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BEIJING, May 23 (Reuters) – A Chinese student at Harvard University cancelled a flight home on Friday, seeking legal advice to stay in the United States after President Donald Trump’s administration blocked a famous university from registering foreign students.
The order, which stated that the university was coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), says, among other charges, that current foreign students could transfer to other schools or lose their legal status and expand to other universities.
Harvard called the government’s actions “illegal” and said it was “fully committed” to educating foreign students. The students form the largest group of Chinese citizens at Elite Ivy League University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“I think the Chinese community definitely feels like a more targeted entity compared to other groups,” said Zhang, 24, with a Ph.D. in Physics.
“Some friends advised us that if things escalate, you should avoid staying at your current accommodation because we think immigration and customs enforcement could potentially take you out of your apartment.”
Chang says many Chinese students at Harvard are worried about visa status and internship outlook, while others believe the school is likely to win a legitimate battle.
The number of Chinese students in the US fell from a maximum of 370,000 in 2019 to approximately 277,000 in 2024. This was partially driven by increasing tensions between the two biggest economies of the world and strengthening US government scrutiny of some Chinese students.
Chinese citizens accounted for one-fifth of Harvard’s intake in 2024, the university said.
“Our teachers have sent emails that the school is working hard to respond actively within the next 72 hours and are looking to negotiate with the government,” said Teresa, a Chinese graduate student at Harvard Kennedy School.
Her post on Friday on the Xiaohongshu platform, like Instagram, was entitled “Harvard Refugees.”
The US lawsuit “harms the image and international credibility of the United States,” said China’s Foreign Ministry pledged to “surely protect the legitimate rights and interests” of students abroad.
As the elite children of the ruling Communist Party are known, several Chinese “princes” have attended Harvard University for the past 20 years, including Xi Jinping’s daughter, Xi Jinping.
However, in recent years, XI’s anti-corruption campaign has strengthened scrutiny of Communist officials and their families’ relations with Western countries.
Cancelled flights
Zhang Kaiqi, a master’s student in public health, packed his luggage and souvenirs ready for his flight to China on Friday. However, upon hearing the news, he urgently canceled an expensive flight and lost an internship at a US NGO in China.
“I was sad and annoyed. For a while, I thought it was fake news,” the 21-year-old said.
He said the most unsettling of the Chinese students at Harvard University are students working in summer as a critical research assistant for future PhD applications.
As others digested Thursday’s order, the two Chinese students said they’ve been added to the WhatsApp group, where panicked foreign students desperately share legal advice on the immigration situation.
They provided transcripts from such chat groups, advised students not to leave the country or use air travel within the country, and encouraged them to wait for official announcements from the school.
Thursday’s move is in response to Harvard’s refusal to provide information it sought about foreign student visa holders, and could be reversed if the university tolerates it, the Trump administration said.
Life Plan
Due to the growing tension between China and the US in recent years, Chinese families are sending more and more children to study at universities in other English-speaking countries such as Australia and Singapore.
On Friday, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it would “provide unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to promote a seamless transition” to affected students.
Pippa Ebel, an independent education consultant in Guangzhou, said the order did not completely close the door to higher education in the United States, but it was “highly likely to be the final nudge for other destinations.”
“It will not be a complete shift, it will strengthen existing concerns of Chinese parents,” says Ebel, who wrote a report on Chinese students at the UK education think tank HEPI.
Zhao, a 23-year-old master’s student at Harvard University, is determined to continue his research in the United States, but is considering postponing enrollment every year or moving elsewhere if the ban continues.
“It really hinders my life planning… I was originally planning to apply for my US visa in early June, but now I don’t know what to do,” she said.
(Additional reporting by Tiffany Le, Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee of Beijing, written and edited by Brenda Go, Jesse Pan and John Geddy of Hong Kong, and edited by Clarence Fernandez)
