Tons of hongkongers moved to UK and rued the day,
Well luckily the UK isn't the US.
The number of Chinese students at US universities is at an all-time high.
qz.com
When asked if living in the US had changed their view of their host country, 84% of respondents answered yes. Sixty percent of respondents had their views of the US positively changed since studying there, while 23% had more negative feelings. And a positive view of the US did not necessarily translate to a more negative view of their home country—55% of respondents had a more positive view of China since studying in the US.
Studying abroad has always been seen as a stepping stone to emigration and the pandemic has made graduates more eager to explore that option.
www.scmp.com
3 years of zero-Covid lockdowns prompt Chinese studying overseas to think twice about returning home
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.
“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.
