US State Department Announces 'Aggressive' Visa Cancellation for Chinese Students

[Financial News]  The US government, which has suspended visa interviews for prospective foreign students, has now taken a strong measure to cancel the visas of Chinese students already studying in the US.
 On the 28th (local time), foreign media such as AP News reported that Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has 'aggressively' started canceling visas for some Chinese students, including those majoring in important subjects. Secretary Rubio announced that the US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security would jointly cancel visas for Chinese students linked to the Chinese Communist Party or majoring in critical subjects. He also stated that all student visa applications from China and Hong Kong would be subject to stricter scrutiny in the future.
 On this day, Secretary Rubio did not specify the critical subjects, but the US government has been concerned about Chinese scholars accessing sensitive US technology that could be used for military purposes. AP News reported that some Republican members of the US House of Representatives have pressured to halt exchanges between Duke University and Chinese universities, claiming that Chinese students are participating in research funded by federal government grants this month. Last year, it was warned that sponsorship funds for defense research were flowing into research cooperation institutions linked to the Chinese government. Christie Noem, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, pointed out that Harvard University is conducting joint research with scholars linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
 China has sent the most students to the US for 15 consecutive years, but last year it fell to second place behind India. In the 2023-2024 period, about 270,000 students came from China, accounting for about a quarter of all foreign students. CNN reported that outstanding Chinese talents went to study in the US expecting better education and future prospects, including children of the middle class as well as high-ranking officials in politics and business. Among them was the daughter of Xi Jinping, the President of China, who reportedly studied at Harvard University under an alias.
CNN reported that the Chinese Communist Party has about 99 million members, and it is unclear how the US government will determine whether students are linked to it.

jjyoon@fnnews.com Yoon Jae-jun Reporter