When Chinese students overseas going back home is not a sad event

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Chinese students from New York University pose in their graduation gowns at Washington Square Park, in Manhattan in October 2017. Photo: Alamy

Published: 6:01pm, 5 Aug 2018Updated: 6:01pm, 5 Aug 2018

I refer to the letter from Stephen Ling, about many Chinese students in US universities choosing to go home after graduation (“Why are Chinese students in the US keen to go home? Blame their English”, July 30)

Mr Ling cited the lack of English-language skills as a major reason for this, and I agree, because fluency can affect daily exchanges and thus fresh graduates’ rate of success in job hunts. However, I think many students also choose to return home to China because they fail to assimilate into American society or get used to the American way of life.

Befriending and confiding in their peers can seem a very natural thing to do for a new boy or girl in town. This is also part of the assimilation process into a place with a different culture.

But if this process lasts far too long, for example, even after they have graduated, then it simply indicates that they have failed to adapt. In such cases, the lack of communication and interaction with locals may leave them feeling like outsiders in a strange land, thus fuelling a desire to return.

What makes or breaks the fortunes of Chinese students returning from abroad?

Visa applicants line up for interviews outside the American embassy in Beijing on May 30. Photo: Simon Song