Opinion | Donald Trump’s ending of Fulbright programme will only hurt Hong Kong and erode US cultural influence
- The decision is inexplicable whether one looks at it from an educational, economic or national security perspective, or simply not victimising Hong Kong further
- It is just the latest in an extended sequence of self-defeating moves that will weaken America’s infrastructure of global cultural and educational influence
Responding to Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong in the national security area and much else, US President Donald Trump’s “Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization” imposes many changes in Washington’s treatment of Hong Kong. In Washington-speak, “normalisation” means treating Hong Kong the same as mainland China with respect to trade, technology transfer, cultural and educational programmes and so on.
The Fulbright programme has been the flagship educational and cultural exchange programme sending American students, faculty and scholars abroad and bringing counterparts from other countries to the United States to study, teach, conduct research and strengthen language training.
Since its inception in 1947, Fulbright has built a network of 390,000 alumni. The recent executive order runs counter to the long-standing American belief that information is generally to be shared, dialogue is essential and Americans are often powerful ambassadors for their own country.
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US international educational and cultural programmes have many rationales beyond a contest for international influence. They expose Americans and colleagues around the world to new career vistas, bring the best brains in the world into the American innovation system and nurture interpersonal networks essential to managing international crises and building global businesses and universities.
