Visa delays, concerns over being shut out of research projects and safety fears have turned off Chinese students, according to several admissions consultancies and nearly a dozen parents and students interviewed by AFP.
The chilling effect started mid-last year, after President Donald Trump’s administration slashed the visa duration of students in science and technology fields from five years to one in some cases. Melissa Zhang, a high school senior in Beijing, said she has abandoned plans to go to the US and was instead taking German lessons, in the hope of getting into a robotics programme in Dresden.
Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in an open letter on June 25 that students and faculty felt “unfairly scrutinised, stigmatised and on edge — because of their Chinese ethnicity alone”. “It’s difficult to plan long-term research projects or even think about going steady with your girlfriend,” said Wang.
“State media have been pumping up reports about crime in the US and families, especially from smaller Chinese cities, feel America isn’t safe,” said Li Shaowen, who organises foreign college tours.
Serious Crimes are mostly confined to specific areas in cities (run by Democrats) that most people learn to avoid. Unfortunately, many top universities are in the cities. It's a trade-off with a risk for any of us.
Well what on earth are thr Chinese doing here in South Africa? Here crime and gun violence are even higher! 😫🤔
The ripple effect