Chinese STEM students harassed by US border officials

Four Chinese students who recently traveled to the United States to study and participate in academic conferences suffered unwarranted harassment, interrogation and repatriation by the US side, sources said.

The four students have scientific and technical backgrounds, and two of them have research interests in artificial intelligence, the sources familiar with the matter told China Daily on the condition of anonymity.

US Customs and Border Protection officers took the four Chinese individuals to a darkened room for more than 10 hours of continuous interrogation, repeatedly questioning them with a baiting, coercive approach, the sources said.