China's New Scientist Visa is a 'Serious Bid' For the World's Top Talent (nature.com)
- Reference: 0180049402
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/11/1857233/chinas-new-scientist-visa-is-a-serious-bid-for-the-worlds-top-talent
- Source link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03657-6
> Before the introduction of the K visa, most foreign STEM researchers hoping to move to China had to find a job in advance and then apply for a work visa. The Chinese government is making "a serious bid" to attract the world's brightest minds in STEM, says Jeremy Neufeld, the director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington DC. South Korea, Singapore and several other countries have also launched STEM-oriented visa programmes.
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> The K visa was officially rolled out on 1 October, but Nature understands that applications are yet to open. Few details about eligibility have been released, except that restrictions will apply on the basis of an applicant's age, education and work experience. Foreign researchers who have graduated from 'famous' universities or institutes in China or abroad with a bachelor-or-higher degree in STEM will be eligible to apply. That also includes people who teach or research STEM topics in such organizations.
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03657-6
Another shark circling? (Score:1)
With the US becoming increasingly unfriendly towards academia, a few countries are trying to attract the disaffected. France went that way months ago, I'm a bit (ok, a lot) surprised that China is also trying that. A relative of mine worked in Beijing for a few years, returning home a year or two before Covid hit. If I was interested in this program I'd speak to him about his experiences and how much they fit popular beliefs.
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Plus our immigrant stance as well as cuts for potential jobs (don't forget the visa hikes) means even if educated over here, they're not going to stay.
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Unfriendly towards academia, or unfriendly towards racism, antisemitism, hyperpartisanship, and hyperinflation in academia?
I'm very welcoming towards academia. I'm not welcoming of the pseudo-academic fields that have proliferated since they started importing German Communists in the 1960's.
Sure... (Score:1)
And if you don't like it there, you can leave right....
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Chinese can't just leave.
Makes no sense (Score:3)
Why would somebody who believes in objective truths like science, want to live in a country where the ruling class has complete, un-challenged power?
Where you have no control or influence over what is done with your work?
Where one day you could be doing science stuff, and the next you could be imprisoned with no due process?
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Which country are you talking about?
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Oh, ha ha. What insightful satire.
Or was it a display of wonton ignorance? It's hard to tell sometimes.
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Not like they arrest anyone in the country legally and for "reasons" luckily he was released after 73 days. Imagine the mayhem this hospital chaplain could have done! [1]https://ohiocapitaljournal.com... [ohiocapitaljournal.com]
[1] https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/09/26/ice-releases-ohio-hospital-chaplain-case-for-detention-unclear/
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> Why would somebody who believes in objective truths like science, want to live in a country where the ruling class has complete, un-challenged power?
These are not particularly exclusive to each other and right here in America we are in the middle of supposed "smart guy authoritarianism", the tech executives have thrown down to have a ruling class and government with "complete, un-challenged power", there's a reason the 2024 election has been called "revolt of the bosses"
> Where you have no control or influence over what is done with your work?
That's what they are paying for, it's contractual. You're gonna get as many resources as you need to do the work you want to work on but it's for the benefit of the state, make no mista
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> These are not particularly exclusive to each other and right here in America we are in the middle of supposed "smart guy authoritarianism", the tech executives have thrown down to have a ruling class and government with "complete, un-challenged power", there's a reason the 2024 election has been called "revolt of the bosses"
Do you mean "technocrats"? They tend to be Democrats nowadays, which hasn't made them any more or less bad at formulating sound policy.
And who called 2024 the "revolt of the bosses"? Has anyone else heard it called that?
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> Why would somebody who believes in objective truths like science, want to live in a country where the ruling class has complete, un-challenged power?
Why would they want to live in a democracy where the government flips every few years and the flips are growing increasingly large and insane?
Reality bites (Score:5, Insightful)
China's foreign-born population is 0.1%. Let that number sink in for a minute. Plus, these programs are aimed at top minds. Really smart people. Except, really smart people tend to know the history. China is *really* bipolar when it comes to STEM people - the country has history of treating it's scientists and engineers very generously, right up to the moment that a gang of revolutionary guard teenagers beats them to death. This program will attract a few top minds. But, not very many. Why go to China when they can go to the US or Europe? For the most part, this is probably propaganda aimed at attracting more "sea turtles", but most of them have no interest in going back. Those sea turtles are also aware of the history....
And, before someone yells at me, allow me to acknowledge that the US and Europe have their own issues. Plenty of them. As a US citizen, I'm well aware that my own country is currently run by people who get a LOT of coverage on Fox News by trashing immigrants.
Except, it's mostly just hot air. The real numbers tell a different story:
[1]https://cis.org/Report/Foreign... [cis.org]
[1] https://cis.org/Report/ForeignBorn-Number-and-Share-US-Population-AllTime-Highs-January-2025
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Three months into his presidency. We are now into month eleven. People might want to look again because our president hasn't become a better person during it.
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Well yeah, I wouldn't want to move to China. But I certainly don't want to move to the US either.
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Also worth mentioning that the target audience is also likely interested in enriching themselves for their efforts (as do most of us). The problem with China in this regard is that such people will be rightly suspicious that their intellectual property will be stolen or simply taken. Likewise any wealth you do get can be taken for any reason, yourself deported or imprisoned, etc etc.
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> Why go to China when they can go to the US or Europe?
Countries trying to lure in top academics don't just offer money, but also facilities, research grants and such. Compensation is only part of the picture, and scientists might want to choose the country were they are going to get the most science done, not necessarily the one that pays best.
Path to citizenship? (Score:2)
Is there a viable path to citizenship from that? Would they let you retire there? Otherwise you'll spent years there and have zero benefit for the things you did and risk you took.
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Aside from all that money they paid you and the connections you made and all that stuff. Which hopefully will pay for you to retire somewhere else.
China is a serious nation and doesn't give away citizenship like candy the way the US does.
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It'd probably be the only instance where becoming a citizen would mean you had fewer rights.
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> Is there a viable path to citizenship from that?
You can get permanent residence easily, this gives you access to the all-important Chinese ID card and all the rights of residents. Including an ability to register a business. Naturalization is possible and technically you don't need anything special for it, but it's exceedingly rare. You also need to renounce your other citizenship(s) for that.
China is now becoming a popular emigration destination for Russian scientists. It's now very hard for them to emigrate to Europe/US, but China is easy. It's also
Yeah, right, LOL (Score:1)
Go help spread the communist agenda. I don't think so, although Mandami would fit right in; make him the mayor of Beijing.
Go for it (Score:2)
Be sure to hold a "No Kings" protest targeting Xi when you get there.
Let us know how that goes ...
Let them have them (Score:1)
It's no coincidence that we began the slash funding to higher education and actively attack higher education as soon as widespread Visa programs existed to bring in trained workers. Why would you as a billionaire want to pay the taxes for local citizens to be educated in college when you can just have another country pay that and pull those people over?
So when I was a kid the government paid 80% of tuition and now they pay about 30%.
Again, this is not a coincidence.
This of course creates enormous
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The US is also a society that actually cares and talks about it's racial issues. China is deeply racist. On top of that, China doesn't talk about or even acknowledge it's racism. China may attract people from other countries. But, it struggles to keep these people for any length of time.
The usage of English is a huge advantage for US. It's the default business language across the world due to the legacy of the British empire. India works in English in their own country. They actively learn it for their
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
I'm not moving to a communist country.
The idea of living in a totalitarian shit-hole infested by a national surveillance network, people being taken in the middle of the night by masked and unidentified government agents, having protestors shot in the streets and generally living under the thumb of a dark and malevolent ruling class did make communism seem real bad.
Now it sounds like Trump's America.
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I was under the impression foreign students generally did not receive the govt subsidies local students get.
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A few years ago, the University of Washington was admitting so many foreign students that it was noticeably hurting local admissions. The state legislature ending up passing a law limiting the number of foreign students that could be admitted considering the school is publicly funded by the local citizens for the purpose of educating the local population.
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How the fuck was it hurting local admissions? Foreign students typically pay FULL tuition. The reason why these universities take foreign students is that they make tons of money from them, which allows them to fund other operations, including giving local students lower tuition costs.
Your impression is wrong (Score:1)
And it's actually even worse then you think it is. Foreign students can and do get the same loans or sometimes better loans and better government assistance then locals. There are entire programs at major colleges that exist to bring people in from overseas who are basically already trained and ready to go, give them a little bit of specific skills that corporations want and then hand them over to the corporation to make money for that corporation.
If the corporation decides they want to keep the H1B the
Re: Let them have them (Score:4, Interesting)
It will be interesting if China is successful in recruiting "too talent". I'm far from top talent, but I would want to be paid at least 4x - 5x in USD equivalent wages to take the risk getting paid in Yuan, and all the other political and social restrictions (including not being allowed to send your wages outside China). I would also worry about arbitrary and indefinite detainment or fake accusations if China is having a political conflict with my home country and they feel I could be used as leverage.....(As "top talent, you're also a valuable political bargaining chip..)