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FIRST ON FOX: Some Republicans It is putting pressure on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about federal funding to go to universities affiliated with the Chinese government.
Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Republican Research Commission (RSC), led 56 colleagues in a letter to Austin, why federal-funded schools related to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). I asked my secretary if I would go to school.
“During the last administration, Congress finally took important steps to combat China’s illicit influence efforts at U.S. universities, the bank told Fox News Digital in a statement. The president is trying to reset the relationship to what it was before Trump. “
Lawmakers wrote they were worried Chinese government “influence and penetration Through other partnerships with Confucius Institute and Chinese universities, American universities could pose a national security risk to American universities and American R & D companies. “
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Banks and Republicans wrote The presence of the Confucius Institute on the US campus “has long raised serious concerns about the Chinese government’s influence and its penetration into higher education and research systems,” including the Chinese government stealing US intellectual property. Said.
“In response to these concerns and potential risks, Congress introduced and passed various laws through the Confucius Institute to address the issues surrounding China’s impact on higher education and research in the United States,” said Congressman. Wrote.
Lawmakers say that part of the 2019 and 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a super-large bill that funds the military, prohibits federal funding from going to the institutions that host the Confucius Institute. I pointed out. China on campus.
They banned the 2021 NDAA from “DoD funding to higher education institutions hosting the Confucius Institute after October 1, 2023,” and the bill “provides most American universities on their campuses. We pressured the Confucius Institute to close. “
“But the Confucius Institute is far from reaching their end on our college campus,” Republicans wrote. “According to a recent report by the National Association of Scholars, 104 of the 118 Confucius Institutes on American university campuses were closed, but at least 28 universities replaced the Confucius Institute with a similar program, and 58 universities in China. Maintains a partnership with the university. Reached as part of an agreement with the Confucius Institute. “
“The most common reason universities give when closing Confucius Institute is to replace Confucius Institute with a new Chinese partnership program,” they continued.
Parliamentarians have expanded the definition of Confucius Institute as “a cultural institution directly or indirectly (with emphasis) funded or substantially supported by the Government of the People’s Republic of China” in the same section of 2021NDAA. I quoted it.
They also said that when the NDAA in 2021 was introduced into Parliament, it was the parent organization of the Confucius Institute under the Ministry of Education of China, “The Office of the Chinese Language Council International (more commonly known as Han Bang). Was immediately rebranded as a language center. Exchange and cooperation in July 2020. “
“Then we separated another organization, the Confucius Institute and the China International Education Foundation (CIEF), which funds and oversees many of its reorganized programs and research institutes,” Republicans explained.
“CIEF is controlled by the Chinese government, despite its superficial non-governmental status,” they added. “A CIEF-funded cultural program or institute should be considered the Confucius Institute.”
Lawmakers pointed out that the 2021 NDAA section dealing with the Confucius Institute will come into effect on October 1, 2023, “two years after the 2021 NDAA was enacted.”
“Provides ample time for the university to break its ties with the Confucius Institute. Therefore, DoD has established a time frame to implement and enforce the provisions of Section 1062 after October 1, 2023. We need to protect and focus on that effort, not just the Confucius Institute, but there are also restructured programs and laboratories that continue to perform the same functions as the Confucius Institute and raise similar concerns. ” ..
“But DoD has contracted over October 1, 2023 to several universities, including many major state universities that have replaced Confucius Institute with similar programs or institutions funded directly or indirectly. I learned that I funded it with the substantial support of the Chinese government. ” “The National Association of Scholars recently reported that these universities include the University of Michigan, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina, the University of Stoneybrook, and the University of Texas. Not limited. In San Antonio. “
Legislators have provided funding to “how DoD enforces Section 1062, and to avoid Congressional intent to ban DoD funding from higher education institutions hosting the Confucius Institute. I raise a lot of questions about whether to get any exemption. ” In addition, several Chinese universities affiliated with US campuses have been “already recognized by the US government as poses a national security risk to the US and are listed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List. There are. “
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Legislators provided the secretary with a series of questions regarding funding for Austin by the deadline of August 15, 2022.
Participating in the bank in the letter include Mike Rogers, a ranking member of the House Armed Services Commission in Alabama, Elise Stephanik, Chairman of the House Republican Conference in New York, and Lisa McClain, Michigan. There are 56 of his fellow House Republicans.
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the letter and told Fox News Digital, “As all communications in Congress, we will respond directly to the author of the letter.”