In a nod to China, Harvard moves language program from Beijing to Taipei

“The program decided to move to Taipei due to a perceived lack of friendship with the host institution, Beijing Language and Culture University” (BLCU), Jennifer Liu, director of the Harvard Beijing Academy summer study abroad program, told student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

The transfer of the program to Taiwan by the Ivy League American University is regarded as a swindle to China which considers the separate island to be part of the mainland.

Liu said that in recent years, the Harvard program was beginning to have difficulty accessing the required classrooms and dormitories.

For example, BLCU did not provide a single dormitory for all students, instead requiring the program to divide students into two separate dormitories of different quality, or to find a hotel that would cater to its students. put together, the Harvard Crimson report said.

“Given the condition they provided, we couldn’t really run the program with the quality we are hoping to deliver to our students,” Liu said.

The Harvard Crimson report said, “Liu suspects that the unwelcome environment may be the product of a subtle shift in the Chinese government’s attitude toward American institutions that has occurred since (President) Xi Jinping came to power. “

In previous years, the event would typically host a small party to celebrate United States Independence Day on the Fourth of July, during which students and faculty would eat pizza and sing the national anthem.

However, in 2019, BLCU notified the program that it can no longer organize this holiday party. “We were told that our students are not allowed to sing, celebrate,” Liu said.

However, William Kirby, a professor of China Studies and president of the Harvard Center Shanghai, said the switch was made for purely logistical reasons, and the collaboration between the Ivy League university and Chinese academics was ongoing.

“This is not a time when this university is withdrawing from its engagement with China – it is actually doing everything possible to deepen it,” the newspaper quoted Kirby as saying.

Established in 2005, Harvard Beijing Academy is a nine-week program jointly run by Harvard and BLCU in which students from American universities such as Harvard and Yale study Chinese language and culture, and participate in exchanges with Chinese families. .

As per the BLCU website, an estimated 1,300 students had participated till 2019.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that the Harvard program had been suspended since last year due to Covid-19.

An unnamed Chinese language teacher at the university told the Post that the pandemic had created visa complications.

China has closed its borders and stopped granting visas to most international travel since March last year.

More than 23,000 Indian students studying medicine in China were also stuck in India due to Beijing’s reluctance to lift travel restrictions for them.

The Post reports that there are no signs of restrictions being eased anytime soon, while foreign students may enter Taiwan.

When asked about his reaction at a media briefing here on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was not aware of the specific details.

“I would like to emphasize that China welcomes foreign students to pursue their studies in China. We attach high importance to protecting their legitimate rights and interests and actively addressing their legitimate concerns. We We are against politicization of people-to-people and cultural exchanges.”