On November 11, 2019, Terry Branstad, the then U.S. ambassador to China, published a signed article entitled "U.S. Welcomes Chinese Students" in the "China Youth Daily".
The U.S. government has repeatedly stated that "the U.S. welcomes Chinese students" in recent years.
but it is not the truth.
Recently, the U.S. has repeatedly refused to sign more than 500 Chinese students studying in the U.S. for science and engineering, once again causing people to strongly question the contrast between the actual actions of the U.S. and its statements.
The U.S. refused to sign these Chinese students on the basis of the so-called "Presidential Decree No. 10043."
"Order 10043" is a presidential decree signed by the then President Trump of the United States on May 29, 2020.
According to the presidential decree, the United States "suspended and restricted" students and researchers related to the Chinese military from entering the United States to study or conduct research.
The United States has always claimed that Chinese students studying in the United States are "tempted or forced to engage in coercive, deceptive or illegal activities, and use relevant research to enhance China's military power."
In a list given by the United States, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and other "Seven National Defense Universities" and some Chinese universities of science and technology are included.
Over a year or so, the US government has changed, and "Order 10043" is still being used as a tool and excuse for infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students.
Dennis Hu, a Chinese student who studied at Northeastern University in the United States, said in an interview with The University of Pennsylvania: “It is ironic and absurd that many of the Chinese students who were refused visas have majors far away from military applications. For example, Finance, business and art."
Li Ning, who has received a five-year full scholarship for doctoral students in American universities, was also recently rejected by the US government.
He reluctantly said to the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter: "The major I study and research is related to the response to global climate change, and it also needs international exchanges and cooperation. However, the visa officer only relied on the undergraduate school I attended 7 years ago. , I refused my visa. My school and teacher in the United States have issued a letter of support for me, and I am very much looking forward to my promotion of related research projects as soon as possible. I can only postpone my academic research process indefinitely. If I cannot enroll this year and cannot complete the tutor’s project on schedule, I may have to give up the opportunity to enroll."
More Chinese students affected by "Order 10043" said that in the implementation of the presidential decree, it is easy to cause "one size fits all" consequences due to the difficulty of defining the boundaries of the decree itself.
In other words, it is equivalent to the U.S. visa officer having an unconditional reason for refusal.
Li Yanmin, who was recently refused a visa by the US consulate, encountered a similar situation.
"Both my undergraduate and graduate students are studying'non-sensitive' business majors, and I have already started graduate studies in the United States. My visa has expired because I returned to China midway. During the recent process of applying for a visa, I suffered 10 days first. After the administrative review, she was notified that her visa was refused. The reason for the refusal was Order 10043.” Li Yanmin, who was unable to return to the United States to continue her studies, said that this completely disrupted her academic planning. She is now confused about how to continue her studies in the future. .
Wang Xiran, who had been denied visas many times, had the same experience. She introduced to a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily: “I studied at an ordinary '985' college in China. Last year, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the United States in China The embassy suspended related business, and I went to Cambodia to apply for a U.S. visa. However, because my resume mentioned that I had participated in the exchange program of the schools on the US list, I was refused. The visa officer was interviewed for the second time. I didn't even read any materials. I just asked about the exchange experience and gave me a'white list'." Wang Xiran said: "The openness, tolerance and academic freedom that the United States advertises is very ridiculous."
After the Biden administration came to power, it has always pretended not to see the unfairness of "Order 10043".
This has also aroused many doubts from American public opinion and major universities.
A recent research report issued by Georgetown University in the United States believes that "because there are many key terms and concepts that have not been defined, the scope of this ban is unclear."
In addition to attending certain schools, Chinese students may also be refused visas due to a certain period of work experience in the past, or participation in a Chinese government scholarship program.
The report said that "Order 10043" may prevent more than one-fifth of Chinese freshmen from entering the US STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education) graduate program.
"We estimate that 3,000 to 5,000 students are denied visas, which is equivalent to 16% to 27% of the approximately 19,000 Chinese students in the US STEM graduate program each year." Obviously, this data from American universities directly negates what the U.S. government has always claimed. It only affects a very small number of students.
Wendy Wolford, associate dean of Cornell University, once wrote to Secretary of State Brinken in the name of the school, expressing concerns about the interpretation of relevant U.S. policies, and believed that consular officials are likely to interpret the policies casually, unclearly, and excessively.
She said in the letter that when the "Order 10043" continues to be implemented, "the imbalance and unpredictability of policy interpretation are likely to bring huge uncertainty to international students and their American universities."
She hopes that the U.S. State Department can give clear implementation guidelines on the "Order 10043" to prevent outstanding and qualified international students from being hindered to study in the United States.
“The Journal of the University of Pennsylvania” had previously reported that Penn President Amy Gutman also expressed dissatisfaction with the “Order 10043” in an email to Chinese students.
He said: "When I heard this announcement for the first time on May 29, 2020, I was frustrated because it had a negative impact on our Chinese students and scholars, and further affected us as a global research university. duty of."
Zhou Lei, a Chinese student who has been denied a visa on many occasions, told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily: “This ban is absurd, and there is obvious unfairness and unreasonableness. We only obtained admission to American universities through formal channels and proceeded normally. The US government has repeatedly charged us with unreasonable charges for college students studying. I think education and academics should not be linked to politics."
Zhang Zhehao, who has received the admission notice for a PhD student in physics at a university in the United States, told about his experience of being refused a visa: "As an innocent student, I was treated unfairly from the'Order 10043' just because I was in the United States. A school on the ban list has read books. I think this is unacceptable. This severely discriminatory policy has blocked the way for many ordinary students to conduct legitimate academic exchanges, seriously jeopardized academic freedom, and hurt countless people like me. The academic dreams of innocent students who keep making progress."
Regarding the recent refusal of at least 500 Chinese students in the U.S., Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said recently that the current U.S. government has always emphasized openness to international students, but continues to regard a prejudicial and discriminatory presidential decree as a standard. This is in line with the U.S. side. The self-proclaimed concept of openness and freedom is completely inconsistent with the attitude of welcoming Chinese students. It is continuing to drive history backwards.
Wang Wenbin emphasized that people-to-people exchanges are the foundation of China-US relations, and academic education and scientific and technological exchanges are important components of China-US people-to-people exchanges.
We urge the US to face up to and reconsider this issue, stop unwarranted restrictions on Chinese students studying abroad, and protect their legitimate rights and interests.
A large number of Chinese students who were affected by the "Order 10043" decided not to tolerate unfair treatment by the United States. "Academic Without Borders" action, and prepare to file a class action lawsuit against the US government.
The anonymous initiator of the action introduced to a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that more than 1,100 students have participated in and supported litigation against the United States and resolutely defended their rights and interests.
They are still collecting cases of discrimination and damage to rights of Chinese students in preparation for litigation.
The anonymous sponsor said, "We have had two conversations with the well-known American human rights lawyer Ira Kuzban, and we plan to hire him as an attorney."
Regarding some inaccurate news circulated before, the aforementioned anonymous promoter made an exclusive rumor in an interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily: "It needs to be clarified that we are not currently in any fundraising link. Previously, the South China Morning Post "The news that "300,000 U.S. dollars have been raised" reported by the media is untrue." Regarding the issue of litigation funding, the anonymous sponsor said that it is expected that up to 750,000 U.S. dollars will be needed to win the lawsuit, which is very important for them as students. It may be difficult, and litigation will be a long process.
However, the victims of "Order 10043" did not waver in their belief in safeguarding their rights and pursuing academic freedom.
Because "bullying and suppression are still ongoing."
(The interviewees Li Ning, Li Yanmin, Wang Xiran, Zhou Lei, and Zhang Zhehao in the article are all pseudonyms-reporter's note)
Our newspaper, Beijing, July 14th
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Zhou Chengxuan Source: China Youth Daily