Not a new thing here at all. This has been true since Tiananmen Square. They place their students in the position of having to report each other for speaking about it and use the threat of harm to their family back home to enforce it.
Anyone like this greedy Midjourney guy who would bow down to that fat-ass Jinping needs the entire family to be forced to surrender their passports, be stripped of their citizenship, and be sent over there to live the rest of their lives permanently barred from re-entry and from any business relationships over here.
There's an additional threat in that overseas students must report regularly to the party otherwise their funding will be cut and they will be sent home. (This applies to Chinese funded students not those funded by overseas grants etc)
Yes I have heard of that too. Thanks for reminding me of this additional pressure point.
I wonder whether US students studying abroad feel any pressure to serve as remote eyes and ears for US corporations or the government. My first guess is that they don't but that may be my own naive guess since the answer could depend on their chosen field of study and their source of capital for their education. 'I don't know the answer' is the correct reply that I have for that.
Anyone like this greedy Midjourney guy who would bow down to that fat-ass Jinping needs the entire family to be forced to surrender their passports, be stripped of their citizenship, and be sent over there to live the rest of their lives permanently barred from re-entry and from any business relationships over here.