Coronavirus Strands China’s Students, in a Dilemma for Beijing

“They are also the most vulnerable group to the impact of the epidemic and possible wave of anti-China sentiment. They still need to have confidence in the country.”

The Chinese government has rushed to portray itself as helping out. In a series of public addresses over the past week, officials emphasized the role that Chinese embassies around the world have played in reaching out to students. They posted pictures of the health kits they sent to students that, as one official put it, will allow students to “feel the warmth and love from the motherland.”

China has also publicized its efforts to rescue 1,457 students stranded in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Iran and Italy. On Thursday, a flight arrived in London to evacuate 180 Chinese students from Britain.

The government “attaches great importance to and cares deeply about Chinese students abroad, and has taken major measures to protect their safety and health,” said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on March 31. “They are children of the motherland and the future of our country.”

Getting them home will be difficult, however.

One travel agency told Penny Pei, a 23-year-old graduate student of sensory science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, that it could get her from Chicago to Shanghai for $10,000. Three days later, after the Chinese government slashed international flights even further, the price went up to $16,000.

“I don’t want to pay for that nonsense,” said Ms. Pei, who in a moment of frustration took a screenshot of an ad she saw offering a $30,000 seat on a private jet. Now her frantic parents pester her constantly about if she is eating enough and whether she is lonely. (Yes to both.)

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/world/asia/coronavirus-china-students.html