WASHINGTON () The Trump administration’s effort to revoke visas for Chinese college students has intersected with its legal battles with Harvard University.
As the State Department moves to limit Chinese student visas, the Wall Street Journal has released a report detailing the university’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party, citing the university as a favored institution for China’s political elite.
Chinese Communist elites attended Harvard: WSJ
According to the Journal, a 2014 article from the Shanghai Observer referred to Harvard as the party’s top “overseas party school.”
“If we were to rank the Chinese Communist Party’s ‘overseas party schools,’ the one deserving top spot has to be Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government,” the online platform run by the city’s main party newspaper said.
The report cites a training program from the 2000s called “China’s Leaders in Development.”
Harvard’s website describes the program as designed to help senior local and central Chinese government staff better address China’s “national reforms.”
The report names several high-ranking party figures who have studied at Harvard, including a former vice president of China who attended a training program at the university’s public policy school in 2002, a retired vice premier who received a master’s from Harvard in public administration in 1995, and a current party member who took part in a short-term Harvard program in 1999.
It also claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s daughter attended Harvard under an alias in the early 2010s, which was allegedly known to some staff members.
Harvard has not responded to the Wall Street Journal’s report.
A wide range of global leaders including Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and multiple Taiwanese presidents have also studied at Harvard.
Judge extends block on international student ban
In federal court, a judge recently extended a block on the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students.
The administration has given Harvard 30 days to submit evidence challenging the proposed plan, which would limit international enrollment to 15%.
Harvard has criticized the plan as a threat to academic freedom after school leaders pushed back against ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and addressing pro-Palestinian rallies.
In the most recent school year, Harvard hosted more than 6,700 international students, including approximately 1,200 from China.
