US Secretary of State: "Chinese Student Visas to Be Canceled... Stricter Screening for China and Hong Kong" (Comprehensive)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Announces on Social Media
"Visa Cancellations Target Students Linked to the Chinese Communist Party or Strategic Fields"
Comprehensive Overhaul of Visa Issuance Criteria for Mainland China and Hong Kong

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

On May 28 (local time), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States will cancel the visas of Chinese students who are either linked to the Chinese Communist Party or are studying key strategic fields. He also declared plans to strengthen the screening process for all visa applicants from mainland China and Hong Kong.

According to Bloomberg News, Secretary Rubio stated in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the visa cancellations would apply to "students connected to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying major strategic fields." However, he did not provide specific criteria or further explanation.

Secretary Rubio reaffirmed this stance in an official statement released the same day. In the statement, he said, "The U.S. Department of State will work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to aggressively cancel the visas of Chinese students," adding that this "includes students connected to the Chinese Communist Party or those majoring in core strategic fields."

He further stated, "Going forward, we will completely overhaul the visa issuance criteria so that we can strengthen the screening process for all visa applicants from mainland China and Hong Kong."

This measure comes as the Trump administration is intensifying monitoring of foreign students at U.S. universities. Secretary Rubio had previously instructed all U.S. embassies worldwide to suspend student visa interview appointments.

The Republican Party is also aligning itself with the Trump administration. According to Fox News, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the "STOP CCP VISAs Act" (Stop Chinese Communist Party Visas Act) in March to protect academic knowledge. This bill aims to restrict the issuance of visas to Chinese nationals studying in the United States as a countermeasure against espionage activities by the Chinese Communist Party within schools and research institutions.