On May 28, local time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed in a statement that the US would “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” In response, China firmly opposes it and has protested to the US over the decision. Over the past month, the US administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students, sparking widespread anxiety on campuses – even top-tier institutions like Harvard University have been dragged into legal battles with the government over the issue of international student enrollment. This so-called “national security-driven” educational witch hunt is, in essence, a blatant obstruction and blockade of the global movement of talent. It reveals how education is being weaponized and used as a tool of political bullying against Chinese students.
The fact that Chinese students have become the latest focus of US actions against international students and universities is clearly tied to domestic political agendas in the US. Some analysts suggest that this is part of a broader anti-China ideological campaign pushed by China hawks within Washington, while others argue that, with mounting domestic problems at home, the US targeting Chinese students serves as a crude distraction. Either way, Chinese international students have innocently become political targets for Washington. In essence, this is Washington implementing discriminatory collective restrictions against Chinese students under the unfounded guise of “national security.” This seriously undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and disrupts normal people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
China is the second-largest source of international students in the US, and one in every four international students comes from China. Chinese students have long been an important source of revenue for many US universities and a talent pool for technology companies. However, in recent years, the suppression of Chinese students has increasingly become an important part of the US strategy to contain China. Some American politicians have even equated Chinese students with “Chinese spies,” a baseless and sweeping suspicion that evokes the ghost of McCarthyism in the 1950s – right here in the 21st century. One student visa after another has been unjustly revoked. One student after another has been harassed or even deported at US customs. Many are forced to interrupt their studies, sometimes without even the chance to appeal. The so-called “freedom and openness” of the US has become nothing more than an empty lie.
Washington is now blatantly turning visa policy into a tool of political maneuvering. This political bullying of international students, including those from China, is not only a blatant violation of individual rights and a betrayal of the spirit of contract, but also a fundamental attack on the principles of international scientific and educational cooperation. Education has always been a bridge connecting people across nations, and a channel for dialogue even amid political disagreements. Yet the US is now tearing down that bridge. If other countries were to follow America’s lead and set up barriers against students from specific nations, academia would become isolated, and the progress of human knowledge would stall. Rubio may feel self-satisfied, but such shortsightedness is costing the US the trust of the global academic community.
The cost of this political bullying is also enormous: It sows the seeds of anti-China sentiment and xenophobia in the US, undermines the foundation of global academic cooperation, and ultimately will backfire on the US itself. American universities are currently facing a loss of tuition revenue, stagnation of research projects, and a lack of cultural diversity on campus. In the long run, the international reputation of American universities will also decline. In March of this year, Nature magazine conducted a survey of over 1,600 scientists at American institutions, and 75 percent of them indicated that they were considering leaving the country. The essence of international education lies in openness and sharing, and Washington’s desire to ignite a cultural war globally is unpopular.
In the face of US historical regression, all sectors should not remain silent. Every country has the right to safeguard its own security, but adopting discriminatory policies against students from a specific country is undoubtedly a deliberate act of fueling tensions between nations. China has already protested to the US over the decision, but this should not be limited to a bilateral level. Governments, universities, and civil organizations around the world should stand up and condemn the politicization of education. This is not only about defending the rights of Chinese students but also about upholding the principles of global educational equity and cooperation.
Targeting Chinese students indiscriminately based on their nationality or field of study is a reckless policy that not only deteriorates the social climate and academic environment within the US, but also fuels division, a typical act of harming others without benefiting oneself. The global academic community, including universities in the US, should unite in calling on Washington to return to reason and stop scapegoating Chinese students for domestic political purposes, and stop turning academic institutions into battlegrounds for political crossfire. GT
