CHINA-DALAI LAMA: US COLLEGE PENALISED FOR INVITING DALAI LAMA
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The China Scholarship Council (CSC), a branch of the PRC government that funds overseas study for Chinese citizens, has informed the University of California San Diego (UCSD) that it would no longer process applications to study at UCSD for scholars who had not already received a visa appointment from the US embassy. The action is consequent to the UCSD hosting the Dalai Lama in June to speak at its school-wide commencement ceremony for the 2016-2017 academic year. A spokesperson for UCSD issued the following statement: "UC San Diego has learned, unofficially, that the China Scholarship Council under the PRC Ministry of Education has apparently issued instructions that CSC-funded visiting scholars who do not yet have visas will not be allowed to study at UC San Diego. UC San Diego was not notified of this directly by the China Scholarship Council, and we are presently making inquiries to determine if this is the case." (Comment: China's action escalates Beijing's retaliatory actions against the Dalai Lama. The application freeze does not bar undergraduates, graduate students, or other academics from attending UCSD -- it merely prevents scholars from obtaining CSC funding to do so. As a result, these specific measures alone will likely do little to curb the school's influx of Chinese students. In the Fall of 2015, Chinese students made up 10.6% of UCSD's student population and 55.7% of its international student population. China's retaliatory action highlights that if universities ignore Beijing's advice and invite speakers espousing views that the Party tries to suppress, Beijing will attempt to discourage academic exchanges with such schools.) |