Bush Rejects Extension for China Students

President Bush on Thursday rejected legislation that would have enabled tens of thousands of Chinese students to stay on in this country indefinitely, saying that he is opposed to “congressional micromanagement of foreign policy.”

However, Bush announced that he is acting on his own to grant the Chinese students some of the same protections that were contained in the bill passed by Congress. Specifically, the President said he is lifting the current requirement that students must return to China for at least two years after completing their studies.

Bush’s action does not have the force of law and thus could be revoked at any time. But for now, it appears to ensure that Chinese students will not be forced to go home and face reprisals from the Chinese regime for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations in this country.

The President exercised a “pocket veto,” meaning that he did not take any action on the bill within 10 days after receiving it, as is required for a bill to become law when Congress is not in session. The effect is to kill the legislation.

Earlier this month, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), was approved 413 to 0 in the House and by voice vote in the Senate.

“We’ll pass it again,” Pelosi told The Times Thursday night. She said Bush’s contention that he is granting Chinese students the same protection contained in the legislation is “baloney. . . . If he was really serious, all he had to do was sign the bill. If he really wanted to do the same thing we did (for the students), why wouldn’t he sign the bill?”

But Administration officials said they hope that the President’s own actions to protect the students--plus additional lobbying by the Administration and perhaps some changes over the next few months in the political climate inside China--may help dissuade Congress from further action.

“I believe that China, as its leaders state, will return to the policy of reform pursued before June 3,” said Bush in a written message explaining his reasons for rejecting the legislation. “I further believe that the Chinese visitors would wish to return to China in those circumstances. . . .”

A spokesman for the Chinese students criticized Bush’s action. “We consider it a tragedy,” said Zhao Haiching, a Harvard University student and chairman of the Committee on Chinese Student Affairs. “The key thing (behind Bush’s veto) was the opposition of the Beijing government.”

Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) termed Bush’s action “a grave mistake.” Bush, he said, “has made it easier for the Chinese government to succeed in its campaign of intimidation to silence the students’ cry for democracy in China.”

The legislation passed by Congress would have applied to all Chinese students and scholars who have come to this country with the official sponsorship of the Chinese government.

According to State Department and congressional estimates, there are about 40,000 students from the People’s Republic of China in this country now--a number larger than that from any other nation. About 70% to 80% of these students have come here on visas saying that they are sponsored by the Chinese government and thus have been subject to the requirement to return home for two years.

Many students say that this classification of government sponsorship is misleading, because the Chinese government requires such visas even of many students who get their tuition and expenses paid by American universities or other private sources.

Bush insisted Thursday night that he is “supportive of the humanitarian principles” that prompted Congress to pass the legislation protecting Chinese students. However, he said, such legislation “puts America in a straitjacket and can render us incapable of responding to changing circumstances.”

The President also complained that passage of the legislation could jeopardize future educational exchange programs between the United States and China. A Chinese deputy foreign minister warned last week that there would be “serious consequences” for relations between the United States and China if Bush signed the legislation on Chinese students.

Bush suggested that he believes the Chinese regime will follow through with its threats. “It is in the national interest of the United States to promote the exchanges of technical skills and ideas between Chinese and Americans,” said Bush in his written message. “It is my hope that by acting administratively, we will help foster the continuation of these programs.”