Beijing has strongly opposed the United States’ (US) decision to revoke visas of Chinese students, calling the move unreasonable and politically motivated.
This protest came on Thursday, May 29, following an announcement by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The US has unreasonably cancelled Chinese students’ visas under the pretext of ideology and national rights,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. “
“China firmly opposes this and has lodged representations with the US,” He added.
According to the foreign ministry, China has submitted formal protests to Washington in response to the US move.
The ministry further urged the United States to adopt a more constructive approach to help promote stable bilateral relations between the two countries.
United States’ visa revocation
Decisions to revoke visas were announced on Wednesday by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
He stated that the United States would begin aggressively cancelling the visas of Chinese students, particularly those with links to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying in critical academic fields.
“The US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students,” Marco Rubio said.
They said if the policy is applied to a broad segment of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese university students currently studying in the United States, it could significantly affect American educational institutions and the country’s technology industry.
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“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 said.
Contribution of Chinese students to the United States
Chinese students contribute substantially to tuition revenue for US schools and form an important pipeline of talent for American tech companies.
China’s foreign ministry had previously pledged to “firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests” of its students abroad.
“This political and discriminatory practice of the US has exposed the lies of the so-called freedom and openness that the US has always advertised, and further damaged the United States’ international image, national image and national credibility,” Mao Ning said.
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This move followed actions by the Trump administration, including the revocation of Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, a decision that affected many Chinese nationals.
Why were the visas revoked
The Trump administration has aimed to increase deportations and revoke student visas as part of its broader immigration policy.
The US State Department holds wide-ranging authority to issue and revoke visas.
Last week, the administration cited Harvard University’s connections with China among several reasons for revoking its ability to admit foreign students.
However, that move was temporarily blocked by a United States judge.
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