How Trump's measures against foreign students from Harvard are seen in China. A graduate of the school: the US “casts” its own university top

If the Trump administration manages to block the registration of international students at Harvard, the most affected will be those in China, because they represent most of the current students from the school, according to The New York Times.

The US Internal Security Department announced on Thursday that he withdraws the Harvard University the right to enroll foreign students, a measure seen in China as a blow to one of the last prestigious American institutions and as another reason to give up the US, writes NYT.

Trump's measures could reshape the broader relationship between the two countries by eliminating one of the few reasons why people in China still admire the United States, notes the American publication.

The flow of students from China to the United States has long been one of the most solid points in the relationship of the two countries, writes NYT, who recalls that until recently, Beijing has been by far the largest source of foreign students for the US.

Even though other symbols of America, such as Hollywood or iPhone-have lost their charm for many Chinese, American universities have remained a source of aspiration, even veneration. Elite universities like Harvard have played a very important role in this admiration. Now, even this landmark is under question.

“Everyone comes here with the ideal of changing the world,” said a student from China graduate to Harvard, who spoke with NYT under the protection of anonymity for fear not to endanger his visa. “But when I try to understand the world, the world excludes me.” She says she now wants to return to China after graduation.

A sign of the tension between China and the US was also the reaction of many Chinese on social networks, where the news about Harvard caused a mixed reaction: concern and indignation or, in some circles, dark acceptance or even joy.

Some commentators said Trump has accelerated China's ascension. They celebrated the fact that American universities will lose both revenues and talents, some of which may be directed to China. At least one University of Hong Kong has already stated that it is willing to provide unconditional admission to any student transferred from Harvard.

Ren Yi, a profile blogger carrying the pseudonym Chairman Rabbit and is himself a graduate of the Harvard University, wrote that the United States government “casts” its own university.

“This is a big change that is not reached in a century,” he wrote, quoting China's leader Xi Jinping, who used this expression to describe his confidence in China's ascension. The daughter of President XI also graduated Harvard.

China: “It will only affect US reputation”

Asked on Friday about the Harvard decision, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said that it “will only affect the image and international reputation of the United States.”

Even before the action against Harvard, Chinese students in the United States had a lot of concern. Federal and state parliamentarians have proposed restriction of the possibility of Chinese citizens to study in the United States, invoking national security issues. The students reported that they were refused on the border, although they had valid visas, or that their visas were suddenly revoked.

Last month, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued an official warning to Chinese students to consider the risks of studying in the United States – its first alert to students who go abroad in 2021.

The research funds operated by the Trump administration have also affected many Chinese researchers, some of whom say they are worried about the financial ability to work.

In the flourishing industry of study consultants abroad in China, many have encouraged customers to apply to other universities, including outside the United States.

On Friday, in a live broadcast with hundreds of viewers, a consultant warned that other schools could soon be subjected to similar restrictions. But for some, the exceptional status of Harvard also gave them the hope that the University, and the American society in general, will overcome these turbulence.

Yu, a master's degree from Harvard said that she was encouraged by how the people at the educational institution responded to government attacks. In addition to the university administration, her colleagues, Chinese and not only, have joined to share each other's international travel plans, if someone had problems, and to dissect the language of executive orders.

She expected the life of a foreign student to become more difficult under the leadership of Donald Trump and has not radically changed her vision of the United States. “I look more at the values ​​that the country has and how people try to defend these values,” said Masteran. “It will be difficult, but there will be a fight and we have some hope,” she added.