India Imposes New Curbs on Chinese Visas & Universities

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As India’s relations with China continue to get sour amid the ongoing border tensions,
The Centre has decided to add extra scrutiny for visas and will also be reviewing Beijing’s links with local universities.

What are the curbs on Visas?

According to a report in Bloomberg,
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will now have to issue prior security clearance for visas of Chinese businessmen, academics, industry experts and advocacy groups.
The measures are similar to those that have long been employed with Pakistan.

The activities of India universities with tie-ups to Chinese institutions are likely to be drastically scaled down.
The government is reviewing 54 MoU signed between educational institutions including the Indian Institutes of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and others,
With links to the official Chinese language training office, known as Hanban, which runs Confucius Institutes across the world.
Hanbanalso known as Confucius Institute Headquarters, is the colloquial abbreviation for the Office of Chinese Language Council International.
It was originally called the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOTCFL) which was established in 1987.
Hanban is “a public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education” and is committed to “providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources and services worldwide“.
With the exception of Mandarin language courses, tie-ups with Chinese institutions are likely to be discontinued.
The institutions are used to influence policy makers, think tanks, political parties, corporate and academics.

The review was launched after security agencies voiced their concerns to the government around the growing Chinese influence in higher education and culture.

The S. and Australia have taken similar steps to limit China’s influence.
The Trump administration is increasing scrutiny of Confucius Institutes that teach Chinese language and culture in the U.S. and other nations.
It looks set to force them to register as “foreign missions,” subjecting them to certain requirements.
Australia in 2018 passed tough laws to crack down on foreign interference due to alarm over unrest on campuses and the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on student bodies.
Last year it drew up new guidelines for universities collaborating on research with China.
India, Australia and the U.S. have also blocked Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in 5G networks.
For the first time this year, all Quad members will engage in a military exchange when India invites Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included only Japan and the U.S.
US Commission for International Religious Freedom