Thousands of Chinese graduate students and researches in the Unites States risk losing their visas as the Trump administration plans to ca...
Thousands of Chinese graduate students and researches in the Unites States risk losing their visas as the Trump administration plans to cancel any held by academics who have direct ties to universities associated with China's People's Liberation Army.
Sources close to the discussions have said the government's plan would initially bar access to a category of Chinese students who form the single largest foreign student groups in the country.
According to the New York Times, further educational restrictions could follow, as could retaliations from the Chinese government through implementation of similar visa restrictions on U.S. students and researchers in China.
The plan is the latest escalation in an on-going feud between the two superpowers, which have been using restrictions on trade, technology and media access as ammunition, causing diplomatic relations to be at their lowest point in decades as each new measure is met with fresh retribution.
Pictured: People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in sports uniform march at the entrance of the Forbidden City on the closing day of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, May 27. The Trump administration is set to cancel visas held by Chinese students from universities with ties to the PLA
To make matters worse, China's parliament rubber-stamped a new security law to give Beijing sweeping powers over Hong Kong on Wednesday, sparking global outrage.
The bill gives the Communist Party draconian powers to punish 'secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference' and allows its security agencies to operate openly in Hong Kong.
In response, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Hong Kong no longer deserves special treatment under trade laws as it no longer maintains a 'high degree' of autonomy from China.
Pompeo issued the statement a day after President Trump issued a threat that if China imposes its new national law on Hong Kong the island would lose its role as a 'financial hub.'
'No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,' Pompeo said in a statement.
His statement did not revoke any of Hong Kong's specific trade privileges, although some reports suggest that the administration will impose the same tariffs on Hong Kong exports that it does on goods from mainland China amid a trade war that cooled slightly when the U.S. and Beijing reached a 'Phase One' agreement.
President Trump (right) with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left), pictured together on March 20. Pompeo spoke out after China's parliament voted in favor of laws that would give it sweeping powers over Hong Kong, saying 'No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China'
While Trump administration is in discussions over how it can punish China for its new Hong Kong laws, plans to cancel some Chinese academics' visas were reportedly already being considered before the latest crisis, which could accelerate the plans.
The move to cancel visas is expected to be met with resistance from U.S. universities, however, many of which rely on tuition payments from foreign students, particularly from the large groups that travel from China to study. The exchange of foreign students is also prized for its intellectual value.
The New York Times reports that official estimates suggest at least 3,000 students could be affected by the proposed visa cancellations, and while that is a small percentage of the 360,000 Chinese students in the U.S., some could be working on important research projects.
University lecturers and administrators have reportedly been briefed by the F.B.I and Justice Department in recent years about the potential national security threats posed by Chinese students, but many argue that the benefits out-weigh the risks.
Institutions say that they have sufficient security measures in place, and that Chinese student's exposure to the liberalizing effects of Western Universities, and their expertise in subject fields, means they are valuable assets to the country.
There are fears among university employees that visa restrictions, coupled with growing scrutiny, will add to anti-Asian racism, risks causing another 'red scare', and could lead to biases against them, for example when applying for jobs once they have graduated.
Frank Wu, a law professor who is also the incoming president of Queens College in New York, told the New York Times: 'In China, much more of society is government-controlled or government-affiliated. You can't function there or have partners from there if you aren't comfortable with how the system is set up.'
'Targeting only some potential professors, scholars, students and visitors from China is a lower level of stereotyping than banning all,' he said, adding 'But it is still selective, based on national origin.'
U.S. Intelligence officials fear that Chinese exchange students can be used by their government to gather information from inside universities, with the government paying their tuition fees if they follow such instructions.
For this reason, the F.B.I and Justice Department are said to be particularly wary of students from schools with ties to the military.
However, others see Chinese students from such schools as potential recruits to do the reverse - to spy on the Chinese military on behalf of U.S. intelligence institutions.
China's President Xi Jinping (left) and Premier Li Keqiang (right) vote on a proposal to draft a Hong Kong security law during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 28
Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, bottom) walks past applauding delegates, May 28. The new law gives Beijing sweeping powers over Hong Kong, and sparked global outrage
On Wednesday, tensions between the U.S. and China mounted further as lawmakers in the city mourned 'the end of Hong Kong' and said the former British colony 'just becomes another Chinese city' under Beijing's authoritarian control.
Washington said the move would 'fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and freedoms' which were promised when it returned to Chinese rule under a 'one country, two systems' formula in 1997.
Taiwan accused China of 'shattering' the city's freedom, offering Hong Kong residents the chance to move to Taiwan and escape Beijing's rule under a plan for 'humanitarian assistance'.
The security law was 'only the latest in a series of actions undermining Hong Kong freedoms, Mike Pompeo told Congress.
Beijing reacted angrily to Pompeo's statements, saying the decision to revoke Hong Kong's special status 'is the most barbaric, the most unreasonable and the most shameless'.
China says the law was necessary because Hong Kong has become a 'national security risk' following years of anti-Beijing demonstrations.
Chinese authorities and the Beijing-backed government in Hong Kong say there is no threat to the city's high degree of autonomy and the new security law would be tightly focused.
Premier Li Keqiang said lawmakers had 'passed the decision to maintain national security, and it represents the steady and lasting [execution of] one country, two systems, and the safeguard of the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.'
The move from China prompted immediate warnings that the law would be used to persecute protesters, and China could bring charges of subversion and terrorism against them.
Pictures: Pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong clash with riot police on May 27, as they demonstrate during the second day of debate on a contentious bill that would criminalize insulting or abusing the Chinese national in the city