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 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the Taiwan Fellowship Program, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96– 

9 8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) affirmed United States 

10 policy ‘‘to preserve and promote extensive, close, and 


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1 friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations be2 tween the people of the United States and the people 

3 on Taiwan, as well as the people on the China main4 land and all other peoples of the Western Pacific 

5 area’’. 

6 (2) Consistent with the Asia Reassurance Ini7 tiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–409), the 

8 United States has grown its strategic partnership 

9 with Taiwan’s vibrant democracy of 23,000,000 peo10 ple. 

11 (3) Despite a concerted campaign by the Peo12 ple’s Republic of China to isolate Taiwan from its 

13 diplomatic partners and from international organiza14 tions, including the World Health Organization, Tai15 wan has emerged as a global leader in the 

16 coronavirus global pandemic response, including by 

17 donating more than 2,000,000 surgical masks and 

18 other medical equipment to the United States. 

19 (4) The creation of a United States fellowship 

20 program with Taiwan would support a key priority 

21 of expanding people-to-people exchanges, which was 

22 outlined in the President’s 2017 National Security 

23 Strategy. 

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to further strengthen the United States-Tai2 wan strategic partnership and broaden under3 standing of the Indo-Pacific region by temporarily 

4 assigning officials of any branch of the United 

5 States Government to Taiwan for intensive study in 

6 Mandarin and placement as Fellows with Taiwan 

7 authorities or a Taiwanese civic institution; 

8 (2) to provide for eligible United States per9 sonnel to learn Mandarin Chinese and expand their 

10 understanding of the political economy of Taiwan 

11 and the Indo-Pacific region; 

12 (3) to better position the United States to ad13 vance its economic, security, and human rights in14 terests in the Indo-Pacific region; and 

15 (4) to encourage further expansion of other 

16 people-to-people exchanges, including by expanding 

17 the Fulbright Scholars Program, the International 

18 Visitors Leadership Program, and other exchange 

19 programs that permit the people of Taiwan to work 

20 and study in the United States. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 

24 means— 


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1 (A) in the case of the executive branch of 

2 United States Government or an agency of the 

3 legislative branch other than the Senate or the 

4 House of Representatives, the head of the re5 spective agency; 

6 (B) in the case of the judicial branch of 

7 United States Government, the chief judge of 

8 the respective court; 

9 (C) in the case of the Senate, the Presi10 dent pro tempore, in consultation with the ma11 jority leader and the minority leader of the Sen12 ate; and 

13 (D) in the case of the House of Represent14 atives, the Speaker of the House, in consulta15 tion with the majority leader and the minority 

16 leader of the House of Representatives. 

17 (2) AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERN18 MENT.—The term ‘‘agency of the United States 

19 Government’’ includes any agency of the legislative 

20 branch and any court of the judicial branch as well 

21 as any agency of the executive branch. 

22 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com24 mittees’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the Senate; 

3 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

4 the Senate; 

5 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

6 the House of Representatives; and 

7 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

8 the House of Representatives. 

9 (4) DETAILEE.—The term ‘‘detailee’’ means an 

10 employee of an agency of the United States Govern11 ment on loan to the American Institute in Taiwan 

12 without a change of position from the agency at 

13 which he or she is employed. 

14 (5) IMPLEMENTING PARTNER.—The term ‘‘im15 plementing partner’’ means any United States orga16 nization described in 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 that— 

18 (A) performs logistical, administrative, and 

19 other functions, as determined by the Depart20 ment of State and the American Institute of 

21 Taiwan in support of the Taiwan Fellowship 

22 Program; and 

23 (B) enters into a cooperative agreement 

24 with the American Institute in Taiwan to ad25 minister the Taiwan Fellowship Program. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAIWAN FELLOWSHIP PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

4 establish the ‘‘Taiwan Fellowship Program’’ to provide 2- 

5 year fellowship opportunities in Taiwan for eligible United 

6 States citizens. The Department of State, in consultation 

7 with the American Institute in Taiwan and the imple8 menting partner, may modify the program name. 

9 (b) GRANTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The American Institute in 

11 Taiwan should use amounts appropriated pursuant 

12 to section 7(a) to provide annual or multi-year 

13 grants to an appropriate implementing partner. 

14 (2) FELLOWSHIPS.—The Department of State, 

15 in consultation with the American Institute in Tai16 wan and, as appropriate, the implementing partner, 

17 should annually award not fewer than 10 2-year fel18 lowships (based on available funding) to eligible 

19 United States citizens. 

20 (c) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT; IMPLEMENTING

21 PARTNER.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act, the American Institute in Taiwan, 

23 in consultation with the Department of State, should— 

24 (1) begin negotiations with the Taipei Economic 

25 and Cultural Representative Office, or with another 

26 appropriate entity, for the purpose of entering into 


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1 an agreement to facilitate the placement of fellows 

2 in an agency of the Taiwan authorities during the 

3 second year of their fellowships; and 

4 (2) begin the process of selecting an imple5 menting partner, which— 

6 (A) shall agree to meet all of the legal re7 quirements required to operate in Taiwan; and 

8 (B) shall be composed of staff who dem9 onstrate significant experience managing ex10 change programs in the Indo-Pacific region. 

11 (d) CURRICULUM.— 

12 (1) FIRST YEAR.—During the first year of each 

13 fellowship under this section, each fellow should 

14 study— 

15 (A) the Mandarin Chinese language; 

16 (B) the people, history, and political cli17 mate on Taiwan; and 

18 (C) the issues affecting the relationship be19 tween the United States and the Indo-Pacific 

20 region. 

21 (2) SECOND YEAR.—During the second year of 

22 each fellowship under this section, each fellow, sub23 ject to the approval of the Department of State, the 

24 American Institute in Taiwan, and the implementing 


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1 partner, and in accordance with the purposes of this 

2 Act, shall work in— 

3 (A) a parliamentary office, ministry, or 

4 other agency of Taiwan authorities; or 

5 (B) an organization outside of Taiwan au6 thorities, whose interests are associated with 

7 the interests of the fellow and the agency of the 

8 United States Government from which the fel9 low had been employed. 

10 (e) PILOT PROGRAM.—Notwithstanding any require11 ment under this section, during fiscal years 2021 and 

12 2022, the Secretary of State may select fewer than 10 fel13 lows for placement in a parliamentary office, ministry, or 

14 other agency of Taiwan authorities for a period shorter 

15 than 1 year. 

16 SEC. 5. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—A United States 

18 citizen is eligible for a fellowship under section 4 if he or 

19 she— 

20 (1) is an employee of the United States Govern21 ment; 

22 (2) has at least 2 years of experience in any 

23 branch of the United States Government; 

24 (3) has a demonstrated professional or edu25 cational background in the relationship between the 


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1 United States and countries in the Indo-Pacific re2 gion; 

3 (4) has demonstrated his or her commitment to 

4 further service in the United States Government; 

5 and 

6 (5) meets any other qualifications established 

7 by the Department of State, the American Institute 

8 in Taiwan and, as appropriate, its implementing 

9 partner. 

10 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF FELLOWS.—Each recipi11 ent of a fellowship under this Act shall agree, as a condi12 tion of such fellowship— 

13 (1) to maintain satisfactory progress in lan14 guage training and appropriate behavior in Taiwan, 

15 as determined by the Department of State, the 

16 American Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, 

17 its implementing partner; 

18 (2) to refrain from engaging in any intelligence 

19 or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the 

20 United States Government; and 

21 (3) to continue Federal Government employ22 ment for a period of not less than 4 years after the 

23 conclusion of the fellowship. 

24 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF IMPLEMENTING PART25 NER.— 


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1 (1) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.—The imple2 menting partner, in close coordination with the De3 partment of State and the American Institute in 

4 Taiwan, shall— 

5 (A) make efforts to recruit fellowship can6 didates who reflect the diversity of the United 

7 States; and 

8 (B) select fellows for the Taiwan Fellow9 ship Program based solely on merit, with appro10 priate supervision from the Department of 

11 State and the American Institute in Taiwan. 

12 (2) FIRST YEAR.—The implementing partner 

13 should provide each fellow in the first year of his or 

14 her fellowship with— 

15 (A) intensive Mandarin Chinese language 

16 training; and 

17 (B) courses in the political economy of 

18 Taiwan, China, and the broader Indo-Pacific. 

19 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIRED TRAINING.—The De20 partment of State, in coordination with the Amer21 ican Institute in Taiwan and, as appropriate, the im22 plementing partner, may waive any of the training 

23 required under paragraph (1) to the extent that a 

24 fellow has Mandarin language skills, knowledge of 

25 the topic described in paragraph (2)(B), or for other 


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1 reasons approved by the Department of State and 

2 the American Institute in Taiwan. If any of the 

3 training requirement is waived for a fellow, the first 

4 year of his or her fellowship may be shortened to the 

5 extent appropriate. 

6 (4) OFFICE; STAFFING.—The implementing 

7 partner, in consultation with the Department of 

8 State and the American Institute in Taiwan, shall 

9 maintain an office and at least 1 full-time staff 

10 member in Taiwan— 

11 (A) to liaise with the American Institute in 

12 Taiwan and Taiwan authorities; and 

13 (B) to serve as the primary in-country 

14 point of contact for the recipients of fellowships 

15 under this Act and their dependents. 

16 (5) OTHER FUNCTIONS.—The implementing 

17 partner shall perform other functions in association 

18 in support of the Taiwan Fellowship Program, in19 cluding logistical and administrative functions, as 

20 prescribed by the Department of State and the 

21 American Institute in Taiwan. 

22 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any fellow who fails to com24 ply with the requirements under this section shall re25 imburse the American Institute in Taiwan for— 


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1 (A) the Federal funds expended for the fel2 low’s participation in the fellowship, as set forth 

3 in paragraphs (2) and (3); and 

4 (B) interest accrued on such funds (cal5 culated at the prevailing rate). 

6 (2) FULL REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow who 

7 violates paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) shall 

8 reimburse the American Institute in Taiwan in an 

9 amount equal to the sum of— 

10 (A) all of the Federal funds expended for 

11 the fellow’s participation in the fellowship; and 

12 (B) interest on the amount specified in 

13 subparagraph (A), which shall be calculated at 

14 the prevailing rate. 

15 (3) PRO RATA REIMBURSEMENT.—Any fellow 

16 who violates subsection (b)(3) shall reimburse the 

17 American Institute in Taiwan in an amount equal to 

18 the difference between— 

19 (A) the amount specified in paragraph (2); 

20 and 

21 (B) the product of— 

22 (i) the amount the fellow received in 

23 compensation during the final year of the 

24 fellowship, including the value of any alVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327

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1 lowances and benefits received by the fel2 low; multiplied by 

3 (ii) the percentage of the period speci4 fied in subsection (b)(3) during which the 

5 fellow did not remain employed by the 

6 Federal Government. 

7 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the selection of the first class of fellows under this Act, 

9 and annually thereafter, the Department of State shall 

10 offer to brief the appropriate congressional committees re11 garding the following issues: 

12 (1) An assessment of the performance of the 

13 implementing partner in fulfilling the purposes of 

14 this Act. 

15 (2) The names and sponsoring agencies of the 

16 fellows selected by the implementing partner and the 

17 extent to which such fellows represent the diversity 

18 of the United States. 

19 (3) The names of the parliamentary offices, 

20 ministries, other agencies of the Taiwan authorities, 

21 and nongovernmental institutions to which each fel22 low was assigned during the second year of the fel23 lowship. 

24 (4) Any recommendations, as appropriate, to 

25 improve the implementation of the Taiwan Fellows 


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1 Program, including added flexibilities in the admin2 istration of the program. 

3 (5) An assessment of the Taiwan Fellows Pro4 gram’s value upon the relationship between the 

5 United States and Taiwan or the United States and 

6 Asian countries. 

7 (f) ANNUAL FINANCIAL AUDIT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The financial records of any 

9 implementing partner shall be audited annually in 

10 accordance with generally accepted auditing stand11 ards by independent certified public accountants or 

12 independent licensed public accountants who are cer13 tified or licensed by a regulatory authority of a State 

14 or another political subdivision of the United States. 

15 (2) LOCATION.—Each audit under paragraph 

16 (1) shall be conducted at the place or places where 

17 the financial records of the implementing partner 

18 are normally kept. 

19 (3) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.—The imple20 menting partner shall make available to the account21 ants conducting an audit under paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) all books, financial records, files, other 

23 papers, things, and property belonging to, or in 

24 use by, the implementing partner that are nec25 essary to facilitate the audit; and 


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1 (B) full facilities for verifying transactions 

2 with the balances or securities held by deposi3 tories, fiscal agents, and custodians. 

4 (4) REPORT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

6 months after the end of each fiscal year, the 

7 implementing partner shall provide a report of 

8 the audit conducted for such fiscal year under 

9 paragraph (1) to the Department of State and 

10 the American Institute in Taiwan. 

11 (B) CONTENTS.—Each audit report 

12 shall— 

13 (i) set forth the scope of the audit; 

14 (ii) include such statements, along 

15 with the auditor’s opinion of those state16 ments, as may be necessary to present fair17 ly the implementing partner’s assets and 

18 liabilities, surplus or deficit, with reason19 able detail; 

20 (iii) include a statement of the imple21 menting partner’s income and expenses 

22 during the year; and 

23 (iv) include a schedule of— 


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1 (I) all contracts and grants re2 quiring payments greater than 

3 $5,000; and 

4 (II) any payments of compensa5 tion, salaries, or fees at a rate greater 

6 than $5,000 per year. 

7 (C) COPIES.—Each audit report shall be 

8 produced in sufficient copies for distribution to 

9 the public. 

10 SEC. 6. TAIWAN FELLOWS ON DETAIL FROM GOVERNMENT 

11 SERVICE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) DETAIL AUTHORIZED.—With the approval 

14 of the Secretary of State, an agency head may de15 tail, for a period of not more than 2 years, an em16 ployee of the agency of the United States Govern17 ment who has been awarded a fellowship under this 

18 Act, to the American Institute in Taiwan for the 

19 purpose of assignment to Taiwan authorities or an 

20 organization described in section 4(d)(2)(B). 

21 (2) AGREEMENT.—Each detailee shall enter 

22 into a written agreement with the Federal Govern23 ment before receiving a fellowship, in which the fel24 low shall agree— 


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1 (A) to continue in the service of the spon2 soring agency at the end of the fellowship for 

3 a period of at least 2 years unless the detailee 

4 is involuntarily separated from the service of 

5 such agency or participates in a pilot program 

6 authorized under section 4(e); and 

7 (B) to pay to the American Institute in 

8 Taiwan any additional expenses incurred by the 

9 Federal Government in connection with the fel10 lowship if the detailee voluntarily separates 

11 from service with the sponsoring agency before 

12 the end of the period for which the detailee has 

13 agreed to continue in the service of such agen14 cy. 

15 (3) EXCEPTION.—The payment agreed to under 

16 paragraph (2)(B) may not be required of a detailee 

17 who leaves the service of the sponsoring agency to 

18 enter into the service of another agency of the 

19 United States Government unless the head of the 

20 sponsoring agency notifies the detailee before the ef21 fective date of entry into the service of the other 

22 agency that payment will be required under this sub23 section. 

24 (b) STATUS AS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE.—A 

25 detailee— 


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1 (1) is deemed, for the purpose of preserving al2 lowances, privileges, rights, seniority, and other ben3 efits, to be an employee of the sponsoring agency; 

4 (2) is entitled to pay, allowances, and benefits 

5 from funds available to such agency, which is 

6 deemed to comply with section 5536 of title 5, 

7 United States Code; and 

8 (3) may be assigned to a position with an entity 

9 described in section 4(d)(2)(A) if acceptance of such 

10 position does not involve— 

11 (A) the taking of an oath of allegiance to 

12 another government; or 

13 (B) the acceptance of compensation or 

14 other benefits from any foreign government by 

15 such detailee. 

16 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SPONSORING AGENCY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal agency from 

18 which a detailee is detailed should provide the fellow 

19 allowances and benefits that are consistent with De20 partment of State Standardized Regulations or other 

21 applicable rules and regulations, including— 

22 (A) a living quarters allowance to cover the 

23 cost of housing in Taiwan; 

24 (B) a cost of living allowance to cover any 

25 possible higher costs of living in Taiwan; 


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1 (C) a temporary quarters subsistence al2 lowance for up to 7 days if the fellow is unable 

3 to find housing immediately upon arriving in 

4 Taiwan; 

5 (D) an education allowance to assist par6 ents in providing the fellow’s minor children 

7 with educational services ordinarily provided 

8 without charge by public schools in the United 

9 States; 

10 (E) moving expenses to transport personal 

11 belongings of the fellow and his or her family 

12 in their move to Taiwan, which is comparable 

13 to the allowance given for American Institute in 

14 Taiwan employees assigned to Taiwan; and 

15 (F) an economy-class airline ticket to and 

16 from Taiwan for each fellow and the fellow’s 

17 immediate family. 

18 (2) MODIFICATION OF BENEFITS.—The Amer19 ican Institute in Taiwan and its implementing part20 ner, with the approval of the Department of State, 

21 may modify the benefits set forth in paragraph (1) 

22 if such modification is warranted by fiscal cir23 cumstances. 

24 (d) NO FINANCIAL LIABILITY.—The American Insti25 tute in Taiwan, the implementing partner, and any TaiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327

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1 wan authorities or nongovernmental entities in Taiwan at 

2 which a fellow is detailed during the second year of the 

3 fellowship may not be held responsible for the pay, allow4 ances, or any other benefit normally provided to the 

5 detailee. 

6 (e) REIMBURSEMENT.—Fellows may be detailed 

7 under subsection (a)(1) without reimbursement to the 

8 United States by the American Institute in Taiwan. 

9 (f) ALLOWANCES AND BENEFITS.—Detailees may be 

10 paid by the American Institute in Taiwan for the allow11 ances and benefits listed in subsection (c). 

12 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the American Insti15 tute in Taiwan— 

16 (1) for fiscal year 2021, $500,000 to launch the 

17 Taiwan Fellowship Program through the issuance of 

18 a competitive grant to an appropriate implementing 

19 partner; and 

20 (2) for fiscal year 2021, and each succeeding 

21 fiscal year, $3,200,000, of which— 

22 (A) $2,300,000 shall be used for a grant 

23 to the appropriate implementing partner; and 

24 (B) $100,000 shall be used for manage25 ment expenses of the American Institute in TaiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4327.IS S4327

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1 wan related to the management of the Taiwan 

2 Fellowship Program. 

3 (b) PRIVATE SOURCES.—The implementing partner 

4 selected to implement the Taiwan Fellowship Program 

5 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv6 ices or property in carrying out such program, subject to 

7 the review and approval of the American Institute in Tai8 wan. 

Æ 


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