内容摘要："And it brings joy for people. In the difficult times we had through Covid, people turned to theatre and music."

"And it brings joy for people. In the difficult times we had through Covid, people turned to theatre and music."

"They asked me what the relationship was between my research and China's defence affairs," he told the BBC then. "I said, how could breast cancer have anything to do with national defence? If you know, please tell me."He believes he never stood a chance because the officials had already made up their minds. He recalled one of them asking: "Did Xi Jinping buy your suitcase for you?"

What was surprising, or even shocking then, slowly turned normal as more and more Chinese students struggled to secure visas or admissions to study science and technology in US universities.Mr Cao, a psychology major whose research involves neuroscience, has spent the past school year applying for PhD programs in the US.He had graduated from top-tier universities - credentials that could send him to an Ivy League school. But of the more than 10 universities he applied to, only one extended an offer.

Trump's cuts to biomedical research didn't help, but the mistrust surrounding Chinese researchers was also a factor. Allegations and rumours of espionage, especially in sensitive subjects, have loomed over Chinese nationals at US universities in recent years, even derailing some careers."One of the professors even told me, 'We rarely give offers to Chinese students these days, so I cannot give you an interview," Mr Cao told the BBC in February.

"I feel like I am just a grain of sand under the wheel of time. There is nothing I can do."

For those who did graduate from US colleges, returning home to China has not been easy either."There's just a place for all of our different types of writing. That's the most important thing."

A highlight of Jade's week at Hay was going to see curator, writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun "on a panel of black voices talking about black history", while another standout was attending a talk with the writerShe said if someone were to tell her childhood self that she could go somewhere and meet writers, breathe the same air as Jacqueline Wilson and then in the future become a writer herself, "her head would explode".

This year was also Rhys Thomas' first time at Hay Festival.He had a "full circle" moment watching poet John Cooper Clarke take to the stage, after first seeing him while working at his local festival aged 16.