在加拿大，國(guó)際學(xué)生入籍的門繼續(xù)敞開

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland — At the College of the North Atlantic here, a young Chinese woman stood discussing her future with two fellow students, a Bangladeshi man and a Korean woman, amid a flow of mostly pale Newfoundlanders in down coats and hoodies heading for class.

紐芬蘭圣約翰斯——在這里的北大西洋學(xué)院(College of the North Atlantic)，穿著羽絨服和連帽衫趕去上課的學(xué)生中，以紐芬蘭當(dāng)?shù)氐陌兹藶橹?。一名年輕的中國(guó)姑娘站在那里，和兩個(gè)同學(xué)討論自己的將來(lái)。她的這兩個(gè)同學(xué)分別是一個(gè)來(lái)自孟加拉國(guó)的男生，和一個(gè)來(lái)自韓國(guó)的女生。

“The environment here is really good, so I think for my health I will stay,” said Fei Jie, from China’s eastern Shandong Province. The others said they, too, were planning to remain in the country after graduation, eventually becoming Canadian citizens.

“這里的環(huán)境真的很好，所以我想，為了健康，我也會(huì)留下來(lái)，”來(lái)自中國(guó)東部省份山東的費(fèi)潔(音)說(shuō)。另外兩人說(shuō)，他們也打算在畢業(yè)后留下來(lái)，最終成為加拿大公民。

Their path is no accident. They are three of hundreds of thousands of international students in Canada today as part of a government strategy to reshape Canadian demographics by funneling well-educated, skilled workers through the university system. It is an answer to Canada’s aging population and slowing birthrate, and an effort to shore up the nation’s tax base.

他們選擇的道路絕非偶然。加拿大目前擁有數(shù)十萬(wàn)國(guó)際學(xué)生。這些國(guó)際學(xué)生是一項(xiàng)政府戰(zhàn)略的一部分。該戰(zhàn)略旨在通過(guò)大學(xué)系統(tǒng)篩選接受過(guò)良好教育、技術(shù)熟練的勞動(dòng)者，借此改變加拿大的人口結(jié)構(gòu)。這是針對(duì)加拿大人口老化，出生率放緩的一個(gè)解決辦法，同時(shí)也是為了提振該國(guó)的稅基。

In November, the federal government changed its electronic immigration-selection system, called Express Entry, to make it easier for international students to become citizens. And a bill pending in the Senate would restore a rule that counts half of students’ time spent studying in Canada toward the period of residency required for citizenship.

11月，聯(lián)邦政府對(duì)其名為“快速通道”(Express Entry)的電子移民挑選系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行了調(diào)整，以降低國(guó)際學(xué)生成為公民的難度。此外，一項(xiàng)有待參議院批準(zhǔn)的議案將恢復(fù)一項(xiàng)規(guī)定，把學(xué)生在加拿大留學(xué)時(shí)間的一半算在獲得公民身份所要求的居住時(shí)間里。

The country needs talented immigrants to backfill a thinly spread, aging population. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the country’s immigration department, immigrants already make up 75 percent of the annual net growth in the country’s work force and are expected to account for 100 percent within 10 years.

該國(guó)需要富有才華的移民去補(bǔ)充其分散、老化的人口。據(jù)負(fù)責(zé)移民事務(wù)的加拿大聯(lián)邦移民、難民及公民部(Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)稱，移民已占該國(guó)勞動(dòng)力年凈增長(zhǎng)量的75%，并且預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)在10年內(nèi)達(dá)到100%。

The strategy, which builds on a decade-long trend and was formally laid out in 2014, seems to be working. In the 2015-16 school year, Canada’s international student population grew 8 percent to more than 350,000 — equal to roughly 1 percent of the country’s population. The number of international students in the United States is less than one-third of 1 percent of the population.

這項(xiàng)戰(zhàn)略是建立在一個(gè)已有十年之久的趨勢(shì)上的，2014年被正式提出。它似乎正在見效。在2015-16學(xué)年，加拿大的國(guó)際學(xué)生人數(shù)增加8%，增至逾35萬(wàn)人，大約相當(dāng)于該國(guó)人口的1%。美國(guó)的國(guó)際學(xué)生人數(shù)還不及該國(guó)人口1%的三分之一。

Canada expects to have nearly half a million international students studying in the country within 10 years. And more than half its students from abroad hope to stay in the country and become Canadian citizens, according to a survey by the Canadian Bureau for International Education.

在加拿大留學(xué)的國(guó)際學(xué)生人數(shù)預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)在10年內(nèi)達(dá)到近50萬(wàn)。而加拿大國(guó)際教育局(Canadian Bureau for International Education)進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，超過(guò)一半的外國(guó)學(xué)生希望留下來(lái)，成為加拿大公民。

“All of the building blocks are in place, just in terms of the reputation of our education system for quality, the reputation of the country as tolerant and safe, and the affordability of education in Canada and the opportunities that Canada gives to international students to be welcomed on a more permanent basis,” said Karen McBride, the president of the Canadian Bureau for International Education, an association of educational institutions.

加拿大國(guó)際教育局是一個(gè)由教育機(jī)構(gòu)組成的協(xié)會(huì)。其主席卡倫·麥克布賴德(Karen McBride)說(shuō)，“就我們的教育制度在品質(zhì)方面的美譽(yù)，我國(guó)寬容、安全的名聲，以及加拿大的教育成本和加拿大為國(guó)際學(xué)生提供的受到更長(zhǎng)久歡迎的機(jī)會(huì)而言，萬(wàn)事俱備。”

Internationalizing Canadian education promises a deep and lasting effect on the country, binding it to other nations and cultures through the family ties and the broader perspectives of international students who become citizens and may even rise to positions of national power. Canada’s new immigration minister, for example, arrived in the country as a Somali refugee and earned a law degree at the University of Ottawa.

讓加拿大教育國(guó)際化勢(shì)必會(huì)對(duì)該國(guó)產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)的影響。一些國(guó)際學(xué)生會(huì)成為公民，甚至?xí)x升到掌握國(guó)家權(quán)力的職位。國(guó)際化會(huì)通過(guò)他們的家庭紐帶和更廣闊的視角，把加拿大和其他國(guó)家及文化結(jié)合在一起。比如，加拿大的新任移民部長(zhǎng)便是以索馬里難民的身份來(lái)到加拿大，并在渥太華大學(xué)(University of Ottawa)獲得法律學(xué)位的。

But the strategy may also lead to tensions similar to those seen in the United States and Europe as the makeup of Canadian society evolves and less educated segments of the mostly white work force feel pushed aside.

但隨著加拿大社會(huì)構(gòu)成的演變和以白人為主的勞動(dòng)力大軍中受教育程度較低的人群覺得自己被推到了一邊，這一戰(zhàn)略可能也會(huì)引發(fā)與美國(guó)和歐洲出現(xiàn)的情況類似的緊張氣氛。

Since the early 1970s, when Canada embraced multiculturalism, the percentage of what it calls “visible minorities” has ballooned to about 20 percent of the population.

自70年代初加拿大支持多元文化主義以來(lái)，被其稱作“有色少數(shù)族裔”(visible minorities)的人急劇增加，已占該國(guó)人口的大約20%。

Statistics Canada, the country’s census bureau, predicts that the number will reach nearly 30 percent by 2030. Nonwhites will make up a majority of the population in Toronto and Vancouver.

負(fù)責(zé)人口普查的加拿大統(tǒng)計(jì)局(Statistics Canada)預(yù)計(jì)，到2030年，這個(gè)數(shù)字將達(dá)到近30%。非白人將在多倫多和溫哥華的人口中占多數(shù)。

So far, Canadians have shown a remarkable equanimity toward the influx, one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the developed world. While polls show a gradual uptick in concern about the flow of new arrivals, mostly tied to unskilled Syrian refugees, the country on the whole remains welcoming to outsiders.

在發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家中，加拿大的人均移民率屬最高之列。但迄今為止，加拿大人對(duì)移民的大量涌入表現(xiàn)出了非凡的鎮(zhèn)靜。盡管民調(diào)顯示，人們對(duì)新來(lái)者不斷涌入的擔(dān)憂逐漸增加——主要和沒有技能的敘利亞難民有關(guān)——但該國(guó)總體上依然對(duì)外來(lái)者持歡迎態(tài)度。

But non-Canadians are already crowding out local students at some of the country’s best-known schools. International students at McGill University in Montreal make up a quarter of total enrollments. In British Columbia, where students from abroad make up 18 percent of the total enrollment, people in the province are beginning to grumble that locals are being passed over in favor of non-Canadians who pay higher fees.

然而，在加拿大部分最知名的學(xué)校里，非加拿大人已經(jīng)在擠占當(dāng)?shù)貙W(xué)生的位置了。蒙特利爾麥吉爾大學(xué)(McGill University)的國(guó)際學(xué)生占學(xué)生總數(shù)的四分之一。在海外學(xué)生占學(xué)生總數(shù)18%的不列顛哥倫比亞省，當(dāng)?shù)厝碎_始抱怨當(dāng)?shù)貙W(xué)生之所以被拒絕，是因?yàn)閷W(xué)校更青睞支付費(fèi)用更高的非加拿大學(xué)生。

The University of British Columbia created a controversy with its plans to spend 127 million Canadian dollars, roughly $95 million, to build a school, Vantage College, for international students — mostly Chinese — who need to improve their English before matriculating at the university.

不列顛哥倫比亞大學(xué)(University of British Columbia)因計(jì)劃投入1.27億加拿大元(約合6.7億元人民幣)，為進(jìn)入該大學(xué)之前需要提升英語(yǔ)水平的國(guó)際學(xué)生，主要是中國(guó)學(xué)生修建一個(gè)名為萬(wàn)蒂奇學(xué)院(Vantage College)的學(xué)校而引發(fā)爭(zhēng)議。

Similar tensions have plagued schools in the United States that increasingly rely on tuition from international students to balance their budgets.

類似的緊張氣氛也困擾著美國(guó)一些越來(lái)越依賴國(guó)際學(xué)生的學(xué)費(fèi)來(lái)平衡預(yù)算的學(xué)校。

International students typically pay more than domestic students, and many, particularly from China, come from affluent families eager to establish a toehold in North America. The money these students bring helps subsidize education for domestic students, but can also distort local economies.

國(guó)際學(xué)生支付的費(fèi)用通常比國(guó)內(nèi)學(xué)生高，并且很多國(guó)際學(xué)生，尤其是中國(guó)留學(xué)生，來(lái)自渴望在北美獲得立足點(diǎn)的富裕家庭。這些學(xué)生帶來(lái)的資金有助于補(bǔ)貼面向國(guó)內(nèi)學(xué)生的教育，但也可能會(huì)扭曲當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟(jì)。

About half of Canada’s inbound students come from China and the government wants even more. Former Immigration Minister John McCallum, recently named ambassador to China, met with Chinese officials in August, hoping to double or even triple the number of Canadian visa application centers in mainland China from the four the country has now, not including Hong Kong.

來(lái)加拿大的留學(xué)生中大約一半來(lái)自中國(guó)，但政府希望再多些。最近被任命為駐華大使的前移民部長(zhǎng)約翰·麥卡勒姆(John McCallum)在8月同中國(guó)官員舉行了會(huì)面，希望將中國(guó)內(nèi)地加拿大簽證申請(qǐng)中心的數(shù)量增加一倍甚至兩倍?，F(xiàn)在，中國(guó)有四個(gè)加拿大簽證申請(qǐng)中心，這還不包括香港。

Amit Chakma, the president of the University of Western Ontario who led a 2012 government advisory panel that developed the core of the government strategy, said there was plenty of capacity among smaller, high-quality institutions in Canada that are struggling to fill their classrooms as applications from high school graduates fall.

西安大略大學(xué)(University of Western Ontario)校長(zhǎng)阿米特·查克馬(Amit Chakma)說(shuō)，加拿大一些較小的高質(zhì)量機(jī)構(gòu)還有大量的容量，因?yàn)殡S著高中畢業(yè)生提交的申請(qǐng)減少，它們無(wú)法讓教室里坐滿學(xué)生。2012年，查克馬領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一個(gè)政府顧問(wèn)小組制定了該戰(zhàn)略的核心內(nèi)容。

Indeed, it’s not just major cities that are attracting students from abroad. High schools, colleges and universities across the country are seeing an influx of international students. The fastest growth in the past year has been on tiny Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province. Yukon College’s website, meanwhile, has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese.

實(shí)際上，吸引海外學(xué)生的不僅僅是大城市。全加拿大的高中、學(xué)院和大學(xué)都在經(jīng)歷國(guó)際學(xué)生的大量涌入。過(guò)去一年里增長(zhǎng)最快的是小島愛德華王子島(Prince Edward Island)。那里是加拿大最小的省。與此同時(shí)，育空學(xué)院(Yukon College)的網(wǎng)站也被翻譯成了中文、日文、韓文和葡萄牙文。

Even the broad middle of the country is getting its fair share. The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Regina, for example, has expanded its International English Language Testing System program to meet the demand, which has doubled, by non-Canadians who need to pass the English proficiency exam for immigration requirements.

就連廣闊的加拿大中部地區(qū)也分到了自己應(yīng)得的一杯羹。比如，薩斯喀徹溫應(yīng)用科技學(xué)院里賈納分校(Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Regina)擴(kuò)大了自己的國(guó)際英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言測(cè)試系統(tǒng)課程，以滿足非加拿大人帶來(lái)的需求翻番。為了符合移民條件，他們須通過(guò)該英語(yǔ)水平考試。

Jack Wu, who arrived from China, manages the design of circuit protection systems for hydro-electric transmission lines. He studied at the College of the North Atlantic in St. John’s before earning an electrical engineering degree in 2005 from Ontario’s Lakehead University. He and his wife immigrated through a provincial program for people who have studied in Newfoundland and Labrador. The process from student to citizen took them about two and a half years.

杰克·吳(Jack Wu)來(lái)自中國(guó)，現(xiàn)在管理著水電輸電線路電路保護(hù)系統(tǒng)的設(shè)計(jì)。他曾在北大西洋學(xué)院設(shè)在圣約翰斯的分校學(xué)習(xí)，后于2005年從安大略省雷克海德大學(xué)(Lakehead University)獲得電氣工程學(xué)位。他和妻子是通過(guò)一個(gè)面向在紐芬蘭與拉布拉多省留學(xué)者的省級(jí)項(xiàng)目移民的。從學(xué)生變成公民的過(guò)程花了他們大約兩年半的時(shí)間。

“Our daughters were born here,” Mr. Wu said proudly, sitting in a Tim Hortons, the quintessentially Canadian fast-food chain. “They are Newfoundlanders.”

“我們的女兒出生在這里，”坐在典型的加拿大快餐連鎖店蒂姆·霍頓(Tim Hortons)里的他自豪地說(shuō)。“她們是紐芬蘭人。”