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A30 world news
Diaranson 15 september 2021

Chinese students hit by US visa rejections amid tension

“I was insulted,” Huang said. Wang Wenbin said.
“That I graduated from this
school means I am a spy? A group that says it represents
What’s the difference be- more than 2,000 students and
tween this and racism?” scholars has announced plans
for a lawsuit asking a court to
Huang said his wife’s fellow- throw out or narrow the re-
ship was two to three years, strictions.
but she will cut that to one,
“sacrificing her career” to At Washington University in
avoid being away from their St. Louis, a “handful of stu-
two children for too long. dent visas” were affected, ac-
cording to Kurt Dirks, vice
“It’s a pretty big impact on in- chancellor for international
dividuals when one country affairs.
fights with another,” Huang
said. Students can start the semes-
ter online or wait until next
Rejection letters received year, Dirks said in an email.
by several students cited
Trump’s order but gave no “Should they continue to face
details of the decision. How- challenges, the university will
ever, some students said they work with them so they can
received rejections immedi- complete their program on-
ately after being asked which line,” Dirks said.
university they attended.
Monica Ma, 23, said she was
Wang, the finance student, turned down for a U.S. visa
(AP) - After a semester on- thousands of Chinese stu- “The numbers show clearly said he obtained a visa, but to complete a master’s degree
line, Wang Ziwei looked dents and researchers partici- that the United States stands the U.S. Embassy called later in information management
forward to meeting class- pate in programs that encour- ready to issue visas to all and said it was revoked. at Carnegie Mellon Univer-
mates who are returning age them to transfer medical, those who are qualified — sity.
to campus at Washington computer and other sensitive including Chinese students Wang graduated from the
University in St. Louis. information to China. and scholars,” it said. Beijing Institute of Technol- The graduate of the Beijing
But the 23-year-old fi- ogy, another university as- University of Posts and Tele-
nance student said the Washington cites Beijing’s Separately, a group of 177 sociated with visa rejections communications said after
U.S. revoked his student strategy of “civil-military fu- Stanford University profes- due to its connection with spending a year in Australia
visa on security grounds. sion,” which it says treats sors sent an open letter this the industry ministry. Oth- working on her degree, she
private companies and uni- month asking the U.S. Justice ers include Beijing Aerospace needs to attend classes in per-
Wang is among at least 500 versities as assets to develop Department to end the Chi- University, Nanjing Univer- son at Carnegie Mellon in
students the Chinese gov- Chinese military technology. na Initiative, another Trump- sity of Science and Technol- Pittsburgh because they no
ernment says have been re- era program that investigates ogy, Nanjing University of longer are taught online.
jected under a policy issued “Joint research institutions, researchers in the United Aeronautics and Astronau-
by then-President Donald academia and private firms States. The letter signers say tics, Harbin Engineering Ma said she has a job offer
Trump to block Beijing from are all being exploited to it has raised concerns about University and Northwest- from an internet company
obtaining U.S. technology build the PLA’s future mili- racial profiling and discour- ern Polytechnical University. that requires her to com-
with possible military uses. tary systems — often without aged scholars from staying in plete her degree. She has
Students argue it is applied their knowledge or consent,” or coming to the country. Graduates of the Beijing postponed her attendance
too broadly and fume at what the State Department said in University of Posts and Tele- for classes until next year in
they say is an accusation they a 2020 report. China is the biggest source of communications also say hopes she can obtain a visa by
are spies. foreign students in the Unit- they have been rejected. then.
Trump’s successor, Joe ed States, according to U.S.
“The whole thing is non- Biden, has given no indica- government data. The num- Five Chinese scientists at “I cannot change it through
sense,” Wang said. “What do tion of what he might do. ber fell 20% in 2020 from the universities in California and my efforts. That’s the saddest
we finance students have to previous year but at 380,000 Indiana were charged last part,” Ma said.
do with the military?” Chinese officials appealed was nearly double that of sec- year with lying about possible
to U.S. Deputy Secretary of ond-ranked India. military connections on visa Li Quanyi, an electrical en-
The students join companies State Wendy Sherman to drop applications. Those charges gineering student from the
and individuals whose plans the visa restrictions when she An engineer at a state-owned were dropped in July after southern city of Guiyang,
have been disrupted by U.S.- visited in July, according to aircraft manufacturer said he the Justice Department said said he was accepted by Co-
Chinese tension over tech- The Paper, a Shanghai online was turned down for a visa to an FBI report indicated such lumbia University but failed
nology and security, Beijing’s news outlet. accompany his wife, a visiting offenses often had no con- to obtain a visa. Li graduated
military buildup, the origins scholar in California study- nection to technology theft. from the Beijing University
of the coronavirus, human The policy is necessary to ing pediatric cancer. of Posts and Telecommuni-
rights and conflicting claims “protect U.S. national se- The Chinese government cations.
to the South China Sea and curity interests,” the U.S. The engineer, who would complained in August that
other territory. Embassy in Beijing said in a give only his surname, three students who had visas Carnegie Mellon and Co-
statement. It said the policy is Huang, has undergraduate were refused entry into the lumbia didn’t respond to
The policy blocks visas for a response to “some abuses of and graduate degrees from United States at the Houston questions sent by email.
people who are affiliated the visa process” and is “nar- the Harbin Institute of Tech- airport after military training
with the ruling Communist rowly targeted.” nology in China’s northeast. photos were found in their Li has moved to Hong Kong
Party’s military wing, the It is one of seven schools phones. and said he is happy there.
People’s Liberation Army, More than 85,000 visas for Chinese news reports say are
or universities deemed by Chinese students have been associated with visa rejections Beijing “strongly deplores “I am not going, even if the
Washington to be part of mil- approved over the past four because they are affiliated and rejects” the policy and rule changes,” Li said. “The
itary modernization efforts. months, according to the em- with the Ministry of Industry appealed to the U.S. govern- United States rejected me,
bassy. and Information Technology. ment to make changes, For- and I am not going.”
U.S. officials say they believe eign Ministry spokesperson