She was twice denied a student visa at the United States embassy in Beijing this year.

Eager to go abroad to study, Liu had to spend more money to be able to apply to a British institution instead.

The Chinese-language magazine News Week, published by the Beijing-based China News Service, reported on Monday: "Between the end of last year and the beginning of 2002, the embassy refused to issue visas to a large number of Chinese who wanted to study in the US. Only 10 percent (of applicants) reportedly got a visa."

Angry Chinese students presented two letters of protest to the US embassy in Beijing at the end of last month, according to insiders who asked not to be identified.

The US Embassy declined to comment on the row yesterday or on any other questions on student visas faxed by China Daily.

But the newspaper USA Today said on Sunday that US colleges and universities nationwide reported that an unexpected number of foreign students that they had admitted had not shown up this autumn because they had been denied a visa or their applications were being examined furthered. Most of these foreign students were from Asia or the Middle East.

"At the University of Iowa, 51 students, mostly from China, were denied visas. At least four others, who planned to study physics or chemistry, are undergoing more extensive background checks," the paper said.

Between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. yesterday, only a few Chinese were awarded a visa at the US Embassy in Beijing, according to a journalist who was yesterday denied a visa for the second time. She declined to give her name or any other details.

US State Department officials say all visa requests are being examined more closely. "We don't want to pose problems for someone's education, but we've got this overriding concern" for security, USA Today quoted spokesman Stuart Patt as saying.

Personal Impact

Like Liu, the September 11 incident has had a personal impact on their lives beyond its political influence.

"Wang Xiansheng," a 52-year-old member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, has been to the United States four times since September 11 last year.

On each occasion, US airport security staff stopped him for selective examination.

Wang, who preferred not to use his real name, said they told him: "Sorry, it just happens to be you."

He said it was understandable that the United States had enhanced security screening after suffering the worst terrorist attack in its history.

But, when Wang was searched again and again, he finally concluded that it was "obvious prejudice."

He said: "Prejudice has begun to increase in the United States, with skin color and race increasingly becoming reasons for being suspected."

Immediately after terrorists crashed hijacked jets into the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Centre last September 11, the Chinese Government and people were among the first to condemn the brutal slaughter.

Beijing also expressed sympathy and promised to cooperate with Washington in fighting terrorism.

Business people in the Chinese capital held candle-lit vigils for the victims.

One year later, while the Chinese Government is still sticking to its policy, many people have begun to look back and reflect on what September 11 meant to them.

Even journalists in Beijing have sensed the tightened grip of the United States.

Journalists -- both foreign and Chinese -- find that security is much stricter when they attend news briefings at the US Embassy in Beijing.

Unlike before September 11, reporters are usually asked to go through tighter security screening procedures -- similar to those at an airport -- before entering the embassy's main buildings.

Over the past year, images of the hijacked planes ramming into the twin towers have been endlessly repeated on US television, and not a day has gone by without some September 11-related story.

Beijing resident Zhong Hai said: "The media contains a lot of hype on the tragedy -- TV, newspapers and the Internet have had a whole lot of prominent coverage. It could be annoying to the families of the victims, and it would be another tragedy if people did not calm down to rationally reflect on what caused the tragedy itself."

(China Daily September 11, 2002)