Beijing condemned the U.S. determination to revoke Chinese pupil visas on Thursday, denouncing President Donald Trump’s newest crackdown on worldwide students as a politically motivated and discriminatory transfer.
Trump’s administration on Wednesday stated it might “aggressively” take away permissions for Chinese college students, one of many largest sources of income for American universities, in his newest broadside in opposition to U.S. increased training.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the U.S. may even revise visa standards to tighten checks on all future purposes from China and Hong Kong.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning blasted the U.S. for “unreasonably” canceling Chinese college students’ visas and stated Beijing had lodged its opposition with Washington.
Rubio had upped the ante after China criticized his determination a day earlier to droop visa appointments for college students worldwide not less than briefly.
The Trump administration has already sought to finish permission for all worldwide college students at Harvard University, which has rebuffed stress from the president associated to pupil protests.
Young Chinese folks have lengthy been essential to U.S. universities, which depend on worldwide college students paying full tuition.
China despatched 277,398 college students within the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months, though India, for the primary time in years, surpassed it, in accordance with a State Department-backed report of the Institute of International Education.
Trump, in his earlier time period, additionally took purpose at Chinese college students however centered consideration on these in delicate fields or with express hyperlinks with the navy.
Global uncertainty
Rubio has already trumpeted the revocation of 1000’s of visas, largely to worldwide college students who had been concerned in activism vital of Israel.
A cable signed by Rubio on Tuesday ordered U.S. embassies and consulates to not permit “any additional student or exchange visa … appointment capacity until further guidance is issued” on ramping up the screening of candidates’ social media accounts.
On Wednesday, Rubio heaped stress on China, saying Washington will “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” he stated.
But the slew of measures additionally threatens to stress college students from nations pleasant to the United States.
In Taiwan, a PhD pupil set to review in California complained of “feeling uncertain” in regards to the visa pause.
“I understand the process may be delayed, but there is still some time before the semester begins in mid-August,” stated the 27-year-old pupil who didn’t need to be recognized.
“All I can do now is wait and hope for the best.”
Harvard protests
A choose paused the order to bar overseas college students pending a listening to scheduled for Thursday, the identical day because the college’s commencement ceremony for which 1000’s of scholars and their households had gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The White House has additionally stripped Harvard, in addition to different U.S. universities extensively thought of among the many world’s most elite, of federal funding for analysis.
“The president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programmes and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Fox News.
Some Harvard college students had been nervous that the Trump administration’s insurance policies would make U.S. universities much less engaging to worldwide college students.
“I don’t know if I’d pursue a PhD here. Six years is a long time,” stated Jack, a historical past of drugs pupil from Britain who’s graduating this week and gave solely a primary title.
Harvard has filed intensive authorized challenges in opposition to Trump’s measures.
Source: www.dailysabah.com