Don't think he's ideologically motivated. And even if he is, the last American who tried to defect was turned away. Unfortunately I think he's going to also be turned away. But no one can really say for sure yet.
i'm not really fluent so i just lurk and translate anything i don't know. most of the time i'll just browse zhihu or baidu and find new terms. sometimes i'll find stuff that i wouldn't on english sites. it's also become my go to "immersion" study method.