I Prayed have prayed
Lord, we pray that America’s higher education institutions would fully embrace integrity, intellectual honesty, and the pursuit of Truth.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

“So many of our colleges are bought by Beijing.”

I imagine that assertion caused jaws to drop and eyes to widen when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made it in a recent speech. After all, he was giving his remarks at a leading research university — Georgia Tech.

It certainly caught my attention. Not because the remarks were critical of China — Pompeo has repeatedly made the case for urgent attention there. No, I was struck by the allegation that American higher educational institutions were complicit.

Pompeo made sure to clarify that his concerns were specific to the the Chinese government, not Chinese Americans or Chinese people under the rule of their country’s regime. That being said, Pompeo had much to say about the practices of the communist government. He wished aloud that “freedom-loving places like Georgia Tech and institutions and scholars all across the world… would be more up in arms about the Chinese Communist Party’s outright theft and flagrant violation of freedoms.”

But such outcry was rare, he said.

“Well, why?  Why do schools censor themselves?” Pompeo asked. “They often do it out of fear of offending China.”

That made me wonder why these schools should fear. And I admit I was intrigued even more after I read the retort of one education association leader discourteously dismissing Pompeo’s remarks as “absurd and insulting” and simply being “political red meat for the Republican base.”

Here’s the thing. Concern about the influence the People’s Republic of China (PRC) holds over U.S. institutions, including colleges and universities, is not simply a “red meat” issue. Not long ago, the Wilson Center — named after President Woodrow Wilson and certainly not a right-wing ideological institution — issued a report titled, “A Preliminary Study of PRC Political Influence and Interference Activities in American Higher Education.” In that study, Wilson Center researchers found that Chinese “authorities have historically perceived foreign academic institutions as a threat to their legitimacy because of the space such environments create for the interplay of critical analysis and activities.”

The study adds that its “primary sources show that PRC authorities have viewed diplomatic staff, scholars, and students abroad as strategic resources for influencing foreign discourse about China.”

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students — a significant market for college recruitment — study at U.S. colleges and universities each year. Certainly, most are not agents or activists for the PRC, but some clearly wish to leverage their voices on behalf of Beijing.

For example, just weeks ago Voice of America (VOA) — again, not a conservative organization — reported on a virtual event hosted by Brandeis University exploring the human rights debacle in China’s Xinjiang region where more than a million Uighur Muslims and other minorities (including Christians) are in prison camps. Sadly, the event was overtaken by hackers smearing a Uighur advocate and her cause.

The university had previously been warned not to hold the event through letters VOA confirmed to come from a template of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA). According to a 2018 Hoover Institution report:

With the direct support of the Chinese embassy and consulates, Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) sometimes report on and compromise the academic freedom of other Chinese students and American faculty on American campuses. American universities that host events deemed politically offensive by the Chinese Communist Party and government have been subject to increasing pressure, and sometimes even to retaliation, by diplomats in the Chinese embassy and its six consulates as well as by CSSA branches.

Clearly, pressure from people loyal to the PRC is an issue. Then there is the matter of the money.

Bloomberg News earlier this year reported that 115 colleges and universities received gifts or contracts worth nearly $1 billion from mainland China sources since 2013. While the $93.7 million that went to Harvard University is very noticeable, the article quoted one observer who suggested smaller donations to schools with less resources could be even more influential.

Of note, while releasing a report in October suggesting a “massive failure” of schools to accurately report their actual financial ties to countries like China, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said, “The threat of improper foreign influence in higher education is real.”

The jury may be out on the allegation that some universities are “bought” by China, but this matter does certainly appear to be more than just simple “political red meat.”

 

Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.s public policy arena. He reflects on faith, technology, and the public square at FTPolicy.com. (Photo Credit: Unsplash.)

What do you think? How will you pray about this today?

Comments (7) Print

Comments

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Sharon
December 20, 2020

Heavenly Father, None of this surprises You. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in the universities of this nation. Enlighten the Chinese students that come here and save them and send them home to spread the gospel. Let truth penetrate all of the plans of the enemy. In Jesus mighty name.

8
Rochelle
December 19, 2020

Thank you for this article and the research that went into it. The information did not surprise me. It wasn’t too long ago that the Dean of the Harvard Chemistry Dept was arrested for taking money from China and not reporting it. The Confucius Institutes set up on college campuses have also been a serious problem.
Father God,
You know how deep and extensive the web of evil has spread in our nation. We are trusting You to completely destroy the network because we know You rule from a throne whose foundation is righteousness and justice.
I ask that You remove the scales from the eyes of Christians who haven’t seen the danger or are deceived. Help them understand the importance of our freedom.
Cause Your people to be in unity regarding America’s future. I thank You and praise You for Your loving and faithful care even when we don’t deserve it.
In Jesus holy name. Amen.

14
Janet F
December 19, 2020

Worse, the CCP is buying this influence with American money — obtained in exchange for cheap goods made with the slave labor of political prisoners, religious minorities and other dissidents. Individuals must stop waiting for change originating from government. Buy American or Buy Used. Don’t buy anything Made in China.

19
Joan Diane Bartruff
December 19, 2020

Heavenly Father, In Jesus Name, dispel, destroy the attempt of Communism to overtake Your world. Free our institutions of learning from the threat of Communist infiltration in the spread of Communist ideology.
I pray for the Christians of China who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Protect and provide for them spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally as they face retribution for living out their faith. I pray for revival across China with millions coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I pray for repentance and belief for the leadership of China. Father, with You all things are possible. You love China as You love all people’s of the world. Your will be done, Father. Amen.

25
Theresa Pittman
December 19, 2020

Jesus have mercy. Expose all the lies, schemes, and hidden threats of the enemy and wake us up to their tactics and teach our arms to war and our fingers to fight, reverse China’s communist government reach in American and China and deal with every faction of wickedness. And let every demonic devil behind China’s communist regime fall and be destroyed in Jesus name! Loose the captive of the mighty man, deliver the prey of the tyrant, contend with those who contend with us and save sons and daughters according to your word in Isaiah 49:25.

27
Spectator 91
December 19, 2020

Sure

I’ve seen this for the last 20 years here in Illinois.

I warned against it but the state that has been run into the ground by greedy Democrats has lusted after the billions of dollars for our university.

They prostituted themselves.

12
Nicole Monacelli
December 19, 2020

The indoctrination of our youth can best be stopped by instilling in them before they leave home a bedrock of Truth, and equipping them with the skills to always seek it. That means, of course, parents MUST teach them from The Word of God daily. Without such instruction, without Jesus being their first true Rabbi, they’ll struggle to be able to withstand the onslaught.

Sadly, I raised my son as an atheist. He’s now at university, but one thing I did instill in him was a love for and obedience to Truth. I taught him to question. The spirit of inquiry and the seeking of Truth are the tools that God will use to meet him in the future.

15

Partner with Us

Intercessors for America is the trusted resource for millions of people across the United States committed to praying for our nation. If you have benefited from IFA's resources and community, please consider joining us as a monthly support partner. As a 501(c)3 organization, it's through your support that all this possible.

Dave Kubal
IFA President
Become a Monthly Partner

Share

Click below to share this with others

Log in to Join the Conversation

Log in to your IFA account to start a discussion, comment, pray, and interact with our community.