The Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program (Chinese: 庚子賠款獎學金; lit. '[Year] Gengzi Indemnity Scholarship') was a scholarship program for Chinese students to be educated in the United States, funded by the Boxer Indemnity. In 1908, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to return to China the excess of Boxer Indemnity, amounting to over 17 million dollars. Despite the fierce controversies over returning the excess payment, President Theodore Roosevelt's administration decided to establish the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program to educate Chinese. President Roosevelt recognized this program as a chance for "American-directed reform in China" that could potentially improve US-China relations, bridging Chinese and American culture, and promoting the US's international image. Instead of copying European