Cagayan colleges, universities dismiss reports on influx of Chinese students

Private higher education institutions in Cagayan have denied reports on the supposed influx of Chinese students in the province.

In a joint statement, the concerned colleges and universities said there are only 486 foreign students at St. Paul University Philippines in Tuguegarao City.

“Contrary to what is reported by various media agencies, the 4,600 reported enrolled number of students is not only grossly overstated but completely baseless,” they said.

“The current foreign student enrollment at St Paul University Philippines (SPUP) in Tuguegarao City is 486 graduate students as of April 17, 2024, which consists of various nationalities (Americans, Chinese, Indonesians, Japanese, and Vietnamese),” they added.

Other institutions, including University of Cagayan Valley, University of St Louis Tuguegarao, and Medical Colleges of Northern Philippines, currently do not have foreign students, they said.

For the concerned colleges and universities, the insinuation that the presence of Chinese students in the province poses a threat to national security is “deeply offensive” and “a blatant display of racism and Sinophobia.”

“The insinuation that the presence of Chinese students in the City's Universities poses a threat to national security is not only baseless but also deeply offensive,” they said.

“It is a blatant display of racism and Sinophobia that has no place in our society, especially within the realm of education.” 

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) earlier said there are no Chinese students enrolled in local public colleges and universities in Cagayan apart from St. Paul University – Tuguegarao, the only school that has the proper authority to accept international students.

According to CHED, it has not received complaints of violation of St. Paul University Philippines. But in case one if filed, CHED said it will forward it to the inter-agency committee for appropriate action.

“On the security aspect, we leave the matter to the expertise of our security agencies to investigate and recommend appropriate actions,” CHED said.

“We will support and attend congressional investigations and other inter-agency meetings concerning these allegations. We welcome and shall cooperate should any investigation be required,” it added.

Cagayan 3rd District Representative Joseph "Jojo" Lara is seeking a House inquiry into an apparent increase in Chinese students in the province.

He said the presence of Chinese students could put the country’s security at risk amid China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines belied the 'malicious' accusations.

“The unfounded accusation of our educational exchanges is yet another malicious sleight of hand to incite suspicion and hatred of China. Insightful people in the Philippines have not lost sight of this tendency by calling it ‘McCarthyism’ resurrecting in the Philippines,” the Embassy said

McCarthyism was the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign that spread fear of alleged communist influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1940s through the 1950s.

“This deserves high vigilance and must be resolutely opposed,” the Chinese Embassy said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News