‘Confusion’ over China’s spy laws could be deterring foreign students: academic
- Submission to CPPCC proposes clarifying the legislation, along with other measures to halt decline in international student numbers
- Despite foreign students returning to institutions worldwide, China’s higher education sector has yet to return to its pre-pandemic peaks
Since the introduction of foreign-related laws, the implementing regulations had not yet been issued, “leading to some confusion”, he wrote in the submission, which was published on the WeChat account of the university’s Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding.
“For example, in the case of the recently introduced counter-espionage law, no implementation rules have been issued to clarify what information is to be collected and how it is to be collected, in a way that does not constitute a violation of the law and that has led to misunderstandings outside China.”
Jia’s assessment follows an unexpected blow to Beijing’s efforts to promote China’s higher education sector over the past decade, part of a broader soft power effort to boost its international image and build stable relationships with foreign countries.
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But after the disruption of the pandemic, international students did not return when Covid-19 border closures were lifted early last year and China fully resumed student visa processing.
No official figures have been released, but the US ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns estimated there were only about 350 American students in the country last year – a dramatic decline from the peak of 2015, when some 15,000 were studying in China.
South Korean students – who once accounted for a majority of China’s international student population because of the two countries’ close economic and cultural ties – also appear to have lost interest in studying in China.
According to the education ministry in Seoul, only 15,857 South Koreans were studying in China last year, an 80 per cent drop compared with the 73,240 peak in 2017.
Jia pointed out that the pandemic restrictions could hardly be blamed for the drop in numbers, with international students apparently returning to other institutions worldwide.
A strong presence of Chinese students abroad also suggested that geopolitics itself is responsible for the sharp decline in international interest for studying in China, he added.
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Instead, Jia’s submission explored other possibilities for the slump and suggested some measures that could improve China’s attractiveness to foreign students.
Payment barriers for foreigners, along with the withdrawal of foreign businesses as China’s economic growth has slowed, may be driving away many students, who would be expecting fewer employment opportunities after graduation, he said.
Some international students could also be deterred from considering China as a destination because of concerns about censorship and restrictions on academic freedom.
“For example, the current [practice of] anonymous review of master’s and doctoral theses also put an emphasis on political correctness, and this would increase uncertainties [for] foreign students with different political and cultural backgrounds.”
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Jia suggested cutting red tape for foreign students looking for internships or even job opportunities in non-sensitive institutions, as well as lowering the work visa threshold for foreign graduates.
He also proposed that educational institutions could ease academic freedom concerns by taking a different standard – based on the law rather than political considerations – when assessing dissertations by foreign students.
Jia’s submission recommended that China should expand the number of scholarships available to foreign students, including for short-term studies, to encourage more international enrolments.
