"Migration And Diplomacy":A Study Of U.S. Policy Towards Chinese Students And Its Impact,1949-1957

The U.S.'s policy towards Chinese students is an important instrument for fostering a good relationship with China and the Chinese people.The defeat of the Kuomintang and the founding of PR China in 1949,brought shocks and challenges to American's traditional policy towards Chinese students.As early as the first half of the twentieth century,the U.S.government granted Chinese students and other elites the right to enter,protecting them from the Chinese Exclusion Act,and treating them as a solution for the imbalance of U.S.immigration policy and foreign policy toward China.Functioned as a kind of “modulator”,Chinese students not only could help appease the rising of Chinese nationalist sentiments but also be good for the long-term future of Sino-U.S.relations.Besides,by refunding Boxer's indemnity and setting up scholarships to sponsor Chinese students to study in the U.S.,American elites hoped to get Chinese students more Westernized and Christianized,and then China could be more ‘Americanized'.Thus,Chinese students had been an important tool for the United States to benefit from trade and to expand its influence on China.The above content also constitutes the keynote of the United States' long-standing idealistic policy toward Chinese students.From 1949 to 1950,Sino-U.S.relations experienced tremendous changes and uncertainties.The U.S.also had to reshape the policy toward Chinese students by adding more pragmatism elements and focusing on Cold War propaganda.The shift of treatment toward Stranded Chinese students was a good example.For ideological reasons,the United States denied the legitimacy of PR China.In this context,fearing about pro-communist activities among Chinese students in the U.S.,which also contributed to the large-scale financial assistance to Stranded Chinese students and various cultural diplomacy activities for the purpose to expose them to American values and superiority.Holding these students and intellectuals in the U.S had caused controversies and discontents,thus it became a hot-button issue between PRC and the U.S.In doing so,the American government adjusted immigration policy by granting certain Chinese students rights to stay,to work,exemption from deportation,and other privileges.At the same time,the U.S.government has strengthened the departure control procedures to prevent Chinese students with certain type of technical training from leaving.After terminating the education exchange with PR China,the United States turned to attract Chinese students from Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 1950 s.So far,curbing communism and attracting talents had become the core contents of the US policy on Chinese students,which had also constituted the dual track of the overall foreign student policy during the cold war period.Chinese students had been served as a chain to the two countries with so many differences in terms of political systems,economic structure,cultural,religion and language.However,during the early cold war period,the role which Chinese students played became more complex.One the one hand,they were one of the focus of the competition between the two countries;on the other hand,solving Chinese student problems also provided a chance and possibility for the direct dialogue between the two countries,as this kind of migration diplomacy would not lead to international dispute,and with other benefits,such as low political risk and low cost.An important part and yet not full explored is that Chinese students also played a key role in the function of U.S.'s postwar total foreign student policy.First,the success of the educated Chinese student in both China and U.S.for the long half-century became a strong argument for the US government to expand international educational exchanges after World War II.Besides,as the second large foreign students in the U.S during early 1950 s,and also as “racial minorities" students,Chinese students became the first group of students who shift their status as U.S.citizens successfully for their merits and value.Third,Chinese students challenged the long run of U.S.racial-quota immigration system,enable American valued more about immigrant's skill,education,in this case,Chinese students helped bridge the contradictions and tensions between the American racialized immigration quota system and the Cold War diplomatic strategy,so that the American government could achieve two goals,attracting talents and building a good image of the United States.Fourth,Chinese students became citizens and legal residents in the U.S.,which also expanded the geographical scope for attracting foreign student's manpower.Other foreign students,especially those from Asia were also benefited.So large scope of students from Korea,India,China's Hong Kong,and China's Taiwan used education exchange and training in the U.S.as channels to immigrate during 1950 s.It became the prelude of the hot debate of the Brain Drain in the 1960 s.