在加拿大，國際學(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?。一名年輕的中國姑娘站在那里，和兩個同學(xué)討論自己的將來。她的這兩個同學(xué)分別是一個來自孟加拉國的男生，和一個來自韓國的女生。

“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，我也會留下來，”來自中國東部省份山東的費潔(音)說。另外兩人說，他們也打算在畢業(yè)后留下來，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)十萬國際學(xué)生。這些國際學(xué)生是一項政府戰(zhàn)略的一部分。該戰(zhàn)略旨在通過大學(xué)系統(tǒng)篩選接受過良好教育、技術(shù)熟練的勞動者，借此改變加拿大的人口結(jié)構(gòu)。這是針對加拿大人口老化，出生率放緩的一個解決辦法，同時也是為了提振該國的稅基。

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，以降低國際學(xué)生成為公民的難度。此外，一項有待參議院批準(zhǔn)的議案將恢復(fù)一項規(guī)定，把學(xué)生在加拿大留學(xué)時間的一半算在獲得公民身份所要求的居住時間里。

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.

該國需要富有才華的移民去補充其分散、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，移民已占該國勞動力年凈增長量的75%，并且預(yù)計會在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.

這項戰(zhàn)略是建立在一個已有十年之久的趨勢上的，2014年被正式提出。它似乎正在見效。在2015-16學(xué)年，加拿大的國際學(xué)生人數(shù)增加8%，增至逾35萬人，大約相當(dāng)于該國人口的1%。美國的國際學(xué)生人數(shù)還不及該國人口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)的國際學(xué)生人數(shù)預(yù)計會在10年內(nèi)達(dá)到近50萬。而加拿大國際教育局(Canadian Bureau for International Education)進(jìn)行的一項調(diào)查顯示，超過一半的外國學(xué)生希望留下來，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.

加拿大國際教育局是一個由教育機構(gòu)組成的協(xié)會。其主席卡倫·麥克布賴德(Karen McBride)說，“就我們的教育制度在品質(zhì)方面的美譽，我國寬容、安全的名聲，以及加拿大的教育成本和加拿大為國際學(xué)生提供的受到更長久歡迎的機會而言，萬事俱備。”

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.

讓加拿大教育國際化勢必會對該國產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)的影響。一些國際學(xué)生會成為公民，甚至?xí)x升到掌握國家權(quán)力的職位。國際化會通過他們的家庭紐帶和更廣闊的視角，把加拿大和其他國家及文化結(jié)合在一起。比如，加拿大的新任移民部長便是以索馬里難民的身份來到加拿大，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.

但隨著加拿大社會構(gòu)成的演變和以白人為主的勞動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)略可能也會引發(fā)與美國和歐洲出現(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，被其稱作“有色少數(shù)族裔”(visible minorities)的人急劇增加，已占該國人口的大約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)計局(Statistics Canada)預(yù)計，到2030年，這個數(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，人們對新來者不斷涌入的擔(dān)憂逐漸增加——主要和沒有技能的敘利亞難民有關(guān)——但該國總體上依然對外來者持歡迎態(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，是因為學(xué)校更青睞支付費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)之前需要提升英語水平的國際學(xué)生，主要是中國學(xué)生修建一個名為萬蒂奇學(xué)院(Vantage College)的學(xué)校而引發(fā)爭議。

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一些越來越依賴國際學(xué)生的學(xué)費來平衡預(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.

國際學(xué)生支付的費用通常比國內(nèi)學(xué)生高，并且很多國際學(xué)生，尤其是中國留學(xué)生，來自渴望在北美獲得立足點的富裕家庭。這些學(xué)生帶來的資金有助于補貼面向國內(nèi)學(xué)生的教育，但也可能會扭曲當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟。

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.

來加拿大的留學(xué)生中大約一半來自中國，但政府希望再多些。最近被任命為駐華大使的前移民部長約翰·麥卡勒姆(John McCallum)在8月同中國官員舉行了會面，希望將中國內(nèi)地加拿大簽證申請中心的數(shù)量增加一倍甚至兩倍。現(xiàn)在，中國有四個加拿大簽證申請中心，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)校長阿米特·查克馬(Amit Chakma)說，加拿大一些較小的高質(zhì)量機構(gòu)還有大量的容量，因為隨著高中畢業(yè)生提交的申請減少，它們無法讓教室里坐滿學(xué)生。2012年，查克馬領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一個政府顧問小組制定了該戰(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)歷國際學(xué)生的大量涌入。過去一年里增長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，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)擴大了自己的國際英語語言測試系統(tǒng)課程，以滿足非加拿大人帶來的需求翻番。為了符合移民條件，他們須通過該英語水平考試。

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)來自中國，現(xiàn)在管理著水電輸電線路電路保護(hù)系統(tǒng)的設(shè)計。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。他和妻子是通過一個面向在紐芬蘭與拉布拉多省留學(xué)者的省級項目移民的。從學(xué)生變成公民的過程花了他們大約兩年半的時間。

“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。“她們是紐芬蘭人。”