BEIJING – The Chinese government has complained to the United States over its treatment of Chinese students studying in the country, saying some have been interrogated for hours, had their electronic devices searched and, in some cases, been deported.
According to a post on the Chinese embassy’s website, Chinese Ambassador to Washington Xie Feng said that dozens of Chinese nationals with valid visas have returned to school from overseas trips or visited Chinese relatives in the past few months. He said he was refused entry when visiting the country.
“When they landed at the airport, what awaited them was an eight-hour interrogation by police officers, ban on contact with their parents, baseless accusations, and even deportation and entry bans. “It was done,” he said at a press conference on Sunday. Student exchange event at the embassy. “This is absolutely unacceptable.”
The protests are aimed at encouraging student exchanges and other exchanges to strengthen relations between the United States and China, which have been at odds in recent years over trade, technology, human rights and, more fundamentally, the future direction of the world. It happened while I was there.
There are nearly 290,000 Chinese students in the United States, about one-third of the country’s international students, according to the embassy post. More than 1.3 million students study abroad in China, more than any other country.
In a separate online statement, the Chinese embassy said it had made a “solemn representation” to the U.S. government regarding the treatment of students arriving at Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport. urged people to be careful.
It is unclear whether Hsieh’s comments refer only to the incident at Dulles or to other entry points as well.
Chinese state media has reported at least three incidents at Dulles since November in which Chinese students lost their valid student visas, were banned from entering the country for five years, and were deported after lengthy interrogations. .
They will be asked whether their research is funded by the Chinese government, whether they are members of the Chinese Communist Party or its youth wing, and whether their research is affiliated with the Chinese government, the Chinese military, or major national research institutes. I was asked if I was. The students headed to the National Cancer Institute, Yale University, and the University of Maryland, respectively.
At least eight Chinese nationals who entered the United States with valid documents have been repatriated since November, state media reported.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.
A statement from the Chinese embassy said the affected students had their electronic devices searched, were prohibited from communicating with the outside world and were detained for more than 10 hours in some cases. The border guard’s actions “severely affected the academic studies of international students from China and caused significant psychological damage,” the report said.
The statement also said the action violates an agreement between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping to promote people-to-people exchanges during their meeting last November.