One of the Trump administration’s most vocal anti-immigration advisers, Stephen Miller, made headlines this week when the Financial Times reported that he was urging the president to “make it impossible for Chinese citizens to study in the US.”
While some other more hawkish administration officials sided with Miller, who along with being a senior policy adviser is credited with writing Donald Trump’s most high-profile speeches, there is no indication of how seriously the president took the advice.
The US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, pushed back on Miller’s assertion that the policy would hurt culturally liberal, elite universities, pointing out that smaller schools all across the country rely more heavily on the money that streams in from China.
Students from China make up by far the highest proportion, almost one-third, of foreign students studying in the US, spending billions in the process.
The idea of a blanket ban was shot down, for the time being, but various restrictions on Chinese visas for those engaged in scientific research with applications in strategic industries have already been put in place by the Trump administration.
Miller’s proposal was reportedly aimed at deterring Chinese political-influence campaigns. White House national security adviser John Bolton is also said to be pushing for US intelligence agencies to report on Chinese influence operations in the US.
US Vice-President Mike Pence is scheduled to give a speech on Thursday that is expected to touch on the issue of Chinese interference in US politics.
The report this week adds another straw to the camel’s back of US-China relations, which have been strained by a series of events in the past week alone.
Amid an escalating trade war, a perilous confrontation in the South China Sea was caught on camera, the US sold US$330 million worth of arms to Taiwan and slapped sanctions on a department of the Chinese military, while Trump alleged that Beijing was interfering in America’s upcoming midterm elections.
Why don’t they just study in China? Silly question, I know.
China doesn’t make rubber duckies anymore, so what about top-flight colleges?
tThe US should quietly take this Chinese windfall while it is there. The sciences, and maths departments of the US Universities in a lot of cases only exist because they are used and supported by the Chinese students. American students do not want to work in these disciplines. They prefer finance and shuffling paper around to actually studying something that takes a lot of work.
The Chinese will only study in the US so long as there is something there to learn that they cannot get at home. China is building world class universities at record speed, in a very short time they will not need to study in the US or the West period. In just 30 years they have caught the West on almost every front. it is western folly to believe that China will slow down so that the West can keep up with them.
The West is too late now to enact the old addage with regards to China. "Something about not awakening that sleeping giant."
Sadly, Trump’s contentious issue is yet one more thing that makes being an international student away from home difficult, compounded by our complex culture and language problems. Welcoming and assimilation assistance must come from numerous sources, including the White House, to aid these young people embarking on life’s journey. Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments, immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and even informative books to extend a cultural helping hand.
Something that might help anyone coming to the US is the award-winning worldwide book/ebook "What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.” Used in foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators, and editors, it identifies how “foreigners” have become successful in the US, including students.
It explains how to cope with a confusing new culture and friendship process, and daunting classroom differences. It explains how US businesses operate and how to get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to work with/for an American firm here or overseas.
It also identifies the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
Good luck to all wherever you study or wherever you come from, because that is the TRUE spirit of the American PEOPLE, not a few in government who shout the loudest! Supporters of int’l students must shout louder.
Sadly, Trump’s contentious issue is yet one more thing that makes being an international student away from home difficult, compounded by our complex culture and language problems. Welcoming and assimilation assistance must come from numerous sources, including the White House, to aid these young people embarking on life’s journey. Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments, immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and even informative books to extend a cultural helping hand.
Something that might help anyone coming to the US is the award-winning worldwide book/ebook "What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.” Used in foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators, and editors, it identifies how “foreigners” have become successful in the US, including students.
It explains how to cope with a confusing new culture and friendship process, and daunting classroom differences. It explains how US businesses operate and how to get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to work with/for an American firm here or overseas.
It also identifies the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
Good luck to all wherever you study or wherever you come from, because that is the TRUE spirit of the American PEOPLE, not a few in government who shout the loudest! Supporters of int’l students must shout louder.