Latest news with #ChinaScholarshipCouncil
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Republicans urge U.S. universities to cut ties with ‘nefarious' Chinese-backed scholarship program
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are urging seven U.S. universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship program that lawmakers call a 'nefarious mechanism' to steal technology for the Chinese government. In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raise concerns about the schools' partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad program funded by China. The program sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at U.S. universities. After graduating, they're required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security. 'CSC purports to be a joint scholarship program between U.S. and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth,' wrote Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the committee. Letters were also sent also to Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of California campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. The committee said it's opening a review into the program's 'infiltration' of U.S. universities and demanded records related to the program from all seven institutions. The universities' partnerships with the council bring up to 15 graduate students a year to Dartmouth, along with up to 60 at Temple and 40 at Notre Dame, according to the letters. Some schools split the cost, including Dartmouth, which covers 50 per cent of tuition and provides a stipend to doctoral students. Among other records, lawmakers are demanding documents showing whether scholarship recipients worked on research funded by the U.S. government. President Donald Trump and House Republicans have stepped up scrutiny of Chinese students coming to the U.S. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would revoke visas from some Chinese students studying in 'critical fields.' During his first term, Trump restricted visas for students affiliated with China's 'military-civil fusion strategy.' Many U.S. universities acknowledge a need to improve research security but caution against treating Chinese scholars with hostility and suspicion, saying only small numbers have been involved in espionage. China is the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., behind only India. In the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. Moolenaar has made it a priority to end partnerships between U.S. universities and China. In May he pressed Duke University to cut its ties with a Chinese university, saying it allowed Chinese students to gain access to federally funded research at Duke. Under pressure from the committee, Eastern Michigan University ended a partnership with two Chinese universities in June. Last year, House Republicans issued a report finding that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding had gone toward research that ultimately boosted Chinese advancements in artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and nuclear weapons. The report argued China's academic collaborations served as 'Trojan horses for technology transfer,' accusing China of 'insidious' exploitation of academic cooperation. The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Collin Binkley, The Associated Press
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Republicans urge US schools to drop ‘nefarious' Chinese scholarship programme
House Republicans have urged seven US universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship programme that lawmakers call a 'nefarious mechanism' to steal technology for the Chinese government. Advertisement In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raised concerns about the schools' partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad programme funded by China. The programme sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at US universities. After graduating, they are required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent on Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security. 'CSC purports to be a joint scholarship programme between US and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits US institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth,' wrote Republican congressman John Moolenaar, chair of the committee. Letters were also sent to Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of California campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. The committee said it's opening a review into the programme's 'infiltration' of US universities and demanded records related to the programme from all seven institutions. Advertisement The universities' partnerships with the council bring up to 15 graduate students a year to Dartmouth, along with up to 60 at Temple and 40 at Notre Dame, according to the letters. Some schools split the cost, including Dartmouth, which covers 50 per cent of tuition and provides a stipend to doctoral students. Among other records, lawmakers are demanding documents showing whether scholarship recipients worked on research funded by the US government.
Fox News
09-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Major colleges face heat over Chinese scholarship ties as espionage concerns mount
FIRST ON FOX: The China Select Committee is launching an investigation into universities that partner with a Chinese scholarship fund, raising alarm over what lawmakers describe as a covert pipeline for Beijing to gain access to sensitive American research and technology. This week, the committee is sending formal oversight letters to a group of major universities, including Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Temple University and several campuses within the University of California system, demanding answers about their involvement in PRC's China Scholarship Council (CSC). Notre Dame told Fox News Digital the university had already terminated its CSC program. "We will, of course, respond to the inquiry and look forward to working with the Committee on this important matter." The other universities did not return a request for comment. The letters, first obtained by Fox News Digital, mark the latest escalation in Congress's efforts to confront what the Committee calls "systemic CCP infiltration" in U.S. academia. "Under the guise of academic exchange," the committee writes in its letters to university presidents, "the CSC places PRC students — often in sensitive STEM fields—at American universities with direct financial support from both CSC and the host institutions." Under the joint program, CSC provides sponsored students with a living stipend and covers 50% of tuition for the first four years of their Ph.D. studies. Typically, the university covers the remaining half of tuition and living stipend. The committee claims the CSC program is not the academic bridge it claims to be, but a CCP-controlled mechanism for technology transfer, ideological conditioning and surveillance of Chinese nationals studying abroad. The program requires students to return to China for at least two years after graduation and submit quarterly reports during their time in the U.S. on their research, publications, and ideological progress to Chinese embassies or consulates. The letters suggest U.S. federal research grants may be indirectly subsidizing the CCP-affiliated students and their research. Dartmouth, for example, won nearly half of its research funding, $169 million, from the federal government. Dartmouth's ongoing joint scholarship program with the CSC sponsors up to 15 Chinese PhD students annually. The committee claims the program may also conflict with Presidential Proclamation 10043, which restricts visas for PRC nationals affiliated with China's military-civil fusion universities. The letters asked each university that by Friday all contracts and correspondence with CSC, lists of students' institutional affiliations before and after, records of federally funded research involving CSC students and evidence of any communications with the Departments of State and Homeland Security about potential visa issues. The letter also raises questions about CSC-sponsored students who may have remained at US universities for post-doctoral research — possibly funded by federal grants — and calls on the college to explain how such a program aligns with U.S. national interests.
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Republicans urge US universities to cut ties with 'nefarious' Chinese-backed scholarship program
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are urging seven U.S. universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship program that lawmakers call a 'nefarious mechanism' to steal technology for the Chinese government . In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raise concerns about the schools' partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad program funded by China. The program sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at U.S. universities. After graduating, they're required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security. 'CSC purports to be a joint scholarship program between U.S. and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth,' wrote Republican Rep. John Moolenaar , chair of the committee. Letters were also sent also to Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of California campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. The committee said it's opening a review into the program's 'infiltration' of U.S. universities and demanded records related to the program from all seven institutions. The universities' partnerships with the council bring up to 15 graduate students a year to Dartmouth, along with up to 60 at Temple and 40 at Notre Dame, according to the letters. Some schools split the cost, including Dartmouth, which covers 50% of tuition and provides a stipend to doctoral students. Among other records, lawmakers are demanding documents showing whether scholarship recipients worked on research funded by the U.S. government . President Donald Trump and House Republicans have stepped up scrutiny of Chinese students coming to the U.S. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would revoke visas from some Chinese students studying in 'critical fields.' During his first term, Trump restricted visas for students affiliated with China's 'military-civil fusion strategy.' Many U.S. universities acknowledge a need to improve research security but caution against treating Chinese scholars with hostility and suspicion, saying only small numbers have been involved in espionage. China is the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., behind only India. In the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. Moolenaar has made it a priority to end partnerships between U.S. universities and China. In May he pressed Duke University to cut its ties with a Chinese university, saying it allowed Chinese students to gain access to federally funded research at Duke. Under pressure from the committee, Eastern Michigan University ended a partnership with two Chinese universities in June. Last year, House Republicans issued a report finding that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding had gone toward research that ultimately boosted Chinese advancements in artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and nuclear weapons. The report argued China's academic collaborations served as 'Trojan horses for technology transfer,' accusing China of 'insidious' exploitation of academic cooperation. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Republicans urge US universities to cut ties with 'nefarious' Chinese-backed scholarship program
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are urging seven U.S. universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship program that lawmakers call a 'nefarious mechanism' to steal technology for the Chinese government. In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raise concerns about the schools' partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad program funded by China. The program sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at U.S. universities. After graduating, they're required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security. 'CSC purports to be a joint scholarship program between U.S. and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth,' wrote Republican Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the committee. Letters were also sent also to Temple University, the University of Tennessee and the University of California campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. The committee said it's opening a review into the program's 'infiltration' of U.S. universities and demanded records related to the program from all seven institutions. The universities' partnerships with the council bring up to 15 graduate students a year to Dartmouth, along with up to 60 at Temple and 40 at Notre Dame, according to the letters. Some schools split the cost, including Dartmouth, which covers 50% of tuition and provides a stipend to doctoral students. Among other records, lawmakers are demanding documents showing whether scholarship recipients worked on research funded by the U.S. government. President Donald Trump and House Republicans have stepped up scrutiny of Chinese students coming to the U.S. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would revoke visas from some Chinese students studying in 'critical fields.' During his first term, Trump restricted visas for students affiliated with China's 'military-civil fusion strategy.' Many U.S. universities acknowledge a need to improve research security but caution against treating Chinese scholars with hostility and suspicion, saying only small numbers have been involved in espionage. China is the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., behind only India. In the 2023-2024 academic year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. Moolenaar has made it a priority to end partnerships between U.S. universities and China. In May he pressed Duke University to cut its ties with a Chinese university, saying it allowed Chinese students to gain access to federally funded research at Duke. Under pressure from the committee, Eastern Michigan University ended a partnership with two Chinese universities in June. Last year, House Republicans issued a report finding that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding had gone toward research that ultimately boosted Chinese advancements in artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and nuclear weapons. The report argued China's academic collaborations served as 'Trojan horses for technology transfer,' accusing China of 'insidious' exploitation of academic cooperation. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
