Earthquake threatens Chinese students US applications

International Herald Tribune : Millions of students across Asia have been inconvenienced by the rupture of two undersea data transmission cables in Tuesday’s earthquake in Taiwan. Because of the quake, Internet speeds remained slow âmdash; and in some areas nonexistent âmdash; in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea. It is expected to take weeks to fully repair the links.According to the IHT, Beijing’s China Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, a company that helps prepare applications for students looking to study abroad, said that about 300 of its clients weren’t able to file applications âmdash; including some facing a Jan. 1 deadline because of the disruption. Some students are using mobile phones to try and submit their applications to US universities.