The news that the US Government proposes to prevent Chinese and
other nations' citizens participating in advanced scientific
projects in the United States has prompted an outcry among overseas
Chinese students and scholars in the United States, according to a
Xinhua News Agency report.
The proposal is, for the so-called sake of US national security,
aimed at the prevention of the theft of technical secrets by
foreign spies, said Xinhua, quoting relevant reports.
"Such a restriction will do no good to exchanges between China
and the United States in scientific, cultural and educational
fields," said Zhu Hongwen, chairman of the Association of Chinese
Students and Scholars of Greater New York Area.
It only serves as a kind of discrimination against Chinese
students and scholars, forcing lots of talented researchers to seek
opportunities in European countries instead of the United States,
said Zhu.
"Most of the Chinese students studying in the United States
conduct crucial research," said Tian Li, chairman of the
Association of Chinese Students and Scholars in Columbia
University.
The US authorities have strengthened controls on Chinese
students researching "sensitive subjects" since September 11 terror
attacks in 2001, by refusing visas to Chinese people who apply to
study in these areas, said Tian.
"Under such circumstances, the US Government plans to resort to
additional restrictions that would only breed further resentment
among Chinese students, and limit the introduction of overseas
talent," said Tian.
Six years ago, the US accused Los Alamos National Lab scientist
Wen Ho Lee of stealing nuclear secrets for China, the report said.
Lee eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of mishandling
computer files.
Lee's case became a rallying point for many in the
Chinese-American community who felt targeted because of their
ethnic heritage.
US businesses and universities are currently required to get a
government export license if they allow citizens from controlled
countries most notably China to engage in research involving
technologies with potential military uses, the report said.
But a license is not needed for Chinese nationals who have
become citizens or permanent residents in a third country such as
Canada or the United Kingdom, it said.
Reports said the proposal would suggest requiring licenses for
anyone born in China or other controlled countries such as Iran and
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, even if they had taken
out citizenship in another country.
(China Daily December 3, 2005)