Chinese students in Australia head home as coronavirus upends study

Shiyu Bao (centre) and her fellow classmates who are international students from China, get ready to take pictures in their graduation gowns around campus at the University of Sydney, after their in-person graduation ceremony was cancelled during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Sydney, Australia, July 4, 2020. "I have polished my resume and have applied for a few jobs but I've had no success so far. I'm willing to do even unpaid internships as long as I get to stay here," said Bao. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Just a few months after arriving in Sydney for a planned two-year stay, university students Maggie Zhang and boyfriend Sunny Gu sat down to make a "pros and cons" list about life in Australia.

The list was very quickly unbalanced. On the positive side, staying to complete their Masters in Commerce at the University of Sydney would keep the couple, who had met in Australia, together.