Beijing calls for protections for students in US after Congress demands data from colleges

Beijing yesterday demanded protections for Chinese students in the U.S. after a Congressional panel asked six American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed information on their Chinese students, citing national security concerns.

A letter sent to the universities, including Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, alleged that the Chinese government was embedding researchers in top American institutions to gain direct access to sensitive technologies.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese students account for about one-quarter of all international students in the U.S. and that their activities have promoted “the economic prosperity and technological development of the U.S.”

“This is in the interest of both parties,” Mao told reporters at a daily briefing. “We urge the U.S. to stop overstretching the concept of national security, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students, and not impose discriminatory restrictive measures on Chinese students.”

Her remarks came a day after John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to six colleges requesting information on Chinese students enrolled in advanced science and technology programs. He accused the institutions of putting American research at risk in exchange for financial incentives.

The colleges named in Moolenaar’s letter were Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Stanford University, the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and the University of Southern California.

“The Chinese Communist Party has established a well-documented, systematic pipeline to embed researchers in leading U.S. institutions, providing them direct exposure to sensitive technologies with dual-use military applications,” Moolenaar wrote in a letter to Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University.

“America’s student visa system has become a Trojan horse for Beijing, providing unrestricted access to our top research institutions and posing a direct threat to our national security, it added. If left unaddressed, this trend will continue to displace American talent, compromise research integrity, and fuel China’s technological ambitions at our expense.”

The letter requested information including the Chinese students’ sources of funding, the types of research they’re involved in, what schools they previously attended, and “a country-by-country breakdown of applicants, admittances, and enrollments at your university.”

Most Chinese students enrolled in U.S. undergraduate programs pay full tuition, making them an important source of funding for many universities. Many of the students do not remain in the U.S. after college graduation but return to China, where they hope a U.S. degree will land them a good job. But foreign science and engineering doctorate recipients, including those from China, are more likely to stay in the U.S. for their postdoc or employment, according to the National Science Foundation.

Last week, a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill seeking to ban Chinese students from studying in U.S. schools.

In January, the University of Michigan said it was is ending its partnership with a prominent Chinese university, a few months after five Chinese students in the joint program were charged over their suspicious activities outside a remote military site.

In a letter to a congressman, Santa Ono, president of the University of Michigan, said following a thorough review the university has initiated the six-month process to “officially end the partnership” with Shanghai Jiao Tong University. CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, TAIPEI, MDT/AP