The American “Stanford Review” released an in-depth report yesterday (May 7th), revealing the Chinese Communist Party’s long-term operation of spy networks at Stanford University. Through methods such as identity theft and social infiltration, they target students engaged in Chinese-related research, gather sensitive scientific information, and have sparked concerns.
The report disclosed that this summer, a man claiming to be “Charles Chen” approached students under a false identity, claiming to be from Stanford and offering to pay for their travel expenses to visit China. Investigations found that he had access to some students’ personal information and forced communication through WeChat. Upon police verification, it was revealed that this individual was not a Stanford student at all.
Experts on Chinese issues assisted in the investigation, pointing out that this person is highly likely to be a spy sent by China’s intelligence agencies, with a clear objective of identifying researchers who are not opposed to the Communist Party, extracting information, especially targeting women.
The “Stanford Review” pointed out that these types of incidents are not uncommon. Several anonymous interviewees mentioned that the Chinese Communist Party has established a “crowdsourcing” intelligence system on campuses, utilizing regular students to collect core skills in research areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics, including research methods and software “tips and tricks.”
Former U.S. national security official Matthew Turpin and former FBI director Christopher Wray have stated that Chinese academic theft at American universities has become one of the “largest wealth transfers in history.”
The investigation also mentioned that some Chinese international students, due to constraints imposed by China’s “National Intelligence Law,” are required to cooperate with intelligence work and even report research progress regularly to the Chinese embassy in the U.S. Some students revealed that if they refuse, their families in China may face financial and political pressure.
Currently, there are over 1100 Chinese students studying at Stanford, many of whom receive funding from the Chinese government’s scholarship program, facing risks of surveillance and manipulation.
The report also recounted the 2020 case of Chen Song, a visiting scholar with a background in the Chinese military, who was conducting research at Stanford. He was accused by the FBI of concealing his true identity and reporting research results to China, representing a typical case of Chinese infiltration in American universities.
Several faculty members and students told the “Stanford Review” that due to concerns of retaliation or being labeled as “racial discrimination,” many similar incidents have never been made public. Stanford University typically handles these issues discreetly, only reporting them in extreme circumstances.
This nine-month investigation interviewed over 12 faculty members, current and former students, as well as independent experts specializing in Chinese espionage strategies.
The “Stanford Review” urges for not abandoning investigations into academic security due to racial issues. The article warns that if the U.S. wants to maintain its technological leadership, it must confront the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party into university research systems, protecting academic freedom and institutional integrity.