Chinese students must participate in military training when they enrol at university in their country. It usually consists of up to 24 days in their first year, and its purpose is to engender a sense of patriotism and collectivism, rather than being full-on combat training. However, Australian border officers have recently been cancelling visas and repatriating Chinese students for not disclosing this training.
In response to the entry refusals, China has lodged a formal ‘solemn representation’ with Australia, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin requesting Australia stop doing this.
Until the pandemic, Chinese students made up roughly a third of foreign intakes at Australian universities. It’s estimated that the international education market adds AUS$37.6 billion to the country’s economy and creates over 240,000 jobs.
State-run Chinese news outlet Weibo has suggested that the entry refusals would suggest to people that they contained a ‘political purpose’ and discriminated against Chinese students’ ‘legitimate rights and interests’.
