US side urged to 'stop repatriating, harassing' Chinese students

The Chinese embassy in the United States has urged the US side to "stop repatriating and harassing" Chinese students, whom Washington has said it welcomes.

Recently, a Chinese student with a legal visa issued by the US government was "wantonly" interrogated by the US side at the border entrance. After being confined in a small room for more than 50 hours without proper food and rest, he was deported by the US side through a third country on trumped-up grounds, according to the Chinese embassy.

"The US action seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of the student and caused serious physical and mental damage to him and his family," an embassy spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"The Chinese side deplores and firmly opposes this action and has lodged solemn representation with the US side," he said.

The US has been obstructing educational, cultural and people-to-people exchanges with China for a period of time, and there have been a number of similar cases of "arbitrary" and "harsh interrogation" and even deportation of Chinese students by the US law enforcement, who has seriously violated the students' human rights, according to the spokesperson.

"What the US side has been doing has gravely undermined normal people-to-people exchanges and educational cooperation between the two countries. It runs counter to the openness and freedom the US loves to tout and the global trend of talent exchanges and goes against the common aspiration of the two peoples for friendly exchanges," the spokesperson noted.

Such a move is supported by none and serves the good of none, while educational and cultural cooperation serves the interests of both sides, the spokesperson said. The Chinese side has expressed firm and strong opposition to the US side on each case immediately after it has happened.

"We urge the US side to honor its statement of welcoming Chinese students, immediately stop abusing the excuse of national security, stop repatriating, harassing and interrogating Chinese students, and stop infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.

"We urge the US side to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, so as to create a good atmosphere for our people-to-people and educational exchanges," the spokesperson said.

In a separate statement issued Tuesday, the Chinese embassy asked Chinese students to be cautious about choosing to fly to the US through Houston.

"The Chinese side will continue to support Chinese students in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with law, and also reminds the students to raise their awareness of safety and guard against similar incidents," it said.

The number of Chinese international students in the US reached 372,532 in the 2019-20 academic year, making China the top source of international students in the US, according to the 2020 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange report released last November.

Students from China accounted for 34.6 percent of the slightly more than 1 million international students the US hosted during the 2019-20 academic year, according to the report.