Does International Mobility Change Chinese Students' Political Attitudes? A Longitudinal Approach
Many thousands of Chinese students come to 'Western' countries to study every year, and they probably include many of the country's future leaders. We need to know how this might affect their social and political attitudes, and how it may influence China's relationship with other major powers. There is good evidence that students who have returned from abroad (haiguipai) differ from students who remained in China, but this does not prove that going abroad changed their attitudes. This study tracks the attitudes of some Chinese students while they are abroad, and finds little evidence of change. We should be cautious about assuming that studying abroad substantially reshapes Chinese students' political attitudes without further longitudinal evidence.