During this summer, a student named Anna (pseudonym) at Stanford University, who was conducting research on sensitive China-related topics, became involved in a covert Chinese Communist intelligence contact operation on American campuses.
According to the Stanford Review, a man claiming to be a Stanford student named “Charles Chen” contacted Anna through social media, initially asking seemingly harmless networking questions. However, the situation soon turned increasingly “strange.”
Before long, the individual began asking her if she spoke Chinese and sent her some videos of Americans popular in China, encouraging her to visit Beijing and even claiming to cover all travel expenses. What was even more unsettling was that Charles mentioned personal information about Anna that she had never disclosed to him. When Charles asked her to only contact him through the Chinese version of WeChat and delete screenshots of their conversations, Anna finally realized that this was a purposeful spy contact.
With the help of experts familiar with intelligence tactics, Anna decided to contact US authorities. The investigation found that “Charles Chen” had been posing as a student for years, targeting female students involved in China-related research, and was likely connected to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The Stanford Review pointed out: “The Chinese Communist Party is launching a large-scale intelligence collection operation at Stanford University.”
According to a follow-up Fox News report on Tuesday, a student involved in exposing the incident stated that China’s intelligence infiltration of international students is not random but follows a specific “three-stage operation mechanism.”
This student explained that the Chinese operation includes three key stages: “First, we see a whole system used to extract information so they can target specific students; secondly, they conduct loyalty tests; and thirdly, they request information to be returned.”
These targeted students typically engage in artificial intelligence, robotics, or China-related research, with the selection process based on language, background, and keywords.
Subsequently, individuals would conduct loyalty tests on students to assess their attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party or the Chinese government. If the individuals responded positively or showed willingness to cooperate, the third stage would be initiated.
At this point, the individuals would request various research information to be provided, which could include research notes, experimental procedures, recordings of professors’ discussions, and even unpublished laboratory reports.
The student’s testimony provided a specific framework for spy activities, as highlighted in the earlier Stanford Review report, illustrating that this was not just individual cases but a systematic pattern, clearly outlining how the Chinese Communist Party was gradually infiltrating intelligence targets at top American universities.
The Stanford Review noted that the Chinese spy objectives go beyond stealing confidential documents to discreetly acquiring the technical secrets behind American innovation. This includes research project conclusions, methods, software, laboratory workflows, collaboration structures, and even communication channels.
Multiple Stanford students revealed to Fox News that if Chinese international students refused to provide information, their families in China might face threats from or be questioned by the Chinese government.
Some students mentioned hearing about the parents of international students being questioned by the police, creating a sense of fear that is difficult to articulate. The Stanford Review wrote: “One student who experienced espionage activities firsthand is so fearful that he even dare not use encrypted messages to tell his story.”
This indicates that Chinese monitoring of Chinese international students has deeply infiltrated their daily life choices and expressions.
One student told the Stanford Review: “Many Chinese students have ‘contacts’ who report everything happening at Stanford to them (the CCP). It’s so common to us; they just report what they know.”
This kind of invisible oppression has kept many students silent about spy activities. A student once stated, as reported by the Stanford Review: “Whether there is peer monitoring at Stanford is no longer important. What really keeps people silent is the feeling of ‘possibly being watched.’ Even if there is, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
In addition to individual contacts and infiltration tactics, the Chinese Communist Party systematically embeds intelligence collection mechanisms into the system of international students through official scholarship programs.
As reported by the Stanford Review, approximately 15% of Chinese international students in the US are funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), which is widely regarded in academia as a key channel for the CCP to collect academic information.
Several anonymous China experts told Fox News that students receiving CSC funding are required to submit “Situation Reports” regularly to the CCP’s diplomatic missions in the US, covering their research topics and progress. These reports are ultimately used to identify and obtain sensitive technology.
According to a 2020 report from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University, the scholarship agreements signed between CSC and students explicitly require recipients to follow research directions and goals set by the CCP.
Radio Free Asia also reported that these students not only have to sign commitment pledges to the CCP, but if they violate these commitments, their guarantors (usually family members) will face financial penalties.
To counter the infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party in American universities, experts suggest that transparency should be increased in universities to publicly expose these spy behaviors.
Former US Congresswoman Michelle Steel, in an interview with the Stanford Review, stated that in recent years, accusations of “racial discrimination” have been deliberately used by the CCP as a smokescreen for its surveillance tactics.
She emphasized: “This is a deliberate action aimed at preventing outsiders from understanding how the CCP monitors and harasses its citizens.”
Steel also told Fox News that billions of dollars are currently flowing from China into top American universities, describing this as an “extremely dangerous” situation.
She said: “President Trump is entirely correct. The CCP is the biggest threat in all sectors, especially in the university field.”
Michael Sobolik, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News: “In situations like this, sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
He said: “If Stanford is worried about foreign spies and coercion on campus — and they should be — the school’s leadership must publicize it.”
“So far, the woke culture has made Stanford stay silent. It’s insane, and it only benefits Beijing. The CCP is one of the most racist political organizations in the world, using the Chinese people as a human shield.”
“If Americans don’t openly condemn the CCP, they are silently supporting its narrative that there is no difference between the Chinese people and the CCP,” Sobolik said.
Regarding the recent reports, Stanford University released a statement (link) saying: “Stanford University is deeply committed to national security, and we are fully aware of the threat that the CCP poses to all research-oriented universities. Stanford has established strict policies and procedures to ensure that the research activities of faculty and students can uphold American interests.”