US and Taiwan Launch Fellowship to Place Federal Employees in Ministries and Legislature

Agreement opens a new channel into Taiwan's government

US federal employees will be able to spend up to one year studying Mandarin and regional affairs in Taiwan, followed by up to one year working in its legislature, ministries, other government offices or organizations outside government, under a fellowship agreement signed on November 10, 2026.

American Institute in Taiwan Washington Managing Director Ingrid Larson and Taiwan's representative to the United States, Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, signed the memorandum of understanding in Arlington, Virginia. The agreement starts implementation of the Taiwan Fellowship Program, an initiative intended to build lasting professional relationships and give US officials a deeper working knowledge of Taiwan.

The American Institute in Taiwan, known as AIT, said in its fellowship program announcement that implementation would be coordinated with the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Members of Congress and representatives of the State Department, AIT and Taiwan's representative office attended the signing.

The arrangement gives the relationship a practical new dimension: participating Americans will first study the language and region, then spend an extended period inside organizations where Taiwan's public affairs are handled. For host offices, it creates an opportunity to work regularly with US federal professionals rather than meet them only during visits.

Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, yet remains its most important international backer and arms supplier. The fellowship expands civilian contacts within that relationship at a time when Beijing continues to demand that the United States reduce its dealings with Taipei.

Two stages, with up to a year for each

US federal employees entering the program will begin with intensive Mandarin training and area studies for up to one year. Area studies means learning about a place's politics, society and regional setting, alongside the language needed to understand and discuss those subjects.

Taiwan and relations across the Taiwan Strait are explicit subjects of the program. The strait separates Taiwan from mainland China, and cross-Strait issues include the political and security relationship between the two sides. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry also described policy study and practical exchanges involving Taiwan and the wider Indo-Pacific region.

AIT explained the second stage in its announcement:

Upon completion of training, the 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.

The two stages together allow a participant to spend as much as two years in training and a placement. Both periods are described as lasting up to one year, so the length of an individual fellowship can be shorter.

Where participants could work

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, its parliament, is among the possible destinations. Other placements could be in ministries and government agencies, or in organizations outside the public sector. The announced structure therefore reaches beyond exchanges between diplomats.

A legislative office offers a different view of government from a ministry. Legislators debate laws and examine government decisions, while ministries administer policy within their areas of responsibility. Working in either setting would let participants learn through daily contact with the people carrying out those duties.

Organizations outside government provide another possible route. AIT's description leaves room for placements beyond public administration, while Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said exchanges would give participants direct exposure to Taiwan's practical operations and policy environment.

The launch announcement did not specify annual participant numbers, application dates, the first arrival date, individual host organizations or detailed placement duties. Those details will determine how many offices take part and when the first fellows begin work.

What Washington and Taipei want to build

AIT identified two central goals: expanding the US-Taiwan partnership and strengthening US officials' expertise on Taiwan and cross-Strait issues. It also described an intended group of federal professionals with language skills, cultural knowledge and enduring working relationships across Taiwan.

Larson, AIT's Washington managing director and one of the agreement's signatories, linked the program to support from both major US political parties:

TFP reflects strong bipartisan support for the U.S.-Taiwan relationship and a shared commitment to the people-to-people ties at its core,

Bipartisan support means backing from both Democrats and Republicans. In this case, the fellowship's legislative history spans the Biden administration, when the authorizing law was signed, and the Trump administration, during which the implementation agreement was signed.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung described the program as an important result of deepening ties. He said it would allow more American professionals to understand Taiwan and build closer connections. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry placed the fellowship alongside existing cooperation, including the US-Taiwan Education Initiative, as part of a wider effort to develop professional talent and language exchanges.

From the 2022 law to the 2026 agreement

President Joe Biden signed the Taiwan Fellowship Act into law on December 23, 2022, as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. That explains why the initiative is associated with the 2023 defense legislation even though the signing took place in 2022.

The authorization and the implementation agreement serve different purposes. Congress created the legal basis for the fellowship; the memorandum between AIT and Taiwan's representative office starts the work of putting it into operation. The key milestones are:

• 1994: Congress established the Mike Mansfield Fellowship, a similar exchange program involving Japan.
• December 23, 2022: Biden signed the legislation containing the Taiwan Fellowship Act.
• November 10, 2026: Larson and Yui signed the implementation memorandum in Arlington.
• November 11, 2026: The fellowship launch was announced publicly in Taiwan.

The dates place the implementation agreement almost four years after the law was signed. AIT gave no explanation for that interval. Taiwan's presidential office also said on November 11 that President Lai Ching-te had signed documents related to the program.

The institutions carrying out the exchange

AIT and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, known as TECRO, are the two organizations that signed the memorandum. They provide channels through which Washington and Taipei conduct their relationship without formal diplomatic ties.

AIT's office in Taipei performs many of the functions associated with an embassy. TECRO represents Taiwan in the United States. Their role in the fellowship follows the existing structure of US-Taiwan relations, with an agreement between the representative bodies supporting a new form of cooperation.

The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will coordinate implementation. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry identified State Department officials Cate Dillon and Michael DeSombre, along with House Taiwan Caucus co-chair Ami Bera, among those attending the signing.

The ministry also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had supported the Taiwan Fellowship Act as a co-sponsor while serving in the Senate. His involvement connects the law's earlier congressional backing with the administration responsible for implementing it.

A civilian exchange in a sensitive relationship

China claims Taiwan and regards the issue as its most sensitive diplomatic concern. Beijing has repeatedly called on Washington to limit contacts with Taipei and end arms sales. The fellowship adds sustained contact between US federal employees and Taiwanese institutions to a relationship already watched closely by China.

Washington's support for Taiwan has long combined security assistance with other forms of cooperation. This program concentrates on language, regional knowledge and professional experience. Its distinctive feature is the time participants may spend inside Taiwanese organizations after completing their studies.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were scheduled to meet the following week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Shenzhen, for their third meeting of the year. That puts the fellowship announcement close to another planned encounter between the leaders of the United States and China.

A familiar model with a Taiwan focus

Congress established a comparable initiative for Japan, the Mike Mansfield Fellowship, in 1994. The Taiwan program applies a similar broad idea: federal employees can develop knowledge of another society through language learning and sustained professional contact.

The Taiwan fellowship has a specific focus on Taiwan and cross-Strait affairs. Its design joins classroom preparation with experience in a host organization, so participants can connect what they study with the working routines of a legislature, ministry, agency or organization outside government.

For Taiwanese participants in those offices, the exchange offers regular contact with American federal colleagues. For Washington, the intended result is a group of officials who can draw on Mandarin skills, knowledge of Taiwan and professional relationships when handling issues involving the island. The agreement supplies the framework; recruitment and placements will turn that framework into daily exchanges.

Key Points

• AIT and TECRO signed the Taiwan Fellowship Program memorandum on November 10, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia.
• US federal employees can receive up to one year of Mandarin training and regional studies, followed by up to one year in a placement.
• Possible hosts include Taiwan's legislature, ministries, other government offices and organizations outside government.
• The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will coordinate implementation.
• The authorizing law was signed on December 23, 2022, as part of the defense legislation for fiscal year 2023.
• Annual participant numbers and the first intake date have not been announced.