Chinese students studying in the US are rushing to figure out their future after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces they are revoking their visas.
The US will begin revoking visas for Chinese students, including students studying in “critical areas” and “people with ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” according to the announcement.
China is the second largest country of origin in the United States, after India alone.
Over 270,000 international students were from China in the 2023-2024 academic year, accounting for about a quarter of all international students in the United States.
Rubio’s announcement was “a new version of China’s exclusion law,” said Liqin, a Chinese student at Johns Hopkins University.
He had mentioned 19th century laws that banned Chinese citizens from emigrating to the United States and already prohibiting American Chinese from obtaining citizenship.
The point of tension
Mao Zedong, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, called the US decision an unreasonable one at a press conference on Thursday.
“This kind of political and discriminatory behavior bares the US lie that it supports what is called freedom and openness,” she said, adding that Beijing protested against Washington.
The problems with Chinese students studying abroad have long been a point of tension in bilateral relations.
In 2019, during Trump’s first term, China’s Ministry of Education warned students about US visa issues, accompanied by a rise in rejection rates and a shorter visa.
Last year, China’s Foreign Ministry protested that many Chinese students were unfairly questioned and sent home when they arrived at US airports.
China’s state media has long promoted gun violence in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic, promoting violent protests, portraying the United States as an unsafe and dangerous place for its citizens.
The tense bilateral relationship also means that some Chinese students have chosen to study in the UK or other countries of the US.
Hong Kong’s reaction
Meanwhile, Hong Kong is trying to leverage its talent in its cities, wanting to capitalize on the uncertainty facing US international students.
Hong Kong CEO John Lee told lawmakers Thursday. The city said it would welcome students who were discriminated against by American policies.
“Students facing unfair treatment can come from a variety of countries outside the US, and I think this is an opportunity for Hong Kong,” he said.
“We will work with the university to provide the best possible support and support.”
It followed a widely shared post by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), inviting Harvard students to “continue their academic pursuits” there after Trump said he would revoke his ability to accept international students at the university.
Other Hong Kong universities, such as Hong Kong China University and Hong Kong City University, said they would streamline or promote applications from international students coming from top universities in the US.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China in 1997, is a popular destination for mainland Chinese students to pursue university degrees for international image and relative freedom.
In 2022, the city launched a new visa scheme to counter the departures of expatriates and local experts that occurred after Beijing imposed national security laws to suppress dissent.
