China Infiltrates US Universities

In a speech he did at the Citadel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats mentioned a couple of areas that focused on the way China has a campaign to shape the view of China in the US.  [ skip the first 10 minutes if you watch the video]    That effort includes helping political candidates who are favorable to Chinese policy issues, and influencing US Universities.  In my second edition of the Chinese Information War, I mentioned some of the local political issues favored by Chinese businesses, and the Chinese use of granted citizenship in the EB-5 program and other visa agreements.  The Chinese believe in building their relationships with local politicians who will eventually grow up and be national politicians.

But I had not heard much about Universities, other than the occasional complaint from some of my friends that say there are too many Chinese faculty members at some Universities and they tend to favor other Chinese a little too much.  But Politico has a nice piece on what the real complaint is with China - Confucius Institutes, the Chinese government-funded educational institutions that teach Chinese language, culture and history.  Over 100 campuses in the US have these places which teach Chinese and some courses on Chinese history, all for free, in effect.  Make them an offer they can't refuse.  These Institutes are taught by Chinese instructors who know what they are supposed to say by government direction.  They obviously know who is enrolled in learning Chinese, and interested in Chinese history and culture.  These are perfect vehicles for all kinds of espionage, and an open invitation for trouble with graduate students in sensitive programs and technologies.

When I went to college in the 60's there were Chinese students on our campus, working in places where sensitive work was being performed.  I was able to limit some of that when I got into Industrial Security at some of those same universities.  The approach is more sophisticated now, and long term relationships that come from Confucius Institutes are just the thing to increase China's influence in our own academic institutions.