Myth or Merit? A Reassessment of the “Monks From Afar” Effect in Taiwan's Dual‐Track Talent Policy in Higher Education

In response to global talent competition and the goal of building world‐class universities, Taiwan's government introduced talent policies to enhance research capacity and international visibility. This study employs a mixed‐methods design to analyse the distribution of four main awardee types in alignment with Taiwan's dual talent policies and assess their research productivity, impact, and collaboration using bibliometric methods. Semi‐structured interviews are used to illustrate the challenges of policy implementation. Three key findings are presented as follows. First, Yushan and Young Yushan fellows surpass local awardees in research productivity and international engagement. Second, while Outstanding Research Award awardees maintain strong performance in top‐cited publications and FWCI, Young Yushan awardees exhibit higher levels of international collaboration relative to Outstanding Research awardees. Third, challenges such as difficulties in attracting and retaining international scholars, limited campus internationalisation, and significant compensation disparities between award systems continue to undermine the effectiveness of Taiwan's dual talent policy. The findings indicate that Taiwan's government needs to reassess its current policies and implement a fairer, long‐term approach to talent management.