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Toronto Sun
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
U.S. to revoke Chinese student visas in escalating crackdown
Published May 29, 2025 • 6 minute read Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Photo by Nathan Howard / Bloomberg The U.S. plans to start 'aggressively' revoking visas for Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, escalating the Trump administration's push for greater scrutiny of foreigners attending American universities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Rubio said in a statement that students affected would include 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.' The U.S. will also enhance scrutiny 'of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong,' he added. China had the second most students in the U.S. of any country in 2024, behind India. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning accused the U.S. of taking its decision 'under the pretext of ideology and national security' at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, adding that it would harm people-to-people relations. 'Such a politicized and discriminatory move lays bare the U.S. lie behind the so-called freedom and openness that the U.S. touts,' she added. 'It will only further undermine its image in the world and national reputation.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The decision comes just weeks after the U.S. and China negotiated a truce in their tariff war. The issue of revoking visas could now emerge as another flashpoint between the world's two biggest economies, potentially upending progress made on trade. It will also add to heightened tensions over sales to China of sophisticated chips and Beijing's determination to limit U.S. access to rare earths, which have been simmering even after the breakthrough agreement in Geneva to sharply lower tariffs for 90 days as officials try to strike a broader deal. 'This action intends to build a wall between two countries,' said Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University's Center for American Studies in Shanghai. 'I don't think it will help facilitate the forthcoming trade talks between two sides.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The move followed Rubio's order a day earlier instructing U.S. embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas as the administration weighs stricter vetting of applicants' social-media profiles. It marks yet another effort by President Donald Trump's push to restrict foreign students' entry to American schools over claims that they might threaten U.S. national security. The White House has waged a high-stakes battle with universities that initially focused on elite universities such as Harvard and Columbia over antisemitism. That has turned into a bigger attack over the role of U.S. higher education and the foreign students whose tuition is a crucial source of income for schools around the country. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'For the ones that really can make a contribution, want to make a difference, we want to make it possible for them to come here and bring their great ideas, bring their great intellect and help us build a great America,' Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. 'I think the administration is all in on that and I don't think anything they have said changes that.' The scrutiny of Chinese students and researchers in the U.S. in recent years dates back to Trump's first term, as part of a broader attack on China's ties in the U.S. The Trump administration announced in 2020 that the Confucius Institute U.S. Center, a program funded by the Chinese government that's dedicated to teaching Chinese language and culture in the US, had to register as a 'foreign mission,' making it subject to administrative requirements similar to those for embassies and consulates. Later the same year, the U.S. revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers for national security reasons. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 2018, the Justice Department created a project to investigate and prosecute Chinese and Chinese-American researchers it said were stealing American secrets while hiding their links to the government in Beijing and to the People's Liberation Army. Known as the 'China Initiative,' the program was shut down four years later after coming under intense criticism for fanning discrimination against Asian-Americans. The visa restrictions announced on Wednesday extend a broader crackdown underway since Trump reclaimed the White House this year. Hours earlier, the U.S. president said Harvard should cap foreign student enrollment at 15%, escalating his campaign to force policy changes at the elite institution. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The State Department extended its scrutiny of those at Harvard beyond student visas to all visa holders, including those with business and tourist documents, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Rubio told senators last week that the number of revoked student visas is 'probably in the thousands at this point,' adding that 'a visa's not a right — it's a privilege.' International students accounted for 5.9% of the total U.S. higher education population of almost 19 million. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 1.1 million foreign students came to the US, with India and China accounting for about half, according to the Institute of International Education. Last year, America sold a net $32 billion in services to China — including education, travel and entertainment — more than double the amount in 2022 and accounting for 11% of the nearly $300 billion global total. Almost a third of U.S. services exports to China were related to education, coming from tuition and living expenses for the Chinese students studying in the US. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The number of Chinese students has declined in the U.S. — it fell 4% to about 277,000 students in 2024 — amid increased tension between the two adversaries. The FBI has warned that China has sought to exploit 'America's deeply held and vital culture of collaboration and openness on university campuses.' The State Department is also clamping down more on foreigners seeking to come to the U.S. more broadly as part of Trump's crackdown on immigration. Earlier Wednesday, Rubio announced visa restrictions on foreign officials and other individuals who 'censor Americans,' including those who target American technology companies. Taking action against people with links to the Chinese Communist Party is a sweeping measure, given the role it plays in the lives of Chinese people and institutions, including universities and enterprises. While just under 100 million people count as members of the party, its reach is so pervasive that the number of those who can be said to have ties with it runs into multiples of that figure. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What happens next is less clear. During his visit to the U.S. to meet with then President Joe Biden, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to bring 50,000 young Americans to China to stabilize ties over a period of five years. That he's lent his name to such an effort could suggest China will be less inclined to engage in tit-for-tat by targeting American students in China. Even if it did, that number is minuscule, with the U.S. State Department saying in April last year the figure was fewer than 900 students. In the past, the two sides vented their fury at one another by closing consulates. China shuttered the U.S. consulate in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu. That came just days after the U.S. government forced their Chinese counterparts out of their mission in Houston in 2020. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But this time, China has other options. Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, said a possible response may be indirect, such as new export controls on critical minerals. 'Beijing is increasingly realizing the power of its export control regime to apply pressure on global supply chains and Western political leaders,' he said. 'Beijing will be angry and ask more questions about how successful the Geneva talks really were at laying the groundwork for a US-China deal.' — With assistance from James Mayger, Derek Wallbank, Yasufumi Saito and Philip Glamann. Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Columnists Tennis
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Tech bros are facing the end of the ‘technipolar moment'
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he attends commencement ceremony at West Point Military Academy in West Point, New York, U.S., May 24, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard REUTERS For intellectuals of a certain bent, no game is more absorbing than discovering the 'real' power behind the throne. Who is pulling the strings? What class interests does the regime serve? Who is 'really' in charge? Such questions inspire learned disquisitions as well as conspiracy theories. So far, the favourite target when it comes to the Trump administration is the tech industry. Mr Ian Bremmer, the head of the Eurasia Group, a political consultancy, talks about the 'technipolar moment' and the 'frightening fusion of tech power and state power'. Mr Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trump's former adviser, laments the influence of 'technofeudal globalists bent on turning Americans into digital serfs'. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Palantir raises annual revenue forecast on booming AI demand
FILE PHOTO: Signage for Palantir is seen during the Association of the United States Army annual meeting and exposition at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo (Reuters) -Data and analytics firm Palantir Technologies raised its annual sales forecast on Monday, betting on strong demand for its products that help businesses adopt generative AI technology. Palantir has benefited from a boom in the adoption of GenAI technology as enterprises leverage the company's expertise in managing and analyzing data to help train and run new AI apps using its platform. The Denver, Colorado-based company now expects revenue in fiscal year 2025 between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion, up from its earlier forecast of sales between $3.74 billion and $3.76 billion. Analysts on average expect $3.75 billion in annual sales, according to data from LSEG. Palantir's shares are up more than 60% this year, widely outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 Index, which is down more than 3%, as investors expect the company to benefit from AI deployment and government spending on defense-related tech even as global markets falter because of trade-related uncertainties. Co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Palantir has been increasingly diversifying into commercial applications as it works to reduce its dependence on government spending. Palantir now expects U.S. businesses to drive more than $1.18 billion in sales this year, up from its earlier expectation of more than $1.08 billion. It also forecast second-quarter revenue above estimates. Still, a significant portion of Palantir's sales is led by its services for governments, such as supplying software that visualizes the position of troops in a battle. The company's early financial backers included the CIA's venture arm, In-Q-Tel. The U.S. government represented more than 42% of revenue in the three months ended March 31. Total sales of $883.9 million during that period beat estimates of $862.8 million. Big U.S. government contractors such as Accenture and IBM have flagged a hit to their businesses from cost-cutting efforts by President Donald Trump's administration mostly through the Department of Government Efficiency. During an interview with Reuters, Palantir's executives did not directly address questions on whether DOGE spending cuts, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, would impact the company's contracts. "Focus on efficiency is excellent for Palantir. We very much support a push by the U.S. government to push on efficiency across the government," finance chief David Glazer told Reuters. (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
Japan Today
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
U.S. agencies open probe after two Washington flights abort landings due to nearby Army helicopter
FILE PHOTO: Crews work to retrieve the wreckage of American Eagle flight 5342 in the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, with the Capitol dome in the background, as seen from Virginia, U.S., February 4, Howard/File Photo By David Shepardson Federal investigators have launched a probe after two flights aborted landings at Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday because of the presence of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that was too close and headed to the Pentagon. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that air traffic control instructed Delta Air Lines Flight 1671, an Airbus A319 that had originated in Orlando, and Republic Airways Flight 5825, an Embraer 170 that had departed from Boston, to perform go-arounds at around 2:30 p.m. due to a priority military air transport helicopter in the vicinity. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating. Following a January 29 mid-air collision of an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk that killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan National Airport. The FAA told Congress it was reviewing the Army helicopter's route in the two "loss of separation" incidents on Thursday and whether the route violates an agreement with the Army. "It appears the Black Hawk operation did not proceed directly to the Pentagon Heliport. Instead it took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport," the FAA memo seen by Reuters said. Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz said "the Army is once again putting the traveling public at risk... It's time for the FAA to act swiftly and assert control over the national airspace so the Army stops running air taxis for military officials near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Army had disregarded helicopter safety rules. "No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber - besides most VIPs have black car service," Duffy said. Delta said there were five crew and 97 passengers aboard the flight. "Nothing is more important at Delta than the safety of our customers and people. We'll cooperate with the FAA as they investigate," the airline said on Friday. The Pentagon did not immediately comment. A person involved said investigators are reviewing the helicopter's route and interactions with air traffic control. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that according to initial information, the military helicopter was doing an emergency evacuation rehearsal. "It is outrageous that only three months after an Army Black Hawk helicopter tragically collided with a passenger jet, the same Army brigade again flew a helicopter too close to passenger jets on final approach at (Reagan Washington)," Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, said. "This comes less than a week after this brigade resumed flights in the National Capital Region. It is far past time for Secretary Hegseth and the FAA to give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves," she said, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Republic Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airport is located in northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., and about four miles (6.4 km) from Capitol Hill, making it popular with lawmakers, tourists and local residents. The FAA in March permanently closed one key route and prohibited the use of two smaller runways at the airport when helicopters conducting urgent missions are operating near the airport. Since 2021, there have been 85 recorded events involving a potentially dangerous near-miss between a helicopter and a plane - defined as a lateral separation of less than 1,500 feet and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet, the National Transportation Safety Board said in March. A number of recent safety incidents at the airport have raised alarm, including a March 28 incident involving a Delta flight and a group of Air Force jets. Airlines for America, a group representing American Airlines and other U.S. carriers, in March urged the FAA to permanently reduce helicopter traffic around the airport. The group called on the FAA to suspend some nearby helicopter routes with limited exceptions for essential military or medical emergencies. The Army has also come under fire for routinely turning off a key safety system known as ADS-B during training missions in the Washington area. The FAA is investigating helicopter traffic near other major airports and last week announced changes to address safety concerns in Las Vegas. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
‘Freedom From Fear': F.D.R.'s Granddaughter Contrasts Two Presidents
Image Credit... Nathan Howard/Reuters To the Editor: Re 'The New Deal Is a Stinging Rebuke to Trump and Trumpism,' by Jamelle Bouie (column, April 30): In his first 100 days in office, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, my grandfather, encouraged us to believe in ourselves, to trust and help our neighbors, and to put the country's stability and well-being as a whole at the forefront. By contrast, the current administration has caused economic chaos at home and abroad, while exhibiting carelessness and cruelty to nearly everyone except billionaires. The early success of a presidential agenda should be defined by what it creates and not by what it destroys — the confidence in the American promise that it inspires, not the fear it sows. All my life I have lived in the shadow — no, the glow — of the legacy of my grandparents' leadership, ideals and public accomplishments. I am 77 years old, and I hope I live to see that legacy give rise to a reborn America that treasures the freedoms they enshrined: the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom the live one's own faith, the freedom from desperation and want, and most especially, the freedom from fear. Thank you, Mr. Bouie, for your clear declaration of what we must do and why. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Embden, Maine Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York Times To the Editor: Re 'There have never been 100 days like this' (front page, April 30): The most dispiriting and shocking thing about Donald Trump's so rapidly and thoroughly transforming the presidency into a weapon of revenge is not what he has done, but how he has been able to do it. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
