Thanks to American universities’ open-door policy, Chinese academics are allowed to collaborate with our smartest researchers and scientists, and take our advancements in AI, robotics, weaponry and nuclear technology back home. This is not an exaggeration — it’s the conclusion of a report on the CCP published last September by the House select committee on the CCP.
Military students at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business have been targeted. Several of these individuals had been physically approached by 
nationals, who seem to know they are in the military. They start by asking friendly questions before inquiring about the locations of US military bases and information on our military capabilities. Obviously the Stanford students don’t engage.
China is also suppressing Chinese students in the US who appear to have pro-American sympathies or speak out in class in favor of democracy.
These individuals are reported by classmates who are recruited by the CCP to monitor those who criticize the party, attend demonstrations or seek permanent relocation to the US. Last year a Chinese student and supporter at the Berklee College of Music in Boston was convicted of cyberstalking a pro-democracy Chinese student.
One of Elsa’s friends at Stanford, a Chinese-American citizen born in the US, received an anonymous email on June 26 this year, in which the sender threatened to kill him and his Chinese father for betraying the CCP by living in America. Her friend did not hear anything else from the sender. He initially laughed it off but she eventually encouraged him to take his case to the FBI.
In the eyes of the CCP, anyone with Chinese blood is Chinese — even if they’re born in America — and they should be loyal to the People’s Republic of China.
This week, President Trump said he would allow up to 600,000 Chinese nationals to study in the US — up from the current number of 277,000. The vast majority pose no threat, but increasing these numbers leaves us more vulnerable to espionage. The FBI should set up tip lines so American students can report any threats or suspicious contact.
It is frightening yet ingenious what the CCP is doing, and other American students like Elsa need to be aware of the threat we’re facing.
“If you ever get a message out of the blue from a stranger telling you to visit China, be on your guard.”
thetimes.com/us/news-today/
archive.ph/se1DfQuote
Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
Stanford student Elsa Johnson is presumably “Anna” in the investigative article “Uncovering Chinese Academic Espionage at Stanford” published in The Stanford Review in May. Now Elsa speaks out in person.
It all started with a message sent to Elsa on Instagram by a stranger, a x.com/byron_wan/stat…
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