The Friday editions of ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today both employed Harvard Professor and former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns to attack the Trump administration’s move to “aggressively” curtail student visas to Chinese nationals. As Burns was both networks’ sole expert, much critical information about the administration's concerns was noticably missing.
On GMA, Selina Wang reported on “a dramatic new escalation that could impact universities across the country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the U.S. will work to aggressively revoke visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
She then introduced Burns, “The Trump Administration has already accused Harvard of failing to confront anti-Semitic harassment and claims the school has coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party, allegations Harvard denies. Former ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, now a Harvard professor, telling us there's already a rigorous vetting process.”
The idea that Harvard has coordinated with the CCP is a proven fact. Reuters, not exactly a right-wing MAGA outlet, reported on May 24, “Harvard’s links to China, which include research partnerships and China-focused academic centers, are longstanding. The ties have yielded major financial gifts, influence in international affairs and global prestige for the school.”
Reuters also highlighted how, “Harvard provided public health-related training to Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) officials after 2020. That year the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Chinese paramilitary organization for its role in alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang.”
There was also the case of “Former Harvard Professor Charles Lieber” who “ was scrutinized by a Trump program started in 2018 called the China Initiative, which was focused on fighting Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft and investigated researchers and universities over whether they disclosed financial ties to Beijing. He was convicted in 2021 of lying about his ties to China in connection with federally funded research. In April, he became a full-time professor at a Chinese university.”
As for Burns, he stated that, “Those who are a security risk should not have a visa, but that probably excludes the vast majority of the applicants and the vast majority of the 277,000 Chinese students in the United States.”
There have also been several incidents of Chinese students getting arrested for military espionage, so the “rigorous” system is clearly not rigorous enough.
However, on Today, Stephanie Gosk also teed up Burns, “Burns also served as ambassador to China, which the State Department is now targeting, saying it will ‘aggressively” revoke visas for Chinese students studying critical fields or with connections to the Chinese Communist Party. A move that extends far beyond Harvard, targeting more than a quarter million students currently attending school in the U.S.”
Burns again lamented the decision, “Our beef is not with the 1.4 billion Chinese citizens. They're not the problem. We should want them to be able to visit our country as tourists or stay as students. If they're law-abiding and we shouldn’t close the door to that kind of opportunity.”
The problem is that in a communist party dictatorship, the question of whether someone here on a student visa is a private citizen gets much murkier. Besides, just about everybody in Washington says the CCP is this country’s greatest national security threat, but talking about something is quite different than doing something about it. If China is the threat we say it is, then why would it make sense to assist it in its quest to surpass us in every field?
Here are transcripts for the May 30 shows:
ABC Good Morning America
5/30/2025
7:11 AM ET
SELINA WANG: And now a dramatic new escalation that could impact universities across the country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the U.S. will work to aggressively revoke visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields. The Trump Administration has already accused Harvard of failing to confront anti-Semitic harassment and claims the school has coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party, allegations Harvard denies. Former ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, now a Harvard professor, telling us there's already a rigorous vetting process.
NICHOLAS BURNS: Those who are a security risk should not have a visa, but that probably excludes the vast majority of the applicants and the vast majority of the 277,000 Chinese students in the United States.
WANG: But it's unclear how many Chinese students could be impacted by that State Department announcement and as for Harvard, this legal battle continues with dollars in federal funds frozen. A hearing for that is scheduled for July. George?
***
NBC Today
5/30/2025
STEPHANIE GOSK: Burns also served as ambassador to China, which the State Department is now targeting, saying it will “aggressively” revoke visas for Chinese students studying critical fields or with connections to the Chinese Communist Party. A move that extends far beyond Harvard, targeting more than a quarter million students currently attending school in the U.S.
NICHOLAS BURNS: Our beef is not with the 1.4 billion Chinese citizens. They're not the problem. We should want them to be able to visit our country as tourists or stay as students. If they're law-abiding and we shouldn’t close the door to that kind of opportunity.
