Many American universities and academics have developed alarmingly close ties to the Chinese government and the state arms of the Chinese Communist Party. High-profile arrests of prominent U.S. academics have taken place across the country when information surfaced that they were taking millions of dollars in under-the-table funding from China. This raises urgent questions surrounding higher education and American national security.
From the Thousand Talents Plan, which woos American academics with promises of funding in exchange for sensitive research, to Confucius Institutes, which present a sanitized view of the Chinese government, China has staked a claim on American higher education.
On June 4th, the National Association of Scholars hosted, “China, the Academy, and the American National Interest.” Panelists included Sarah Cook, a senior research analyst for China at Freedom House; Steve Mosher, the president of the Population Research Institute; and Jonas Parello-Plesner, the executive director of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation and a non-resident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund. The discussion will be moderated by Rachelle Peterson, the director of policy at the National Association of Scholars.
