Don’t go to Australia, Beijing warns students
Beijing has warned hundreds of thousands of Chinese students against studying in Australia, leaving unis facing a $5bn blow.
Beijing has warned hundreds of thousands of Chinese students against studying in Australia, leaving the nation’s struggling universities facing a $5bn blow and putting further pressure on the relationship between Scott Morrison’s government and the Asian superpower.
Education Minister Dan Tehan and university leaders rejected the Chinese Ministry of Education’s assertions that Chinese people face “discriminatory attacks” and said their focus would be on supporting the more than 167,000 Chinese students already in the country.
Late on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education told Chinese students to be cautious in either coming to study in Australia or returning to study, just days after a similar warning was put out by communist authorities to potential tourists.
“Recently, major Australian universities plan to start school around July. The spread of the new global pneumonia outbreak has not been effectively controlled, and there are risks in international travel and open campuses,” the Chinese statement said. “During the epidemic, there were multiple discriminatory incidents against Asians in Australia. The Ministry of Education reminds all overseas students to do a risk assessment and is currently cautious in choosing to study in Australia or return to Australia.”
Mr Tehan said on Tuesday that Australia was both a COVID-safe and racially tolerant country and would continue to support Chinese students.
“We reject China’s assertion that Australia is an unsafe destination for international students,” he said in a statement.
“Australia’s multicultural success is based on our respect for all Australians and visitors, including international students, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity or sexuality. Our success at flattening the curve means we are one of the safest countries in the world for international students to be based in right now.
“Our priority is for university campuses to be fully operational with COVID-19-safe protocols in place so our domestic students and the international students, including Chinese students, already in Australia can return to on-campus learning.”
Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek backed the government’s defence of the international education sector and said she wanted Chinese students back here once global borders open. “Australia is one of the safest countries in the world for overseas students,” she said.
The statement comes after days of rumblings in Chinese propaganda outlets warning Australia’s international education sector — the nation’s fourth-biggest export — would be punished for the Prime Minister’s stances on Hong Kong, foreign investment and an independent global investigation into the origins of coronavirus.
An article published last week on Chinese-state media website People’s Daily listed “multiple difficulties for PRC students to study in Australia in the post-COVID era”, and blamed Australia’s alliance with the US and“hostility against China”.
On Monday, communist mouthpiece The Global Times said a state-encouraged boycott of Australian tourism and universities would be the “tip of the iceberg” in China’s economic punishment of Australia.
The latest economic aggression from China comes weeks after Beijing imposed tariffs on Australian barley farmers and suspended exports from four abattoirs in NSW and Queensland.
Australia’s total economy already faces losing $12bn a year as Chinese students are kept out by border closures.
The sector has been working with state governments to develop plans to get small batches of foreign students into Australia.
Education leaders voiced concerns directly to the Chinese embassy this week following the weekend travel warnings to tourists, and looked to the federal government on Tuesday to resolve tensions with Beijing as soon as possible.
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the Chinese Ministry of Education’s latest moves were disappointing and had made the situation “more difficult at an already difficult time”.
“Our duty of care extends to all of our students, domestic and international, and never more so while we are in the middle of a global pandemic. It is for this reason that it is disappointing to see this statement from the (Chinese) Ministry of Education,” she said.
International Education Association chief executive Phil Honeywood said Australia had a reputation as a safe study destination and said he expected Canberra and Beijing would resolve issues soon. “Australia is known to be a safe and welcoming study destination for students from anywhere in the world. I’m positive that this issue will be resolved … within the near future,” he said.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson put the onus on the government to solve the latest attack from China on the education sector. “This is a matter for the governments of Australia and China,” she said.
Additional reporting: Heidi Han
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