China Review News: We've noticed several cases where students and visiting fellows to the US were repatriated. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: Recently we have seen frequent incidents of unwarranted harassment and suppression targeting Chinese students and visiting fellows to the US. Just the other day, a Chinese visiting scholar holding valid visa issued by the US government was repatriated after being interrogated without cause upon entry. According to incomplete statistics, in August 2021 alone, nearly 30 Chinese students and visiting fellows to the US suffered similar unjust treatment, with many more reporting rough handling during harassment, interrogation and search.

Many of them were asked questions like if they or their parents are members of the Communist Party of China, and if they had been assigned any task by the Chinese government prior to their departure. Some of the reasons for repatriation are simply inconceivable. For example, photos of college military training in personal cellphones were enough to warrant suspicion of a military background. Such interrogation and search went far beyond the "normal law enforcement" scope the US side claims.

While claiming to welcome Chinese students, the US side has inherited the poisonous legacy of the previous administration. Some law enforcement departments and agents continue to recklessly stretch the concept of "national security" to wantonly harass Chinese students and scholars in an attempt to produce a chilling effect among Chinese personnel pursuing studies in the US. Such practices deviate from the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of China-US people-to-people and cultural exchanges. They seriously hurt the amicable feelings between the two peoples, undermine mutual trust and cooperation, jeopardize the steady and healthy development of bilateral relations, and also run counter to the US leader's statement that the US has no intention of starting a "new Cold War" with China.

We urge the US to stop such practices that harm others without benefiting itself and create enabling atmosphere and provide necessary conditions for China-US people-to-people and cultural exchange as well as education cooperation. China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese personnel pursuing studies in the US.