China Using College Students In Us As Undercover Agents: Report

An investigation by student journalists astatine Stanford University claims nan schoolhouse has been infiltrated by Chinese spies seeking delicate information connected captious areas for illustration artificial intelligence and robotics. The article follows years of warnings by intelligence and nationalist information officials that immoderate world students study backmost to their location countries astir top-secret research.

Widespread spying astatine Stanford?

The Stanford Review, a student-run news site, said nan Chinese Communist Party is “orchestrating a wide intelligence-gathering campaign” astatine nan elite California university. The article cited interviews pinch much than a twelve module members, students and China experts. Most said connected information of anonymity.

The article contained nary actual examples of spying astatine Stanford, 1 of nan nation’s apical investigation institutions. However, it elaborate suspicious activity by a Chinese nationalist posing arsenic a student and asserted that galore Chinese students study to “handlers” astir “everything that’s going connected astatine Stanford.”

The Stanford Review besides reported that a Stanford student from China was indicted successful 2020 for allegedly lying connected her U.S. visa applications astir her affiliation pinch nan Chinese military. Federal prosecutors dropped nan charges a twelvemonth later.

Stanford officials person agelong suspected Chinese infiltration, nan article said, but person kept their concerns quiet.

“Transnational repression, $64 cardinal successful Chinese funding, and allegations of group profiling person contributed to a pervasive civilization of soundlessness astatine Stanford and beyond,” nan article reported.

Stanford’s management has not commented connected nan reporting.

Congressional scrutiny

The president of nan House Select Committee connected nan Chinese Communist Party precocious said apical U.S. universities are “increasingly utilized arsenic conduits for overseas adversaries to illegally summation entree to captious investigation and precocious technology.”

Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, said successful a March letter to six universities that they whitethorn beryllium enabling world espionage by admitting ample numbers of Chinese nationals into precocious science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, commonly referred to arsenic STEM studies. 

“Too galore U.S. universities proceed to prioritize financial incentives complete nan acquisition of American students, home workforce improvement and nationalist security,” Moolenaar wrote.

He asked nan schools — Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Illinois, Maryland and Southern California — to supply accusation connected their oversight of Chinese students, those students’ engagement successful federally funded research, and nan information of delicate technologies developed connected their campuses. 

In nan autumn of 2024, Moolenaar’s committee issued a report that said national investigation grants worthy hundreds of millions of dollars had “contributed to China’s technological advancements and subject modernization.”

The study said American world researchers person worked pinch Chinese counterparts connected topics specified arsenic high-performance explosives, search of targets and different subject applications — “the benignant of exertion that nan Chinese subject could usage against nan U.S. subject successful nan arena of a conflict.”

Longtime concerns

Academic espionage has captured nan attraction of nationalist information officials for astatine least nan past decade.

In 2014, nan Department of Defense said astir one-fourth of attempts by overseas governments to get U.S. secrets came done world institutions. Five years later, nan Department of Justice brought charges against 9 Iranian nationals who allegedly hacked into email accounts of professors astatine 144 U.S. universities. They were accused of stealing intelligence spot and investigation data.

Still, criminal cases involving world programs are rare, convictions are moreover rarer. 

In 2009, an electrical engineering professor astatine nan University of Tennessee was sentenced to 4 years successful national situation for sharing delicate subject information. No students were charged.

Nuanced issue

More than 1 cardinal world students be American universities, and thousands of professors are overseas nationals. In congressional grounds successful 2018, a apical FBI charismatic said their information successful assemblage investigation presents some benefits and risks.

“Many of these visitors lend to nan awesome successes and achievements enjoyed by these institutions, which nutrient precocious research, cutting-edge exertion and insightful scholarship,” Bill Priestap, past nan adjunct FBI head for counterintelligence, said. “However, this unfastened situation besides puts academia astatine consequence for exploitation by overseas actors who do not travel our rules aliases stock our values.”

He pledged nan FBI would do much to safeguard against espionage connected campus.

“However, we must besides beryllium smart and careful,” he added. “What makes these schools awesome besides makes them vulnerable.”