WASHINGTON/BEIJING (US/CHINA) – Acting on a presidential proclamation denying entry to students and researchers deemed security risks, the US has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese nationals, said the State Department on Wednesday. This prompted China to term the move as violation of human rights.
Chad Wolf, acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, said that Washington was blocking the visas of “certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research.”
During a speech, Wolf referred to US charges of dishonest business practices and industrial espionage by China, including bids to steal coronavirus research data.
The top official also said the US was “preventing goods produced from slave labour from entering our markets, demanding that China respect the inherent dignity of each human being” in an indirect reference to Beijing’s ill-treatment of Muslims in western Xinjiang.
The visa curbs are the result of a proclamation by President Donald Trump on May 29 in response to China’s curbs on democracy in Hong Kong, said a State Department spokeswoman.
“As of September 8, 2020, the department has revoked more than 1,000 visas of PRC nationals who were found to be subject to Presidential Proclamation 10043 and therefore ineligible for a visa,” she said.
She said that the students and researchers who pose a threat to the country are only “a small subset” of the Chinese coming to the United States for study and research, adding that genuine students and scholars would be welcomed.