Opinion | What's Washington up to? Harvard is moving language course from Beijing to Taipei

By Augustus K. Yeung

Introduction

In the tense, tumultuous tussle between the world's two largest and most fiercely competitive economies, namely Beijing and Washington, the residual value of issues over Hong Kong, Xinjiang as areas of controversy may be much limited compared with the dynamic Taiwan issue; Washington can magically multiply, expand or exaggerate and turn it into the hottest issue of the three effortlessly.

With US access to Hong Kong and Xinjiang being severely curtailed--due to visa restrictions and China's imposition of national security laws--Taiwan is governed by an "alien" force, alternating between two of its political parties, namely the Democratic Progressive Party and its archenemy, the Kuomintang (KMT).

The world can, therefore, be expected to be hearing more about bickering between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan from now on, say over the issues of US sale of arms, the simplest relocation of center of higher learning, or even over more sudden, unpredictable and explosive incidents.

Harvard is Relocating Its Language Centre

(Established in 2005, the Harvard Beijing Academy is a programme run jointly by Harvard and Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Students from US universities such as Harvard and Yale study Chinese language and culture. They take part in exchanges with Chinese families during a nine-week course. According to BLCU's website, as of 2019, an estimated 1,300 students had taken part.)

Harvard is moving its Chinese language programme from Beijing to Taipei next year, according to Jennifer Liu, the director of the Harvard Beijing Academy summer study abroad programme. ("Harvard language course moves from Beijing to Taipei." South China Morning Post, October 13, 2021.)

The decision was made because of a perceived lack of friendliness from the host institute, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). That included the programme encountering increasing difficulty in accessing the classrooms and dormitories it needed, which Liu said would compromise the quality it hoped to offer students.

There had been worries the subtle shift in the Chinese government's attitude towards US institutions was behind the unwelcoming environment, Liu said.

Other Sources Offer Alternative Perspectives

William Kirby, a professor of China Studies and chairman of the Harvard Centre Shanghai, reportedly believed the switch was made for purely logistical reasons and collaborations between the Ivy League university and Chinese academics were continuing. What he is trying to emphasize is that it is not a political decision as the "collaborations between the Ivy League and Chinese academics were continuing."

"This is not a time in which this university is retreating from its engagement with China – it's actually seeking every way possible to deepen it," Kirby was quoted as saying by the Post.

A source at the BLCU told the Post the Harvard programme had been suspended since last year because of Covid-19, and a Chinese language teacher at the university, who declined to be identified, said the pandemic had brought "visa complications".

There is no sign of restrictions being eased soon, whereas foreign students (or even CIA operatives) can enter Taiwan freely.

"It's unlikely foreign students would come to Beijing for any language programme," said the teacher, who refused to be named, without explaining further.

The New Academy Will Be Hosted by National Taiwan University

The new Harvard Taipei Academy will be hosted by the National Taiwan University, the most famous university in China's renegade province, where foreign students will be given full access to dining, library services and other facilities as well as "comfortable rooms with private bathrooms", the website of the Harvard Taipei Academy proudly made public.

However, the purpose of the academy may have to be compromised as the province of Taiwan can only offer a limited section and amount of Chinese culture and sight-seeing destinations for the vibrant foreign students, whose learning opportunities and values will be drastically reduced.

Harvard's decision to relocate the academy comes at a time of intensifying competition between the two rivaling cities, namely Beijing and Taipei, inevitably courting controversy. And Harvard University must expect to be embroiled in anything possible or even untoward events in the future.

Conclusion

That Taiwan as the hottest issue is a foregone conclusion: Relocating Harvard Language Academy to Taipei may or may not be a political decision, but the academy itself will certainly be in the line of fire as Taiwan is China's sorest spot, the most sensitive area, and Beijing's utmost untouchable red line.

Though no one would doubt Harvard's intention of sending the American students to China to learn the Chinese language, culture and to have deeper understanding of Chinese sentiments, the fact that its students landed in Taiwan, complicated the original decision to have its exchange students in mainland China where they can reap unlimited learning opportunities as young scholars on Chinese studies or even horn business skills.

These intangible benefits include the various ingenious ways the Chinese conduct business, how the state-owned institutions manage themselves in trade wars and the internationalization of the yuan or RMB, etc. And social life in mainland China is entirely different from life in Taiwan, which leaves no room for sociological imagination.

For example, Harvard's American students in Taipei will certainly not be able to watch Chinese TV or see films made in China. As a case in point: A war film such as The Battle at Lake Changjin (a significant episode in the Korean conflict) will certainly provoke critical thinking. It might even provide business insight for those American students who want to make best-selling cultural films in China.

Finally, the decision to relocate the Academy from Beijing to Taipei may or may not be political. I am sure that the students' loss is obvious; their learning opportunities will significantly be curtailed. At the end of the day, smart American students would ask, "Whose interest is being served in this relocation?"

Personally, amid Sino-US tensions, I suspect that this may be another clandestine operation of the American CIA--to subvert China. Who knows?

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.