Visa restrictions are preventing a number of Chinese graduate students and postdocs from studying in the US, the Wall Street Journal writes. It adds that universities and research institutes say the rules could adversely affect the US role in science and technology.
The issue stems from an order signed in May 2020 by then-President Donald Trump that aimed to address economic espionage threats by preventing researchers with ties to the Chinese military from entering the US, the Journal says. But it adds that this includes students from universities with ties to the Chinese defense industry.
According to the Journal, Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology estimates that the rule could prevent a third of Chinese STEM students from entering the US. David Zweig, an emeritus professor of sociology at Hong Kong University, further tell it that as many as 90 percent of Chinese STEM researchers who study in the US stay after receiving their degrees.
The University of California, Berkeley's Randy Katz, tells the Journal that while federal agencies should address national security threat, this approach is not the best way. "Focusing on institutional affiliation to determine whether someone is a national threat is not a surgical strike but more like carpet bombing," he tells it.