This article begins with a review of relevant literature and a brief introduction to dependency theory and center-periphery theory, and then it will outline major changes in general education in the United States. In the third part, the article analyzes how U.S. general education has been transferred to Japan, China, and Hong Kong; its impact on the three places; and similarities and differences in the acceptance and implementation of U.S. general education in Japan, China, and Hong Kong. The study concludes by identifying characteristics of general education in these three systems and to what extent dependency theory or center-periphery theory can explain the transfer of U.S. ideas to Japan, China, and Hong Kong with regard to the changes in their respective higher education curricula.