US President Donald Trump has assured Chinese international students in the country that they will be fine amid his administration’s crackdown on academia. Despite this reassurance, the Trump administration has announced plans to revoke visas for certain Chinese students, particularly those studying in sensitive academic disciplines or with links to the Chinese Communist Party.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” This move aims to restrict Chinese influence in American higher education.
Trump’s softer tone comes after a judge extended a temporary block on his bid to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students. When asked about the message he would send to Chinese college students, Trump said, “They’re going to be ok. It’s going to work out fine.” He added, “We just want to check out the individual students we have. And that’s true with all colleges”.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on academia has led to a showdown with Harvard, demanding that the university provide a list of students the government is interested in. Harvard has declined to comply, prompting Trump to say, “I don’t know why Harvard’s not giving us the list. There’s something going on because Harvard is not giving us a list.” He insisted that Harvard “ought to give us a list and get themselves out of trouble,” suggesting that they might be hiding names that are “quite bad”.
Harvard University president Alan Garber received a standing ovation for calling on universities to stand firm against the Trump administration’s policies. Meanwhile, Trump emphasized that “we want people who can love our country and take care of our country and cherish our country”.
China has condemned the US decision, calling it “politically motivated and discriminatory”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated, “The US has unreasonably cancelled Chinese students’ visas under the pretext of ideology and national rights. China firmly opposes this and has lodged serious representations with the US”.