WASHINGTON–Some U.S. lawmakers are trying to pass legislation that would make it harder for Chinese students and scholars to enter the United States, citing security concerns as a trade war continues between Washington and Beijing.
The members of Congress, mostly President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans, have introduced bills that would require more reporting from colleges and universities about funds they receive from China, prohibit students or scholars with ties to the Chinese military from entering the United States or set new limits on access to sensitive academic research.
“The Communist Party is infiltrating American society to censor free speech and steal sensitive research,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who has sponsored several pieces of China-related legislation, said in a statement on June 4.
While Trump and many other Republicans want stricter controls on immigration as well as a hard line on China, Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, warn about profiling Chinese students and academics. And lawmakers from both parties, as well as university officials, point to the multi-million-dollar contribution to the U.S. economy from the 350,000 Chinese who come for undergraduate or graduate studies.
Cruz and Republican Representative Francis Rooney marked the 30th anniversary of China’s bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown on Tuesday by re-introducing the “Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft (SHEET) Act,” intended to prevent what they described as Chinese espionage efforts at U.S. universities.
