China’s Ministry of Education backed away from its decision a day ago.
On January 28, the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange under the Ministry of Education announced that for students attending universities overseas, it will not certify their diplomas if they stay in China to take online classes in the 2023 Spring semester. It asked those students to go back to their schools as soon as possible, whereas the school classes may have started or are about to start.
Chinese students were shocked and complained loudly. They didn’t plan to be on campus and thus had no place to live and worse, they might not yet have visa to go to the host country.
On the next day, the Service Center modified its policy to make exceptions for the diploma certification: Those who cannot change their online class option, those who do not have an in-person class option, and those whose classes have started or are about to start and who may not have enough time to apply for a visa, buy airplane tickets, or find housing, can take online classes. They need to save and show the relevant materials (as proof) when applying for a diploma certificate.
Source: VOA, January 30, 2023
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-stops-recognizing-online-study-orders-kids-back-to-foreign-unis-20230130/6939733.html