China vows to protect students in face of Trump’s ban on new foreign students at Harvard

China has pledged to “firmly safeguard” the interests of its students following US President Donald Trump’s ban on international enrolment at Harvard University. Citing the institution’s failure to address national security risks on campus, Trump announced in a proclamation on Wednesday night that he would immediately block the Ivy League school from enrolling new international students or exchange visitors, while also ordering the State Department to review whether current foreign enrolments should have their visas revoked. The sweeping action came as the Trump administration continued to accuse Harvard of maintaining links with foreign countries, particularly China, which it said posed a national security threat to the US. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has long warned that foreign adversaries and competitors take advantage of easy access to American higher education to, among other things, steal technical information and products, exploit expensive research and development to advance their own ambitions, and spread false information for political or other reasons,” the document said. “Our adversaries, including the People’s Republic of China, try to take advantage of American higher education by exploiting the student visa programme for improper purposes and by using visiting students to collect information at elite universities in the United States.” The proclamation is effective immediately and will last at least six months, according to the White House. The move – along with the State Department’s announcement last week that it would “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students who have links to the Communist Party or are studying in critical fields – is expected to further deepen tensions between the US and China, whose trade negotiations remain stalled. In a response on Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry criticised Trump’s order as “politicising” education. “Education cooperation between China and the United States is mutually beneficial. China always opposes politicising such cooperation. [The] relevant moves of the United States will only damage its own image and international credibility,” spokesman Lin Jian said. “China will firmly safeguard the legitimate interests of its students and scholars overseas.” This is not the first time Chinese students enrolled in advanced science and engineering programmes have been accused of posing a national security threat over concerns they may be involved in espionage activities to bolster Beijing’s military capabilities. Harvard hosts more than 10,000 international students, who make up roughly 30 per cent of its student body, including about 2,000 from China. In a statement, Harvard said that Trump’s order “is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the administration in violation of Harvard’s first amendment rights”. “Harvard will continue to protect its international students,” it said. The stand-off with Harvard is also part of Trump’s broader campaign against elite academic institutions, which began straight after his inauguration in January. Alongside Harvard, other Ivy League institutions such as Columbia and Princeton have been under scrutiny for allegedly fostering antisemitism in the wake of widespread pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the Gaza war. They are now facing substantial federal funding cuts. A Shanghai tech firm chief executive whose son is applying for a master’s programme in the US, said his family was concerned that the crackdown on Harvard could extend to other universities, prompting the family to also look at alternatives in other countries. His son, an undergraduate majoring in polymer science at Fudan University, plans to apply to Columbia and Carnegie Mellon universities, while also considering the National University of Singapore. He is also weighing a possible change of major for his graduate studies to avoid fields deemed sensitive or linked to military applications, even though he acknowledges that polymer science research is very advanced in the US. “As long as my son focuses his research on biomedicine and environmentally friendly materials, the risk of being censored will be minimal,” said the father who asked to be identified only by his surname Song because of his experience working in a state-owned enterprise. “If the worst happens, his academic career will certainly be seriously affected. But there will always be a way out,” Song added with a hopeful tone, noting that the family could seek help from the university or the American Immigration Lawyers Association if necessary. The showdown with Harvard escalated when it was ordered by the Department of Homeland Security to submit detailed records about its international student population – a request the university refused. In response, the department announced in late May that it intended to revoke Harvard’s authorisation to enrol international students. Calling the administration’s actions politically motivated and damaging to academic freedom, Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the decision. Last week, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the revocation from taking effect. Additional reporting by Carl Zhang

China vows to protect students in face of Trump’s ban on new foreign students at Harvard

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president’s proclamation on Wednesday night blocks enrolments and orders review into existing ones, with a view to revoking visas

US president’s proclamation on Wednesday night blocks enrolments and orders review into existing ones, with a view to revoking visas