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（美国《科学》2004.12.10社论）

过犹不及

张亚平，中国科学院昆明动物研究所研究员，云南大学教授
何士刚，中国科学生物物理研究所研究员

　　用中国的一句古语 “过犹不及”来形容近期美国政府的签证政策，尤其是
对科技交流的签证政策，再贴切不过了。

　　越来越多的中国学生和学者申请赴美签证时遇到延误或拒绝。他们中的绝大
多数都是名副其实的学生或学者，希望去美国进一步学习，与同行合作或参加学
术会议进行学术交流。现在申请美国签证的过程需耗费大量时间和金钱，致使很
多科学家失去了参加重要的国际会议与同行交流最新进展的机会。这样的问题甚
至发生在中国最著名科学家，包括中国科学院副院长和上海生命科学院院长身上。

　　为支持本文的观点，我们向中国科学院、北京大学、复旦大学、云南大学和
武汉大学近400位教授和研究生发出了一个简单的email调查表，四周内收到了76
个回复，其中71%受访者表示会尽量避免去美国；91%表示正在认真地重新考虑与
美国同行的合作，并寻找与美国以外同行合作的可能，以避免签证的困难；95%
表示他们认为现行的签证政策损害了中美科技合作和交流。两名笔者都有非常优
秀的学生，因为在签证过程中遇到了种种困难，而放弃了去美国进一步深造的努
力，转去了欧洲或加拿大。

　　中国是个很大的人才基地，这可能与其巨大的人口基数有关。在过去的二十
多年中，数以万计的中国学生为美国优越的科研环境和巨大的学术发展机会所吸
引而远涉重洋。他们中的很多人都留在了美国，建立了自己的实验室，在他们的
领域中脱颖而出。他们中的大多数仍然与中国科学界保持着密切的联系。在另一
方面，越来越多在美国受过科学训练的中国学生回到中国，建立了实验室，并与
他们的美国同行保持着密切的联系。到9月17日为止，2004年中国在Science和
Nature发表的论文中的53%有美国科学家作为共同作者。这种密切的合作无论对
中国还是美国的科学研究都是十分重要的，而现有的签证问题正在损害这种密切
合作的关系。我们也注意到其它很多国家的科学家在申请赴美签证时也都遇到了
类似的问题。

　　美国这种将自己与世隔绝的做法是一种退步。沟通、交流与国际合作对高水
平的研究是必不可少的。美国之所以在科学研究中能保持领先，与其过去几十年
中采取的开放的政策是分不开的，这使其能从全世界吸引人才，与世界各国保持
密切的联系。有讽刺意味的是，对于恐怖活动的过度反应，以致影响了正常生活
的每一个方面，其实这正是恐怖份子期望达到的目的。

　　我们真诚地希望，在美国与国际科学界之间不必要的障碍可以被尽早清除，
健康的合作和交流能受到鼓励。这对每一个国家，包括美国，都是有利的。
 
Dec.10, 2004, published in Science

Extremist Tendencies

There is a Chinese proverb,过犹不及,“Going too far is as bad as not 
going far enough,” which aptly describes the visa situation enforced 
by the current U.S. administration, especially with regard to 
scientific exchange.
An increasing number of Chinese scientists and students are 
encountering delays and refusals when applying for visas to go to the 
United States. Most of them are bona fide students who intend to study 
in the United States or scientists who plan to participate in 
scientific conferences or collaborations with U.S. colleagues. It is 
now very costly with respect to both time and money to go through the 
visa application process. The result is lost opportunities to present 
new research at important international conferences or to participate 
in scientific collaborations. This situation even affects some of the 
most prominent scientists in China, such as the vice president of the 
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the director of the Shanghai 
Institutes of Biological Sciences, CAS.

For this Editorial, we sent a simple e-mail survey to about 400 
Chinese professors and graduate students at CAS and the Universities 
of Peking, Fudan, Yunnan, and Wuhan. We received 76 replies within 2 
weeks. 71% of respondents said that they would avoid going to the 
United States; 91% are seriously rethinking their collaborations with 
U.S. scientists and intend to work with scientists in countries where 
obtaining a visa is not a problem; and 95% believe that the visa 
situation is damaging to Sino-U.S. scientific exchange. Both authors 
have had outstanding graduate students who abandoned plans to go to 
the United States after experiencing tremendous frustration with the 
visa process, taking up postdoctoral positions in Europe or Canada 
instead.

China produces a lot of talent simply because of the size of its 
population. Tens of thousands of Chinese students have gone to study 
in the United States, attracted by the excellent scientific 
environment and the opportunity to develop a successful career. Many 
remain in the United States; they have established their labs, 
excelled in their research, and most of them maintain extensive 
connections with the scientific community in China. On the other hand, 
an increasing number of Chinese students trained in the United States 
have returned to China to start their own labs, and most of them 
maintain extensive connections with the U.S. scientific community. As 
of 17 September 2004, 53% of the research papers published in Science 
and Nature this year that are from Chinese laboratories are coauthored 
with American scientists. This degree of Sino-U.S. collaboration is 
important for both Chinese and U.S. science, but it is being damaged 
by the current problems with the U.S. visa process. Scientists in 
other countries are also experiencing similar frustrations in 
obtaining U.S. visas.

Fencing the United States off from the rest of the world is a backward 
step. Communication, exchange, and international collaboration are 
essential for high-quality scientific research. One reason why the 
United States maintains preeminence in scientific research is that it 
attracts talent from, and keeps a close connection with, scientific 
institutions all over the world. Ironically, overreaction to terrorism 
to the degree that every aspect of normal life is disrupted is exactly 
the result the terrorists aimed to achieve. We sincerely hope that 
unnecessary barriers between U.S. and international scientific 
communities can be removed and that healthy collaboration and exchange 
can be encouraged. This is in the interest of every country, including 
the United States.

Ya-Ping Zhang and Shigang He
Ya-Ping Zhang is vice director of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, 
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and a professor at Yunnan University, 
Kunming, China. Shigang He is a professor at the Institute of 
Biophysics, CAS, Beijing, China.

(XYS20050121)

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