Chinese students unsettled by aggressive US visual restrictions

Chinese students unsettled by aggressive US visual restrictions

Kiwi Zhang, a computer science student from China, had great hopes for his academic future in the United States-until his visa was revoked at the US border last week.

an abrupt end of the American dream

The first doctoral student at a university in the central USA had just presented his research at a conference in Asia. When he returned to the United States after a short visit to his home, his American dream ended abruptly. According to Zhang, he was held by US officials on the border for 48 hours who confiscated his cell phone and laptop and searched his personal items. He reported that they asked him about his connections to the China Communist Party and about meetings with friends in China.

At the end of the survey, according to Zhang, he was deported and designated from the USA for five years, based on suspicion that he had shared his research with the Chinese government - an accusation that he denies. Now he is back in China and thinks about his next steps.

fear among Chinese students

"I never thought that something like this could happen to me," said Zhang, who - like everyone with whom CNN spoke for this story - asked for fear of retaliation for the use of a pseudonym. "I didn't know that things after Donald Trump's return to office could become so extreme. His administration endangers my academic future, and I feel powerless to defend my rights." Many Chinese students in the United States are now afraid that they could suffer the same fate after the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it will "Aggressively revoking visa for Chinese students" , especially for those with connections to the Communist Party of Chinese or that study in critical areas.

shock waves through the announcement

The announcement of Foreign Minister Marco Rubio was short and vague, but caused massive confusion and fear among current and potential students as well as their families in China, accompanied by strong resistance from Beijing. News of unbelief were posted in student chat groups. Education experts received panic knitting calls. Many students expressed their frustration and anger on social media.

At a regular press conference on Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the Trump administration, ideology and national security as a "pretext" for this "politically motivated and discriminatory" step. Suddenly hundreds of thousands of young Chinese talents, which were attracted to the prestigious education and the American dream, saw themselves towards a tough reality: the future for which they had worked so hard is now on the brink, trapped in the moods of a US administration that increasingly perceives as a threat.

growing skepticism and uncertainty

For decades, China's brightest heads have been moving to the United States while her home country tried to keep up with the leading superpower of the world. By last year, Chinese students made up for the largest group of international students in the United States and contributed significantly to the economy while helping to maintain the competitive advantage of the USA in scientific research and technological innovation.

With the increasing strategic rivalry between the two countries, distrust has deepened. Both sides have tightened national security measures and more protected their advanced technologies, especially in sensitive sectors with military implications.

During his first term in 2020, Trump introduced a ban that effectively refused US visa for graduates in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) of Chinese universities who are presumably connected to the military. Within just three months, more than 1,000 Chinese citizens Your Visa , and the arrangement remained under the former president Joe Biden .

The consequences for the students

It is unclear how quickly or comprehensively the new cancellation will be implemented. Nevertheless, fear among the Chinese students can be clearly felt. In a country that has long seen as a lighthouse of freedom, many were too fearful, open to speak under their real name - a fear that is all too well known from their homeland.

This includes David Yang, whose heart sank when he saw Rubios announcement. "It's just too surreal," said the doctoral student in the second year of theoretical chemistry at a renowned university in the Midwest of the United States. "When the news was brought up, some fellow students said that they were working on their theses but completely lost the motivation. I felt the same way." In the past few weeks, Yang has almost impossible to concentrate on his research work, which is about simulating how molecules interact in the human body. Instead, he nervously pursued the news and persecuted Trump's escalating war against elite universities and international students in which he tried to assess whether he could get into the field of firing.

Last week, the Trump administration imposed a ban on Harvard University to enroll international students, and accused the respected institution of "coordinating the China's Communist Party", among other things. Although a federal court has now stopped this step, the Foreign Ministry soon followed with a diplomatic letter that the US messages and consulate worldwide followed up to suspend new student visa appointments.

tension and despair

While Yang scroll through the headlines, he repeatedly met him with struggles of fear, and he found himself updating the news again and again. "I felt sad, lost and powerless. It was incredibly stressful," he said. "The constant changes in politics bring so much uncertainty into our lives. This affects productivity enormously and has a negative impact on mental health over time - which is already the case with me." Because of his worries about his visa, Yang plans to cancel his trip home this winter. His main subject could fall into what Rubio described as "critical areas", and like millions of other Chinese students, he is a member of the Communist Youth League, a youth organization of the 99 million comprehensive communist party for people between the ages of 14 and 28.

in China are most students until the end of the upper level youth league members or have party members among family and friends-thanks to the omnipresence of the party in government and economy as well as in cultural and social sectors. "The vast majority of people in China has some connection to the Communist Party - basically the same is as if you were condemned by all Chinese students with a single blow," says Yang.

Zhang, the student, whose visa was revoked at the border, reported that US officials asked him whether someone in his family was a member of the Communist Party. He replied that both parents were members. Then they asked him about his own connection to the communist youth league.

"I said I never had a connection to you. The communist youth league demands seven or eight yuan (about $ 1) a year, but there are no activities at all. But the officials said: 'They lie.' I honestly didn't know what to say. I could only sit and be amazed," said Zhang.

Alternative options for students

In view of a possible deportation in the middle of her hard -developed training, some Chinese students consider other options. Ella Liu, a mathematics student at the University of Michigan, is visiting a family in the southern city of Guangzhou before her summer research project begins in the USA next month.

"My parents and I all pray that I will not be excluded from entering the country in June," she said. Liu was attracted to the United States' academic freedom and resources. If, on the other hand, the strict visual policy continues, it could consider switching to another university in Europe or Hong Kong. "I am very determined to study mathematics, and there are also many excellent mathematics resources in other countries, for example in France," she said.

How many Chinese students comes from a middle class family. Her parents saved for years so that she can take part in college training in the United States, where the study and living costs can be over $ 80,000-significantly more than acquiring a degree in Europe or Asia.

vibrations in education

Some Chinese students are already looking for alternatives. In recent years, the number of Chinese students in the United States has decreased continuously, since its high in the school year 2019-2020-a decline that coincides with both the Covid 19 pandemic and with increasing tensions between the two governments. Nelson Uena Jr., co -founder and director of college advice in an educational institution company in Shanghai, said that many Chinese families viewed American universities for years as the "gold standard" for university formation.

Since about 2018, however, he has observed a growing interest of students and parents in universities in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as the half -autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. "Many families had legitimate concerns about the security of their children and also in terms of rhetoric as to whether they were welcome in the USA," he said, referring to problems such as gun violence as well as racist hostility or even violence against Asian people.

"Lately people have been starting how the gap between the USA and China is growing, and have the feeling that it may be more difficult for them - from visa to the payment of tuition fees." Rubios announcement on Wednesday also promised to “revise the visa criteria to improve the review of all future visa applications from China, including Hong Kong.”

Since then, Ura has been flooded by concerned students who are preparing to start their academic career in the United States. But he had no clear answer to her questions. "There is a lot of uncertainty right now. The students try to find out what they should do ... The options are very limited at the moment - do you make a free year? Do you go back to another university? Do you have to go back to the application process?"

The continuing charm of American education

Despite the difficulties, the attraction of American university education has not subsided for some Chinese parents. Arno Huang, a 56-year-old businessman from the coastal province of Fujian in China, would like to send his children to the USA to do their master's degree after completing their bachelor's degree in Hong Kong. "The USA represent one of the most civilized, developed and open places for humanity. Although relationships between the USA and China are currently tense, clever people still recognize this fact," said Huang.

children who study in the USA bring a family "face", he said, using a common Chinese term to refer to a good reputation or social status. "As soon as your child is in the USA, you can proudly say to others: 'Look how successful my son is!'"

Zichen Wang, research scholarship at the Center for China and Globalization, a non-governmental Think Tank in Beijing, regretted an apparently past era when Chinese civil servants, entrepreneurs and scientists were trained in the USA- especially those who played a key role during China's reform and opening policy in 1978. "When they returned to China, they not only brought technical knowledge and qualifications, but also a deep respect and recognition for the USA as an open and integrative society," he said.

"I think many Chinese see what America makes great, not only in its economic or military strength, but in his openness - his first -class universities, his confidence in the idea market and its ability to attract the best global talents," added Wang. "At least in my view, this is what many people all over the world really admire in the USA."