The English-language China Daily, owned by the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department, on July 7 reported that more than 500 Chinese students who had received offers to pursue postgraduate studies in subjects related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) had been refused study visas for the US.
Beijing had made “solemn representations” to Washington regarding the matter, it said.
The majority of the students were aspiring majors in electrical engineering, computing, mechanics, chemistry, materials science, biomedical science and other STEM subjects. The schools they were intending to study at included elite institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The US rejected their visa applicants on the grounds of the US’ Proclamation 10043: Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Students and Researchers From the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was signed by former US president Donald Trump on May 29 last year and came into effect the following month. The proclamation bars Chinese from studying or conducting research “at or on behalf of ... an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC’s ‘military-civil fusion strategy.’”
The ban mostly applies to Chinese who have graduated from specific universities or colleges, such as academic institutions affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, known colloquially as the “national defense seven” grouping of colleges.
US officials have repeatedly criticized China for stealing sensitive US technology and conducting economic intelligence through its “military-civil fusion strategy.”
Officials have also said that Chinese spies posing as students and researchers present a security threat to the US.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) wrote on the ministry’s official Twitter account: “Over 500 Chinese #students’ visa applications were denied by the US. Is this what the #US called freedom and openness?”
Judging by Hua’s Twitter activity, she has clearly been tasked with attacking the US, its society and model of governance, and the tweet on the visa issue was comical.
It is reminiscent of an incident several years ago involving a then-student in Peking University’s Chinese language and literature departement called Ma Nan (馬楠).
Ma, who had been selected as a student representative, angrily upbraided then-US president Bill Clinton over the “abominable US human rights situation” during his visit to the university in 1998.
Ma’s fiery denunciation put Clinton on the spot and created an embarrassing situation.
Two years later, Ma chose to further her education in the US, despite the supposedly abominable human rights situation, and then went on to marry an American.
In all fairness, while a minority of the more than 500 students whose visas were rejected might indeed be Chinese spies, the majority would behave like Ma and simply aspire to further their studies in the US: They must criticize the US to protect themselves, or to mask that at the bottom of their hearts, they aspire to a life in the US.
This is the sad truth of living under a totalitarian regime.
Yu Kung is a Taiwanese businessman working in China.
Translated by Edward Jones
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
An American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson on Saturday rebuked a Chinese official for mischaracterizing World War II-era agreements as proving that Taiwan was ceded to China. The US Department of State later affirmed that the AIT remarks reflect Washington’s long-standing position: Taiwan’s political status remains undetermined and should only be resolved peacefully. The US would continue supporting Taiwan against military, economic, legal and diplomatic pressure from China, and opposes any unilateral attempt to alter the “status quo,” particularly through coercion or force, the United Daily News cited the department as saying. The remarks followed Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs
RSS