John Mac Ghlionn
Donald Trump has announced he'll allow as many as 600,000 Chinese students into US universities. Image: Twitter
US President Donald Trump shocked even many of his most loyal supporters when he announced that 600,000 Chinese students would be allowed to enter the United States.
It was pitched as “very important” for trade talks and for keeping American universities afloat. But the scale alone should give pause.
If enacted, this would be the single largest wave of Chinese students in American history, far surpassing even the peak of 372,000 during Trump’s first term.
This is not a matter of disliking foreign students or rejecting international education. It is about understanding how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses students as tools of statecraft.
In China, no one simply packs a bag, boards a plane and studies abroad. Students must first receive permission from the CCP. They leave only with the Party’s blessing, and that blessing comes with strings attached.
Once overseas, these students are not free individuals in the way American students imagine. They remain tethered to the state. Their families at home can be pressured, their own futures can be leveraged and their loyalty is monitored.
Beijing knows this and exploits it ruthlessly. Every Chinese student abroad is both an asset and a potential liability. Many simply want an education. But the Party treats them as resources to be tapped when needed.
Some are tasked with reporting on dissidents in exile. Others are pressured into joining so-called “student associations” that function as front groups for CCP influence.
At times, they are asked to gather sensitive research or to funnel home information that appears innocuous but contributes to the Party’s larger intelligence apparatus.
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