The United States has revoked more than 1,000 visas of Chinese nationals over military links, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We continue to welcome legitimate students and scholars from China who do not further the Chinese Communist Party’s goals of military dominance,” a Department spokesperson told Epoch Times in a statement.
“As of September 8, 2020, the Department has revoked more than 1,000 visas of PRC nationals who were found to be subject to Presidential Proclamation 10043 and therefore ineligible for a visa. We do not discuss individual cases that are subject to these restrictions. Visa records are confidential under U.S. law,” the spokesperson added.
The State Department from June 1 began implementing a proclamation issued in late May by President Donald Trump. The proclamation was to limit Beijing’s ability to leverage Chinese graduate students and researchers to steal U.S. technologies, intellectual property, and information to develop advanced military capabilities.
President Trump said on May 29 ahead of the proclamation, “For years, the government of China has conducted illicit espionage to steal our industrial secrets, of which there are many.”
“Today, I will issue a proclamation to better secure our nation’s vital university research and to suspend the entry of certain foreign nationals from China who we have identified as potential security risks.”
In particular, the proclamation directs the State Department to consider revoking visas for Chinese nationals “pursuant to an F or J visa to study or conduct research in the United States.”
Trump stated in the proclamation that the entry of such nationals “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The president also said that Beijing is “engaged in a wide‑ranging and heavily resourced campaign to acquire sensitive United States technologies and intellectual property,” which presents a threat to the U.S. economy