PRC UNIVERSITIES OPEN THEIR DOORS AS U.S. CUTS PHD PROGRAMS
As the U.S. cuts funding for graduate studies, PhD programs at China's top universities are expanding their efforts to recruit Chinese undergraduates. In October, the State Council and the CPC Central Committee issued new guidelines calling on universities to "deepen the comprehensive reform of doctoral education" and become "an important hub of doctoral education in the world." Fudan University has announced a new initiative to recruit undergraduate students from elite colleges. The program is open to 18 disciplines, including computer science, biomedical engineering, and medicine, and select humanities disciplines. In August, Tsinghua University announced its own program to lure outstanding Chinese students from overseas universities to complete PhDs. (South China Morning Post, February 23, 2025)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: At the end of January, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget released a memo calling for a "temporary pause" on all federally funded grants and loans. Vanderbilt University has suspended admissions offers to prospective graduate students and several departments have been asked to reduce their incoming cohorts. Columbia University's graduate School of Arts and Sciences has cut the number of incoming PhD students by 65 percent.]
U.S. RESUMES $870 MILLION IN SECURITY ASSISTANCE TO TAIWAN
The U.S. government has unfrozen $870 million in security assistance for Taiwan. The move, amid dramatic cuts in foreign assistance by the Trump administration, came as the result of a Supreme Court decision to permit the disbursement of some $2 billion in frozen foreign aid. In response, a PRC Defense Ministry spokesperson criticized the decision and warned Taipei: "We will come get you sooner or later." (NPR, February 27, 2025)
CHINA CONDUCTS SECOND LIVE-FIRE DRILL NEAR NEW ZEALAND...
China's navy provided notice of only a few hours before conducting a second live-fire exercise near New Zealand, a day after the first drill forced multiple airlines to change their flight paths to Australia. The live rounds were fired from a PLA warship in international waters off the New Zealand coast. Canberra monitored the three PLA warships, which sailed about 280km off Sydney. Because it is customary to give 24-48 hours' notice before live fire activity, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with her PRC counterpart as a result. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended China's right under international law to carry out the exercises. Last week, a PLA fighter jet fired flares in front of an Australian surveillance aircraft during a patrol over the South China Sea. (The Guardian, February 22, 2025)
...AND LIVE-FIRE EXERCISES NEAR VIETNAM
Chinese warships recently held live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin. China's Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would focus on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin. The drills come a few days after Vietnam announced a new demarcation line identifying its territory in the waters between the countries. According to Hanoi, the baseline complies with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and will provide "a robust legal basis for safeguarding and exercising Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction." (Associated Press, February 24, 2025)
THAILAND DEPORTS AT LEAST 40 UYGHURS
At least 40 Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China. Just after midnight, amid tight security, trucks with black sheets covering their windows left Bangkok's Immigration Detention Center for Don Mueang airport, where a plane was waiting. The men appealed last month to halt their deportation, saying they faced imprisonment and possible execution in China. Thai lawmakers, activists and international organizations had unsuccessfully urged Bangkok not to send them. The deportation represents "a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards. It is deeply regrettable that they have been forcibly returned. It is now important for the Chinese authorities to disclose their whereabouts, and to ensure that they are treated in accordance with international human rights standards," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. (Associated Press, February 28, 2025)