Students at Stanford University have allegedly uncovered a pattern of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempting to gain sensitive information about American research.
CCP agents reportedly impersonate students at the university to gain trust from students and staff and steal information as part of a “nontraditional collection effort,” while others are already connected with Chinese nationals studying in the U.S., according to The Stanford Review. The report states that several Chinese students studying at Stanford are currently acting as spies for the CCP.
Those affiliated with the CCP attempt to gain access to sensitive STEM research, particularly AI, as well as gather intel into U.S. research on China, the Review reported.
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In one instance, a Chinese agent impersonated a student at the university and attempted to pressure a Stanford student, who was involved in “sensitive research on China,” into flying to Beijing, the Review found. The man advised the student to limit her trip to between 24 to 144 hours “to avoid visa scrutiny by authorities” and tried to keep communications solely on a CCP-monitored app.
After the student tipped off authorities, it was revealed the man had apparently been impersonating a Stanford student for years and had targeted multiple students, mainly women focused on China-related research, the Review said.
One “China expert” who spoke to the Stanford Review claimed that several of the university’s Chinese students are actively reporting information back to the CCP. More than 1,000 Chinese nationals study at Stanford.
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“Many Chinese [nationals] have handlers; they [CCP] want to know everything that’s going on at Stanford,” one unnamed Chinese national attending Stanford told the Review. “This is a very normal thing. They just relay the information they have.”
In 2020, Stanford student researcher and Chinese national Chen Song was indicted for attempting to conceal her affiliation with the Chinese military. During her time in the U.S., the student allegedly sent multiple updates on her research in medical science to Chinese government officials.
Despite her crime carrying the penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, Song’s charges were dropped under the Biden administration over technicalities stemming from a visa application question.
Suspicions of Chinese spying at Stanford, a top research university, have been widespread for years, with the Select Committee on the CCP (SCCCP) warning the school in March of its need for transparency on the issue in March.
“Our nation’s universities, long regarded as the global standard for excellence and innovation, are increasingly used as conduits for foreign adversaries to illegally gain access to critical research and advanced technology,” the SCCCP wrote to Stanford president Jonathan Levin in March. “America’s student visa system has become a Trojan horse for Beijing, providing unrestricted access to our top research institutions and posing a direct threat to our national security. If left unaddressed, this trend will continue to displace American talent, compromise research integrity, and fuel China’s technological ambitions at our expense.
According to the committee, a “large influx of Chinese national students” flooding American universities has created “a growing national security challenge,” especially at schools such as Stanford. Despite about one third of all foreign STEM students studying in the U.S. being Chinese nationals, only about one quarter intend to remain in America post-graduation, with many immediately returning to China.
“The brain drain of critical expertise is not a coincidence but a reflection of Beijing’s explicit strategy to leverage academia for technological advancement,” the committee wrote.
Some Chinese students feel pressured to comply with CCP requests for information collection in order to maintain good standing with the government or because their education is being funded by CCP scholarships, the Review stated. About 15% of Chinese nationals attending American universities are reportedly funded by China. These funds can often be used to direct “students’ research priorities to align with state-sponsored research activities at Stanford.”
“The Chinese government spends a lot of time collecting data on its overseas students; it has a pretty good understanding of who is doing what and if someone is working in an area of interest [frontier technology],” Matthew Turpin, an American security analyst specializing in U.S.-China relations, told the Review. “If students have access to things the government would like access to, it is relatively easy to reach out to an individual. They use carrots and sticks. If you turn over information, you may get a reward; if you don’t, there is a punishment.”
When asked to comment, Stanford referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a public statement released by the university in response to the Review’s article.
“Stanford takes its commitment to national security with the utmost seriousness, and we are acutely aware of the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party to all research universities,” the university wrote. “We are looking into the reports in the Stanford Review article, and have reached out to federal law enforcement to consult on appropriate actions.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
