North Charlotte Today

Senator Thom Tillis and a group of his colleagues have sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, expressing deep concern about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) at American colleges and universities. Recent reports have indicated that the Chinese government is increasingly using CSSAs and other student organizations to promote its agenda on US campuses. In order to address this issue, the senators are urging the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether CSSAs should be required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for their work on behalf of the CCP.

The letter from Senator Tillis and his colleagues emphasizes the need for greater attention to be given to the CCP's influence over CSSAs. It highlights the closure of numerous Confucius Institutes, which has led the CCP to rely more heavily on CSSAs to exert its influence on academic institutions in the United States. The senators state, "This issue requires greater attention from the United States government."

The senators also cite troubling incidents involving CSSAs at US universities. One example is a graduate student at the University of Colorado-Boulder who reported that the CSSA president had called late at night to inquire about the department faculty's work on Tibet. Another case involves a Chinese national who was a former graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This individual received a barrage of abusive emails from CSSAs, including a death threat, after expressing disagreement with a CSSA list-serv email that proposed racist and inappropriate slogans to protest a visit by the Japanese Prime Minister. A China expert and professor at the University of California-Riverside is quoted as saying, "CSSAs are a 'tool of government's foreign ministry.' The effect of that surveillance is less that certain people are caught and punished and more that virtually all Chinese students know they could be reported, and, therefore, watch what they say in public fora."

In their letter, Senator Tillis and his colleagues bring attention to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires individuals to register with the DOJ if they are acting on behalf of a foreign principal to influence US policy or public opinion. The senators argue that there is clear evidence that CSSAs are acting as an arm of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to shape US policy and public opinion. Therefore, they believe it is necessary to evaluate whether CSSAs should be required to register as foreign agents.

The senators' letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland is a call to action, urging the DOJ to address the CCP's influence on college campuses through CSSAs. By raising concerns about CSSAs and their potential role as foreign agents, the senators hope to combat the influence of the CCP on US academic institutions. The full text of the letter can be found on the official website.

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Click this link to access more information: https://www.tillis.senate.gov/2023/12/tillis-colleagues-demand-doj-address-ccp-influence-on-college-campuses