China College Vows Unconditional Offers to Take Harvard Students

A college in Hong Kong has vowed to make “unconditional offers” for international students at Harvard after the Trump Administration revoked the top university’s ability to enrol them.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) said it would “ensure a smooth transition” for students who may not be able to enrol at Harvard for the next school year.

The Trump administration is cracking down on elite universities that it claims are hotbeds for left-wing students, but Harvard has said the move is illegal and that the university is committed to maintaining its ability to host international students and scholars, it said.

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More than 1,000 Chinese students currently attend Harvard.

On Friday, a federal judge in Boston issued a temporary restraining order blocking the new White House policy aimed at preventing Harvard from enrolling international students.

The judge said the order was “justified” to preserve the status quo until the matter could be discussed in a court hearing.

District Court Judge Allison Burroughs, in Massachusetts, granted Harvard’s motion for a temporary restraining order, saying the university “will sustain immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties.”

Critics have said the Trump administration’s move could backfire on the US, if it deters talented and hard-working individuals from abroad from coming to the United States to study.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has said that China-US educational cooperation is mutually beneficial. China opposed the politicizing of academic exchanges, she said, warning that such action would damage the US’s image.

HKUST, which has had exchange sharings and dealings with students from Harvard in previous years (as seen in images posted on its website), said in a news release on Friday it was “extending this opportunity to ensure talented students can pursue their educational goals without disruption.”

The college said it has a team to assist students and would provide expedited admissions, credit transfers, visa assistance and housing support “to ensure a smooth transition.”

HKUST ranked 66th best in the world in the Times Higher Education’s college rankings this year, while Harvard was listed as third.

Inquiries or expressions of interest from Harvard students can be directed to [email protected], it said.

Greater vetting of foreign students

Meanwhile, the White House has ordered US missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants, as the State Department prepares to expand social media vetting of foreign students, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the cable that the department plans to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants after a review is completed and advised consular sections to halt the scheduling of such visa appointments.

The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill his hardline immigration agenda.

Several hundred protesters, including Harvard students and professors, demonstrated in support of foreign students at the Harvard campus on Tuesday, while also protesting at the government’s efforts to cut off funding to the university.

In the cable Rubio said appointments that have already been scheduled can proceed under the current guidelines, but available appointments not already taken should be pulled down.

“The Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants,” the cable said.

A senior State Department official confirmed the accuracy of the cable.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on reports of the cable, but said the US will use “every tool” to vet anyone who wants to enter the United States.