“In China, the government can control education, high schools, colleges, universities. We thought that the USA could be different," one student said.
Chinese students say they’re questioning their decision to study in the U.S. after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the federal government will attempt to “aggressively” revoke their visas.
Rubio said Wednesday that Chinese students “with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields” would be targeted.
Chinese students who spoke to NBC News on Thursday said that they came to the U.S. for freedoms they felt they did not have back in China but that now the Trump administration is starting to resemble the strict regime they left behind.
Having a visa revoked is very different from being thrown into a jail or executed.
They have every right to say that about the US, though, and I am happy they can voice thier opinion. Unlike in China, where the government will happily throw you and your family behind bars for saying something even approaching a bad opinion of government action.
Edit - aww I think I irritated the tankies
Have you not been watching the news? ICE has been detaining people left and right for months at a time, no charges whatsoever.
Sadly only left. None from there right. If they started detaining their own things might actually change.
I agree it’s terrible. Still very far from China.
It could never happen to me, only bad people! –Hardeehar
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Where do you think China is on your scale? Oh yes…5/100
US is 10/100…
US > PRC
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I never said that and I recognize and I sympathize with their struggle. The Chinese people are fine, the PRC is not.
I said the US is better than China. By what degree better is up for argument, sure. The reason the students are protesting here in the US and being heard, and being discussed on the news and openly here online, is because you and I (and everyone else) aren’t in fear that the government will drop police at our door because of this conversation.
I am all for open public debate and discourse, downvotes and all because it’s our right to be heard. It doesn’t matter where, EU, US, or China.
In the US, I have options on what to do if I feel the government isn’t doing the right thing. (Even moving to the EU). You can’t say that if you were a citizien living in China.
I think the concern here could be that revoking visas might be a first step towards a more intolerant policy a la China as referenced above
You’re right.
In the United States, you don’t have to even criticize the government to have your whole family thrown behind bars.
The United States will happily rendition your whole family to the United States Concentration Camps in El Salvador just for being in the United States.
The United States doesn’t imprison the people who hate the country. It imprisons the people who loved the country the most.
Let’s hope not!
Are you serious?
They can’t voice their opinion.
If they voice their opinion they get kicked out Even faster, but only after they’ve been put into a holding cell for days to weeks to months and maybe left to die of exposure for the crime of checks notes exercising the first amendment…
People in America are being thrown into a gulag with no hope for release to work as slave labor until they die in a foreign country.
There’s no silver lining here. We are becoming more like China. It’s not a good thing.
Did you read the article? They’re literally voicing their opinion, right there.
Becoming more like China, sure, but saying that means it’s not as bad as China. Not a good thing, I agree.
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So. Still better than China. We agree.
EU > US > China
Trump imprisoned a college student for a negative article she wrote about him in her college paper opinion section. How is that any different.