Expelling Chinese Students to Prevent Espionage Could Harm U.S. Technological Advancement

US Experts Concerned Over Mass Visa Cancellations
"Self-Destructive to Block Talented Scientists from Coming to the US"

On the 31st (local time), The New York Times (NYT) reported that experts have expressed concerns that the Trump administration's plan to cancel visas for Chinese students, citing national security threats, is an excessive measure.

According to the report, some security experts who have previously participated in spy investigations in academic or industrial fields pointed out that the Trump administration's plan is overly coercive to address the complex issue of Chinese industrial espionage.

Greg Milonovich, who previously managed academic cooperation programs at the FBI's counterintelligence division, told the NYT, "The number of Chinese students who actually pose a national security threat is relatively small compared to the number of students who can support and advance research fields in the United States." He stated that indiscriminately expelling Chinese students could actually harm the advancement of American technology.

He cited the example that the United States has long employed a "tremendous number" of science and technology experts from China and other foreign countries, and said, "We need to maintain these channels for the inflow of knowledge and technology."

There was also criticism regarding the substantive criteria for visa cancellations announced by the Trump administration. On the 28th, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, "We will aggressively cancel visas for Chinese students, including those connected to the Chinese Communist Party or those conducting research in key fields." However, he did not specify concrete criteria or implementation plans for this action.

Peter Zeidenberg, a lawyer who has defended university professors in the U.S. suspected of economic espionage, pointed out that it is unclear what specific national security threats this measure aims to prevent. He said that this could discourage talented individuals from coming to the United States, describing it as "a self-destructive strategy that only exacerbates the problem."

According to the NYT, U.S. intelligence agencies such as the FBI have continued efforts to crack down on Chinese espionage activities aimed at stealing science and technology from the United States. During the first Trump administration in 2018, the Department of Justice launched a crackdown on Chinese industrial espionage at universities and other institutions under the name "China Initiative."

However, the NYT explained that most of the espionage cases uncovered during that investigation were related to professors rather than students, and not all indicted cases resulted in convictions in court.

Meanwhile, the number of Chinese students enrolled in U.S. schools last year was approximately 277,000. According to the NYT, this is the second largest group after students from India.