Politics

Trump bans Chinese students, researchers from entering US

Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military will be barred from entering the US as a result of a proclamation issued Friday by an angry President Trump

It was one of several measures Trump took Friday in retaliation for Beijing’s recent crackdown on Hong Kong that made it harder for residents there to fight for democracy, Newsweek reported.

“For years, the government of China has conducted illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets, of which there are many,” Trump said at the White House. “Today I will issue a proclamation to better secure our nation’s vital university research, and to suspend the entry of certain foreign nationals from China, who we have identified as potential security risks.”

Trump’s edict will only impact a tiny percentage of the approximately 360,000 Chinese students in the US. It pertains solely to grad students and researchers with direct ties to the Chinese military. It doesn’t affect permanent residents of the US or their spouses, or those whose entry the administration decides is “in the national interest.”