By Pedro Rodriguez, Daily Caller News Foundation | March 22, 2025
The Chinese government criticized lawmakers after they sent a letter to several American universities asking for information about visiting Chinese students studying in American schools.
Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Republican Michigan Representative John Moolenaar, sent a letter Thursday to six elite American universities, including Carnegie Mellon and Stanford University. The letter requested information on foreign funding, details about the type of research conducted by Chinese students, and a “country-by-country breakdown of applicants, admittances, and enrollments” at these institutions.
“The Chinese Communist Party has established a well-documented, systematic pipeline to embed researchers in leading U.S. institutions, providing them direct exposure to sensitive technologies with dual-use military applications,” Moolenaar’s letter argued. “America’s student visa system has become a Trojan horse for Beijing. If left unaddressed, this trend will continue to displace American talent, compromise research integrity, and fuel China’s technological ambitions at our expense.”
In a press release, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the Congressional letter, saying “we urge the U.S. to stop brandishing national security as a false pretext and protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students in the U.S.” and to “protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students.” Mao further emphasized that Chinese students contribute to America’s “economic prosperity” and “technological progress,” suggesting their economic contributions should exempt them from suspicion by the American government.
The Chinese government has been spying on the United States for years. The FBI has identified hundreds of “talent recruitment plans” reportedly orchestrated by the Chinese government to encourage participants to acquire foreign technologies, focusing on advancing China’s national, military, and economic objectives. Some participants in these programs have conducted federally-funded research valued at millions of dollars while being associated with prestigious institutions like Harvard, Penn State, and national laboratories such as Oak Ridge.
The Daily Caller News Foundation pinpointed Chinese government documents, university profiles, and state-run media, revealing that 50 federally-funded researchers currently employed in American institutions of higher education are listed as experts in Chinese government talent recruitment programs, such as the Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) and Chang Jiang Scholars program.
Campus Reform previously highlighted reports from non-profit human rights organizations, such as Freedom House, which found that China is the “biggest threat to international students and scholars” in the United States.
Just a week before Moolenaar’s letter, Republican West Virginia Representative Riley Moore introduced the “Stop CCP Visas Act.” The legislation aims to restrict Chinese nationals from obtaining educational visas.
John C. Yang, President of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), condemned Moore’s legislative initiative, claiming the legislation carries a racist connotation.
“While national security is of utmost importance to Americans, resorting to racism and xenophobia is never the answer. The overwhelming majority of students and scholars simply come here to learn,” Yang stated.
Despite the backlash, Moore told NBC News that he would “never apologize for defending America’s national interests against our greatest geopolitical foe.”
Pedro Rodriguez is a contributor at the Daily Caller News Foundation
Original article link
