Image: During the March 2024 Two Sessions, Xi Jinping was photographed by foreign media in the Great Hall of the People with an expression of extreme pain while drinking tea. (Illustration by Qing Yu/People News)
[People News] It is not unusual for a ruler to make a foolish move. The rare thing is when someone manages to churn out blunder after blunder without fail.
K-Visa Announced — Xi Slammed as a “Mad Tyrant No One Can Save”
Right on China’s National Humiliation Day, Xi Jinping rolled out another foolish policy—so foolish it reached new heights. Even hardcore pro-CCP “big leftist” commentators couldn’t hold back; they lashed out and defected. Official sites of the NPC and Foreign Ministry clips on Bilibili were flooded with mockery. Meanwhile, among ultranationalist “Han-chauvinist wolf warrior” circles inside the firewall, protest posters calling for action on Tiananmen Square during the National Day holiday began circulating.
So what was this blunder? On September 29, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun announced at a regular press conference that, to “promote exchanges and cooperation between young scientific and technological talents from China and abroad,” China would add a new visa category under ordinary visas—called the K-Visa. The policy would take effect on October 1.
What is the K-Visa? On August 14, officials from the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Public Security, and National Immigration Administration explained that this visa is targeted at foreign young science and technology talents—mainly in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)—holding at least a bachelor’s degree, or engaged in education/research at related institutions. Applicants would not need a job offer or invitation from China in order to apply.
Earlier, on August 7, the State Council had revised the Regulations on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners, making the K-Visa official policy. Its two core features are: 1) attracting foreign STEM talent; 2) setting very low entry barriers. In other words, the CCP, instead of using its massive pool of domestic graduates from elite universities (985/211), is turning to foreigners—abandoning nationalism in favour of an “international strategic vision.” And how low are the requirements? A bachelor’s degree in a STEM field is enough. No employer sponsorship is required; individuals can apply directly. The visa can be valid for up to 5 years, allows multiple entries, and permits stays of up to 180 days per trip. Holders can engage in research, education, entrepreneurship, business, and cultural exchange activities.
In plain language, the CCP is throwing the gates wide open—allowing foreign college graduates to come to China with no conditions attached, to compete directly with the more than 10 million Chinese graduates entering the job market every year. But who exactly will come to China to look for work? The U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea? Of course not—they’re not foolish. China is constantly shouting about “catching spies” and “arresting foreign agents.” People from developed countries aren’t stupid enough to walk straight into a trap. Even if you carried them in on a sedan chair, they still wouldn’t come.
So who will? Netizens have already figured it out: India’s exam-driven “chicken-babies” will come. Yes—the CCP’s little scheme can’t hide from the eyes of Chinese internet users. In 2025, the Trump administration is tightening U.S. H-1B visas. On September 21, Trump signed an executive order imposing an annual fee of $100,000 for H-1B applications. Since Indians account for 71% of H-1B holders, most of them will now have to look for alternatives. Beijing thinks it has struck gold: “America, aren’t you digging your own grave, tearing down your own wall?” The CCP believes this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to seize a “talent windfall” from the U.S. and get ahead in the China-U.S. tech talent competition. How could they let such a golden opportunity slip away?
But China’s own “chicken-babies” (overworked, exam-crammed kids) won’t stand for it. The whole internet has exploded! On Weibo, Bilibili, and Zhihu, it’s an uproar of curses, mockery, and fury—shouts echoing everywhere, sighs and grievances pouring out in grief. Netizens blasted the CCP: “Domestic master’s and PhD graduates can’t find jobs, and you’re bringing in foreign undergrads? What a cosmic joke.” “On National Day, we might as well raise the Indian flag.” “A criminal through the ages.” “Never seen a government treat its own people with such contempt.” “Those who didn’t want children will be even less willing now. But if no one has kids, you’ll just import foreigners. My God—what a vicious cycle.”
Some cried out: “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!” “I am Chinese, and I oppose the K-Visa. October 1, Tiananmen Square, OK-hand gesture—see you there.” On Bilibili, users aimed straight at Xi Jinping: “I never understood why the Sui Dynasty collapsed when everything seemed to be going so well. Now I do—because when a foolish emperor goes mad, there really is no saving him.”
Little Pinks Cry “Our Home Was Stolen,” People’s Daily Rushes to Put Out the Fire
The K-Visa policy has landed like a depth charge—blowing up both the left and right wings inside China’s firewall. On Weibo, Fudan University professor Shen Yi, a prominent leftist “big V” and staunch Party supporter, sharply criticised Beijing: “Looking down on our own talent, failing to provide proper domestic services, yet always fantasising about importing ‘foreign experience.’” On Zhihu, a pro-CCP “Little Pink” studying abroad in Canada lamented: “Our home has been stolen.”
The K-Visa also drove a nationalist user on X (Twitter) named “Tiger King @huwang9278” to quit the Communist Party outright: “This is a major victory for the Beijing Left. The K-Visa will bring in masses of Indians with fake diplomas to settle in China, steal Chinese jobs, and leak our technology to India. I am deeply disappointed in the CCP. Today I submitted my resignation from the Party. From now on, I am no longer a Communist.”
On September 29, state mouthpiece Hu Xijin tried to muddy the waters with a video: “Chinese embassies abroad surely understand netizens’ concerns. They won’t just let in hordes of mediocre foreigners to worsen the already tense employment situation.” On September 30, People’s Daily scrambled to issue a commentary titled “Misinterpreting the K-Visa Only Misleads the Public”—an urgent attempt to douse the flames.
But netizens weren’t buying it. Just under two hours before the K-Visa went into effect, Weibo timelines were flooded with images of Chinese soldiers killed by Indian troops—overlaid with the words “Died with Unfinished Business.” One hour and 45 minutes before launch, huge numbers of netizens stormed the NPC’s online petition page to denounce the policy—so many that the entire function was taken offline for “maintenance.”
Less than ten minutes before the visa went live, the flood of online commentary was still overwhelmingly negative. Netizens roared: “China belongs to the Chinese people, not to a single government. We firmly oppose the K-Visa!”
One netizen wrote in grief: “How will history record this September? It’s so surreal. The more ordinary people pay attention, the more exhausted and heartbroken they become.”
Indeed, September 2025 has been a month of blunders by the CCP. On September 1, it imposed mandatory nationwide insurance. On September 3, it held a massive military parade, burning through the people’s money with grandiose displays. On September 15, it rolled out new rental housing regulations to pave the way for taxing landlords. And starting October 1, it plans to impose income tax on food delivery riders—a group previously exempt, as gig workers who were paid daily.
On October 1, the CCP also launched the K-Visa program to attract young foreign “talent,” sparking ridicule as a “national-level Brazilian steak” gimmick. Why? Back on December 20 of last year, a foreign livestreamer in China had said, “Come to China, Chinese girls are easy to date. It’s just like buying a tasty, cheap steak in Brazil!” Now, the CCP has made visas easier to get, so even when domestic jobs are scarce, Indian “chicken-babies” (overworked, hyper-competitive students) will be given priority over Chinese youth.
People’s Daily tried to defend the policy, claiming that China faces a manufacturing talent shortage of 30 million. But it was the very same People’s Daily that in April 2024 published an overseas edition article titled “Over 5 Million STEM Graduates Each Year, World-Leading!” boasting: “China produces more than 5 million graduates annually in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the highest in the world.” “China’s total talent pool has reached 220 million people, with the largest number of R&D personnel worldwide.” No wonder people say the newspaper could never publish a bound collection of its issues—the pace of self-contradiction is so fast, one can hardly bear to read.
In 2018, the CCP introduced the R-Visa for top-level talent. That program set a high threshold: applicants had to be senior executives, postdoctoral fellows from elite universities, or associate professors or higher, with strict point requirements—85 points or above to qualify.
By contrast, the K-Visa leaves many loopholes, with standards so low they sink into the dust. Its details are vague, and netizens strongly suspect that once it’s implemented, state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and research institutes will reserve core positions for these foreigners. They may even be allowed to bring family members, enjoying the same kind of super-national treatment as African exchange students. These people will live comfortably in China, and even if they commit crimes, with no employer to take responsibility, the CCP government itself will become their greatest shield—virtually guaranteeing impunity.
So why is the CCP doing something so self-defeating, enraging the public while gaining nothing in return?
A Dream of Glory, Doomed to Shatter
First, the CCP is an authoritarian regime, where public opinion is the least valued commodity. They believe in the law of the jungle—that popular anger can never overturn their rule. When the Yu Menglong incident sparked worldwide outrage, what happened in the end? Nothing.
Second, behind the K-Visa policy lies geopolitical manoeuvring. At present, the CCP is working to court India. Before the September 3rd military parade, Xi Jinping met Modi in Tianjin, giving him full diplomatic honours. The CCP’s aim is to undermine America’s Indo-Pacific strategy, cutting India off from the Western camp and bringing it closer to China and Russia. In the first quarter of this year, the Chinese embassy and consulates in India announced via their public accounts that they had issued over 50,000 visas for Indian citizens to enter China. On April 13, China’s ambassador to India posted on social media that as of April 9, China had already issued more than 85,000 visas to Indian nationals in 2025. Indian media outlets (such as The Times of India, Mint, and India Today) gave the K-Visa extensive coverage, treating it as “front-page news.” They reported that the program provides Indian tech talent with a “new pathway” outside of the U.S. For China, India is the key pawn in the great-power contest of the Indo-Pacific.
Third, the K-Visa allows for more flexible entries, longer validity, and extended stays, while also granting the right to start businesses, work, and invest. It represents a major adjustment in the CCP’s immigration system and is by no means “sudden,” but rather part of a strategic layout to compete in the global talent race. In the past, the CCP relied on the Thousand Talents Program to lure back overseas Chinese talent and achieve technological “leapfrogging” through stolen innovation. But this blatant intellectual property theft has now made it a prime target of U.S. national security investigations, with many Chinese Americans arrested. China’s strategy of “innovation-driven development” and its “Made in China 2025” plan, aimed at boosting domestic technological competitiveness, may now be shifting toward a more diversified approach. The K-Visa could be one such new strategic pathway—one that may eventually extend to Europe and the U.S. In the context of the U.S.-China trade war and semiconductor bans, China urgently needs to replenish its pool of high-end talent to break through technological barriers. Experts say that even if China attracts just a small fraction of global talent, it could still strengthen its position in AI, quantum computing, and other frontier fields. This makes the K-Visa an important component of the CCP’s ambition to become the world’s technological leader.
Fourth, the K-Visa serves as a new banner for the CCP’s façade of openness to the outside world. The CCP uses it to cover up its policies of isolation, a return to planned economy measures, and the stifling of reforms. At the same time, it aims to boost domestic cultural and tourism consumption. In a “Great Leap Forward”–style move, China expanded its visa-free countries: in June 2025, China began trial visa-free policies for Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, bringing the total number of countries enjoying unilateral Chinese visa-free access to 47. The K-Visa similarly creates the illusion to the world that China is still a friendly, outward-looking country.
However, the CCP’s grand dream is unlikely to succeed. Even before the K-Visa program could properly take effect, it already triggered widespread social anxiety and strong opposition online, with fears that “Indians and Africans will take Chinese jobs,” sparking controversy over “foreign privileges.” At the same time, it risks increasing youth unemployment, leading to social instability and intensifying nationalist sentiment, which could in turn threaten regime stability. On the international front, the K-Visa could further exacerbate geopolitical tensions, worsening U.S.-China friction. The U.S. may tighten policies toward China, and if competition escalates, the global talent arena could turn into a broader zero-sum game.
(People News Original) △
News magazine bootstrap themes!
I like this themes, fast loading and look profesional
Thank you Carlos!
You're welcome!
Please support me with give positive rating!
Yes Sure!