China is ‘biggest threat to international students and scholars’ in US, report finds
‘The biggest threat to international students and scholars studying and working in the United States is the government of China,’ said a new report from Freedom House.
The report lists several recommendations to fight back against what it calls ‘transnational repression’ from the Chinese Community Party and other foreign governments.
A recent report calls attention to foreign governments’ alleged coercion of foreign students and others in the U.S., naming China as the chief culprit.
The report was published on Jan. 31 by Freedom House, according to a press release from the organization, which describes itself as “the leading American organization devoted to the support and defense of democracy around the world.”
Freedom House’s report, titled “Addressing Transnational Repression on Campuses in the United States,” found that “[i]nternational students, visiting scholars, and faculty in the United States are being targeted by foreign governments and their agents.”
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Though the authors name several countries that they claim are guilty of this harassing behavior, they highlight China as the worst culprit: “The biggest threat to international students and scholars studying and working in the United States is the government of China.”
A major instrument that China uses to spy on and manipulate Chinese students abroad is the United Front Work Department (UFWD), according to the report. The authors cite the U.S. State Department’s description of the UFWD as a “sprawling worldwide network of party loyalists whose purpose is to influence local elites and community leaders.”
The State Department also previously declared that the UFWD manages Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs), the reports states. As mentioned by Freedom House, CSSAs “have been mentioned repeatedly in reports of transnational repression,” and they “not only monitor international students, but also mobilize them to take action against individuals and events who voice criticism of China’s domestic policies.”
Freedom House believes that American higher education institutions could be doing more effective work to defend victims of foreign surveillance and coercion while they study on American campuses.
“Young people who come to the United States to take advantage of its higher education system are being followed and harassed by some of the worst perpetrators of human rights violations. Many colleges and universities lack the tools to protect them from ongoing threats from authoritarian regimes. Administrators need to better understand what transnational repression looks like and develop strategies to protect members of the campus community,” stated Michael J. Abramowitz in the press release announcing the report.
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Freedom House’s recommendations for addressing foreign governments’ harassment include adopting a “definition of transnational repression [that] can be used in trainings for staff, students, and faculty, and in informational materials to spread awareness of the issue” and developing a “reporting mechanism” to catalog “incidents of transnational repression on campus.”
Campus Reform has contacted Freedom House for comment. The article will be updated accordingly.
