GET CCP OUT OF UNIVERSITY SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENTS

One method that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used to influence people around the world through higher education. Despite efforts from Congress to impede the Chinese government’s influence, the communist regime has not stopped its attempts to influence U.S. higher education.   

The Protecting American Initiative (PAI) believes that as students return to campuses, it is time for colleges and universities to voluntarily cut ties with the CCP. Cutting ties between U.S. higher education institutions and the Chinese government is especially critical in science and agriculture departments where the CCP was caught earlier this year threatening the lives and food security of Americans.  

Colleges Are Still Working with Groups Tied to China  

As detailed by the Select Committee on the CCP in July, there are still many U.S. colleges that operate joint educational programs with the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). The CSC is a Chinese institution that has direct ties to the communist government and has been a conduit to influence in the United States.   

Using Colleges to Influence Americans and Plant CCP Officials 

The Chinese government works with colleges and universities to sponsor academic exchange programs on campus. Through these programs, the CCP has funneled money into the pockets of U.S. universities. Through our research, PAI has identified three categories of major national security concerns associated with joint educational programs on American campuses.

1. Influencing students to engender sympathy for the communist regime. 

2. Stealing scientific, agricultural, or technological research from universities. 

3. Using the guise of educational cooperation to directly smuggle individuals or items into the U.S. with the intention of hurting Americans.  

China Weaponized Educational Espionage to Threaten Americans 

In a recent case, Chinese students and educators working with the University of Michigan were charged with smuggling a dangerous agricultural pathogen across the U.S. border. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the fungus being transported illegally into America could have been used to destroy crops and disrupt the food supply chain, and all facilitated through a college exchange program. 

Congress Has Taken Some Action – More Must Be Done 

The House of Representatives has led the way, passing legislation to make the ties between the CCP and American institutions of higher learning more transparent. Bills like the DETERRENT Act would require colleges that accept taxpayer funding to openly report the money they receive from the CCP. Unfortunately, 168 Democratic Members of Congress voted against the bill in the House, and it is now stalled in the Senate. That is why we are calling on universities to take a stand themselves.  

Colleges Should Voluntarily Cut Ties with China 

There are still many colleges and universities in the U.S. that are actively working with groups connected to China. The Protecting America Initiative calls on colleges and universities to cut ties with groups that have ties to the CCP – especially in their science and agricultural departments.  

PAI will work at the state grassroots level and through the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C. to protect Americans from the negative influence of the Chinese government. We hope that colleges and universities will join the fight to protect students and the American public.