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US-China relations
ChinaPolitics
Fake ICE raids and kidnapping drills: how Chinese teens prepare for US college
As Trump’s toughening rules spark anxiety, Chinese parents pay for camps teaching how to survive being seized by gunmen or ‘hidden dangers’
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Phoebe Zhangin Shenzhen
Published: 9:00pm, 26 Jul 2026
Updated: 9:03pm, 26 Jul 2026
Beijing student Lulu Lu was just preparing for bed when she was startled by loud banging at her door
When she opened the door, a man pushed his way inside, shone a flashlight in her face and shouted: “Get down. Give me your phone.”
Lu froze
Moments later, she came to her senses and did as she was told, burying her face in the mattress and raising her hands above her head
The intruder blindfolded Lu, tied her hands and finally made her record a phone message for her parents – begging them to pay a ransom
Except the scenario was not real
It was just an instructor at a private summer camp, training Lu how to handle a kidnapping in case it happened for real when she started school in the US in two months
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