AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaPolitics
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’
4-MIN READ4-MIN Listen
Phoebe Zhangin ShenzhenPublished: 9:00pm, 26 Jul 2026Updated: 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.
AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x