Chinese students caught in trade war crossfire urge United States to ease visa curbs
- Open letter from student associations in US rallies support for petition, with one association leader citing ‘groundless suspicion and slanders about Chinese students and scholars’
- At least 100 Chinese students have experienced visa delays that put studies at risk, according to WeChat post
Chinese student associations at several American universities have published an open letter appealing to Chinese students to support a petition they are preparing to launch against their growing US visa difficulties, amid accusations that China has been stealing intellectual property from the United States.
Over the past year, at least 100 Chinese students – including one ranked among the 10 most influential scientists by British scientific journal Nature – have encountered visa delays that put their academic study at risk, according to a post on Chinese messaging and social media platform WeChat that contained the letter.
In one case, a student who had returned home to renew his visa was subject to investigation – known as “administrative processing” – for as long as 18 months, forcing him out of university, according to the letter. The letter was posted by Insight Shijie, an independently operated WeChat account that produces news specifically for overseas Chinese students.
Jointly written by Insight Shijie and Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) branches at three renowned American universities, the letter urged more Chinese students in the US to join them and sign a petition to the Department of State.
“It has been extremely difficult for Chinese students studying in the US, especially PhD students and students majoring in science and engineering, to obtain a visa since 2018,” it said.