US to halt visas for some Chinese graduate students and researchers, Homeland Security chief says
- Acting DHS head Chad Wolf says move is intended, in part, to prevent the theft of sensitive research
- The US has revoked more than 1,000 visas on these grounds, according to the State Department
The United States is blocking visas for some Chinese graduate students and halting imports of the country’s “goods produced from slave labour” as part of Washington’s efforts to counter suspected espionage activity and human rights violations, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Chad Wolf, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said in a speech full of praise for US President Donald Trump’s policies that the moves were needed for specific objectives like stopping the theft of Covid-19 research and trade secrets and countering Beijing’s “commitment to remake the world order in its own authoritarian image”.
“We are blocking visas for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research,” Wolf said, adding that the US was also “preventing goods produced from slave labour from entering our markets, demanding that China respect the inherent dignity of each human being”.
A State Department representative confirmed that more than 1,000 visas held by Chinese graduate students and research scholars have been revoked.
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