US revoked over 1,000 visas of Chinese nationals by Sept 8: State dept

The United States has revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese nationals under a presidential proclamation to suspend entry from China of students and researchers deemed security risks, a State Department spokesperson said.

“As of September 8, 2020, the Department has revoked more than 1,000 visas of PRC [People’s Republic of China] nationals who were found to be subject to Presidential Proclamation 10043 and therefore ineligible for a visa,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

The spokesperson said the number of high-risk Chinese graduate students and researchers considered ineligible is a small number compared to the total number of Chinese students and scholars allowed to study in the United States.

Earlier, the acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, said that Washington was blocking visas “for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research.”

The visa action was taken under a proclamation President Donald Trump announced on May 29 as part of the U.S. response to China’s curbs on democracy in Hong Kong.