiwan and, as appropriate, its implementing 8 partner. 9 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FELLOWS.—Each recipi- 10 ent of a fellowship under this Act shall agree, as a condi- 11 tion of such fellowship— 12 (1) to maintain satisfactory progress in lan- 13 guage training and appropriate behavior in Taiwan, 14 as determined by the Department of State, the 15 American Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, 16 its implementing partner; 17 (2) to refrain from engaging in any intelligence 18 or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the 19 United States Government; and 20 (3) to continue Federal Government employ- 21 ment for a period of not less than 4 years after the 22 conclusion of the fellowship. 23 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF IMPLEMENTING PART- 24 NER.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4327 IS (1) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.—The imple- 1 menting partner, in close coordination with the De- 2 partment of State and the American Institute in 3 Taiwan, shall— 4 (A) make efforts to recruit fellowship can- 5 didates who reflect the diversity of the United 6 States; and 7 (B) select fellows for the Taiwan Fellow- 8 ship Program based solely on merit, with appro- 9 priate supervision from the Department of 10 State and the American Institute in Taiwan. 11 (2) FIRST YEAR.—The implementing partner 12 should provide each fellow in the first year of his or 13 her fellowship with— 14 (A) intensive Mandarin Chinese language 15 training; and 16 (B) courses in the political economy of 17 Taiwan, China, and the broader Indo-Pacific. 18 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIRED TRAINING.—The De- 19 partment of State, in coordination with the Amer- 20 ican Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, the im- 21 plementing partner, may waive any of the training 22 required under paragraph (1) to the extent that a 23 fellow has Mandarin language skills, knowledge of 24 the topic described in paragraph (2)(B), or for other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4327 IS reasons approved by the Department of State and 1 the American Institute in Taiwan. If any of the 2 training requirement is waived for a fellow, the first 3 year of his or her fellowship may be shortened to the 4 extent appropriate. 5 (4) OFFICE; STAFFING.—The implementing 6 partner, in consultation with the Department of 7 State and the American Institute in Taiwan, shall 8 maintain an office and at least 1 full-time staff 9 member in Taiwan— 10 (A) to liaise with the American Institute in 11 Taiwan and Taiwan authorities; and 12 (B) to serve as the primary in-country 13 point of contact for the recipients of fellowships 14 under this Act and their dependents. 15 (5) OTHER FUNCTIONS.—The implementing 16 partner shall perform other functions in association 17 in support of the Taiwan Fellowship Program, in- 18 cluding logistical and administrative functions, as 19 prescribed by the Department of State and the 20 American Institute in Taiwan. 21 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any fellow who fails to com- 23 ply with the requirements under this section shall re- 24 imburse the American Institute in Taiwan for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4327 IS (A) the Federal funds expended for the fel- 1 low’s participation in the fellowship, as set forth 2 in paragraphs (2) and (3); and 3 (B) interest accrued on such funds (cal- 4 culated at the prevailing rate). 5 (2) FULL REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow who 6 violates paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) shall 7 reimburse the American Institute in Taiwan in an 8 amount equal to the sum of— 9 (A) all of the Federal funds expended for 10 the fellow’s participation in the fellowship; and 11 (B) interest on the amount specified in 12 subparagraph (A), which shall be calculated at 13 the prevailing rate. 14 (3) PRO RATA REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow 15 who violates subsection (b)(3) shall reimburse the 16 American Institute in Taiwan in an amount equal to 17 the difference between— 18 (A) the amount specified in paragraph (2); 19 and 20 (B) the product of— 21 (i) the amount the fellow received in 22 compensation during the final year of the 23 fellowship, including the value of any al- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4327 IS lowances and benefits received by the fel- 1 low; multiplied by 2 (ii) the perce [Text truncated for display. 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