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Chinese graduates attend Columbia University’s commencement ceremony in New York in May 2015. Photo: Xinhua

3 years of zero-Covid lockdowns prompt Chinese studying overseas to think twice about returning home

  • Over a million Chinese students are studying abroad, with most in the US, UK and Australia
  • Economic, political and cultural conditions in China have driven students in ‘same direction’, professor says

After witnessing China’s three years of isolation under its zero-Covid policy, many Chinese students studying abroad are thinking twice about returning home after graduation.

Some said they were disheartened by Beijing’s draconian pandemic controls and their less-than-rosy employment prospects in the country.

One Chinese student studying at the University of Southern California, who asked to be identified as Zoe Qiu, said she was “fearful” about returning home after graduation because of the months of lockdowns experienced by Shanghai residents early last year.

“My motivation to live abroad has changed from being enthusiastic about Western culture to fear about living in China,” she said.

She said she had been terrified by tales of Shanghai residents appealing for food when the city was put under lockdown last spring.

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“The extreme conditions pushed humanity to the worst,” she said. “Even basic rights of life are under threat and that is really scary.”

She said she had wanted to live abroad since she was young, and the pandemic had doubled her resolve.

Stephanie Li, who recently graduated from the University of Melbourne, said many local governments in China had “used various ways, like lockdowns, for their political goals”.

She said she was now eager to stay in Australia, which had a less political environment.

Widespread online discussion about leaving China has even given rise to a new term among Chinese internet users: runxue, which basically means the philosophy of running away from the country.

Chinese students study overseas options as Covid controls come down

Since Chinese students may seek temporary employment in most countries after graduation, studying abroad has always been seen as a stepping stone to emigration and the pandemic has made graduates more eager to explore that option.

“During the Shanghai lockdown, people realised it’s no longer a Covid policy but a political decision, and people’s voices and concerns did not matter,” said Xiang Biao, a director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany who studies migration in China.

Harrowing tales of zero-Covid hardships back home had prompted many Chinese students in cities across Asia, Europe and North America to rally on campuses or at Chinese embassies to support family and friends, he added.

However, those who migrate will remain a minority due to practical concerns like passport controls in China and the tightening of immigration policies in other countries, Xiang said.

But he said relations between the people and the Chinese government had changed irreversibly, irrespective of migration decisions.

China’s change in Covid policy doesn’t compel students in US to return for break

It is too early to look at the numbers because travel in and out of China had only just resumed, according to Heidi Østbø Haugen, a professor of China studies at University of Oslo.

“It is interesting to follow how student mobility will evolve now that the border is more open,” she said, adding it was uncertain how persistent their discontent would be.

Over a million Chinese students are studying abroad, with most in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, according to Unesco.

The Ministry of Education says 80 per cent of students who studied overseas in the past decade returned home.

More students had decided to return due to uncertainties abroad during the pandemic, said Sun Xi, a consulting manager at JJL Overseas Education, an education agency based in Beijing.

A worker in protective gear at a Beijing neighbourhood under lockdown in November. Photo: Bloomberg

But she said the situation was country-specific and she had noticed that more Chinese graduates were looking for jobs in countries like Canada and Australia, where immigration policies were more favourable.

“It’s mainly because they know that the business environment in China is bleak, and it’s difficult to find jobs in good companies like tech companies and large factories,” Sun said.

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That discouraged Fay Fu, who recently earned a master's degree at the University of Melbourne, from returning to China for work. She is now working as a human resources associate for a company in Australia.

“A daughter of a friend of my mother still couldn’t find a job a year after returning. The employment situation in China is quite bad, so I’d rather chill for a bit longer in Australia,” she said, adding that the salaries and pace of work in Australia were better.

Migration decisions were often motivated by mixed reasons, but the economic, political and cultural conditions in China had all driven students in “the same direction” in the past three years, Haugen said.

“If the students don’t see compelling economic reasons to move back to China, question whether the lifestyle they seek will fit into Chinese society, and are worried about how politics will shape their everyday lives, there are few incentives left to return,” she said.

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Beijing students protest Covid-19 curbs on campus in rare act of defiance

“China has become less cosmopolitan since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, and the political differences between China and other countries have become starker.”

However, she added, the desire to remain close to family and friends and stay in a comfortable Chinese environment could still be a strong incentive to return.

Some negative factors overseas, including anti-Asian discrimination linked to the origin of Covid-19 and the impact of rising tensions with the US on the technology and business sectors, also played a role, Haugen said.

Unlike their peers back home, those studying overseas were better positioned in weighing their career decisions as they understood more about life abroad, she added.

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