News outlets report the University of Tennessee has ended an agreement with the China Scholarship Council. The council works with China’s Ministry of Education to support scholarships for Chinese students in America.
The school’s decision comes after a congressional committee recently sent letters urging it and six other universities in America to cut ties with the Chinese organization.
The congressional committee alleges the China Scholarship Council is “a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China’s military and scientific growth.” The committee also points out the council has come under fire “due to concerns over academic freedom, surveillance of students, ideological control, and potential espionage.”
For years, pundits and elected officials have expressed concerns about the Chinese Communist Party conducting espionage and stealing intellectual property through higher education programs in the U.S.
In July of 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray gave a report on the threat China poses, saying, “If you are an American adult, it is more likely than not that China has stolen your personal data.”
In 2021 the U.S. Senate passed a measure intended to clamp down on Chinese propaganda on America’s college campuses.
In 2021 the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1020 by Sen. Mark Johnson and Rep. Mary Bentley prohibiting schools in Arkansas from hosting any entity affiliated with the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or China’s People’s Liberation Army. The law helps keep organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party away from Arkansas’ college campuses.
You Can Read Act 1020 of 2021 Here.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
