Foreign students wait for green light to return to China with growing concern
- Tens of thousands of foreigners have been waiting to resume their studies for more than a year
- Business travel is now allowed but despite Beijing’s insistence that students are ‘forever friends’ there has been little official response
Medical students, in particular, have struggled with learning online and need to attend classes in person before they can graduate.
Last August, China restarted visa applications for South Korean students, who make up the largest proportion of the country’s foreign student population at 10 per cent.
But most of China’s half a million international students come from developing countries, including India and Pakistan and many African nations, and they have yet to receive any notice about whether they can return, although they can continue their studies online.
In February, thousands of Indian medical students organised a social media campaign using the hashtag #TakeUsBackToChina. The hashtag has gained renewed traction as a new semester approaches and still no plans have been announced.
