A Preliminary Study of PRC Political Influence and Interference Activities in American Higher Education Activities and Interference Influence of PRC Political Study A Preliminary A Preliminary Study of PRC Political Influence and Interference Activities in American Higher Education ANASTASYA LLOYD-DAMNJANOVIC KISSINGER INSTITUTE ON CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 www.wilsoncenter.org A Preliminary Study of PRC Political Influence and Interference Activities in American Higher Education ANASTASYA LLOYD-DAMNJANOVIC www.wilsoncenter.org Available from: KISSINGER INSTITUTE ON CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 www.wilsoncenter.org Cover: The Dalai Lama speaks to his supporters at the Brandenburger Gate in Berlin, © vipflash / Shutterstock.com; Map of Taiwan, © Claudio Divizia / Shutterstock.com THE WILSON CENTER, chartered by Congress as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is the nation’s key nonpartisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actionable ideas for Congress, the Administration, and the broader policy community. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center publications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. Please visit us online at www.wilsoncenter.org. Jane Harman, Director, President, and CEO BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chair: Frederic V. Malek, Founder and Chairman, Thayer Lodging Group, a Brookfield Property Public members: Alex Azar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Elisabeth DeVos, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States; Carla D. Hayden, Librarian of Congress; Jon Parrish Peede, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities; Michael Pompeo, Secretary, U.S. Department of State; David J. Skorton, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution Private Citizen Members: Peter J. Beshar, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.; Thelma Duggin, President, AnBryce Foundation; Barry S. Jackson, Managing Director, The Lindsey Group and Strategic Advisor, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; David Jacobson, Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Vice Chair, BMO Financial Group; Nathalie Rayes, Vice President of Public Affairs, Grupo Salinas; Earl W. Stafford, Chief Executive Officer, The Wentworth Group, LLC; Jane Watson Stetson, Philanthropist; Louis Susman, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Contents vii Foreword xi Acknowledgments 1 Executive Summary 6 Introduction 15 Historical Context and Official Policy 32 Current State of Play: “Chinese” Influence and Interference in Society and Academia 39 Research Question 42 Methods and Data Sources 47 Findings 113 Conclusions and Policy Implications 127 Works Cited 143 About the Author Foreword U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS are in uncharted territory. In late 2017, after 40 years in which Beijing and Washington emphasized mutual coopera- tion, President Donald Trump used his National Security Strategy (NSS) to declare that relations with China had become fundamentally conten- tious. China, like Russia, challenged “American power, influence, and in- terests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity…determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their in- fluence.” With that statement, Washington joined Beijing in viewing bilat- eral relations as essentially competitive. The age of rivalry had begun. The NSS also identified American universities as vectors for the loss of strategically vital knowledge to China. This was new. Since the establish- ment of diplomatic relations in 1979, Sino-U.S. educational relations, and the work of the millions of Chinese students who studied in the United States in particular, had been one of the relationship’s great successes. Chinese students who stayed in the States after graduating became lead- ing American scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, and artists. Many who returned to China built constructive ties between U.S. and Chinese in- stitutions. The contribution American colleges have made to constructive relations are impossible to quantify, hard to overstate, and profoundly in the United States’ interest. Why, then, should the NSS focus on American campuses and the Chinese who study there? The answer lies largely in Beijing’s framing of its strategic ambitions. Under Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, China has made ex- plicit its quest for “comprehensive national power” (国家综合实力), China’s term for the kind of military, economic, technological, normative, and cul- tural power the United States has long enjoyed. This is not a surprising—or inherently nefarious—aspiration for a wealthy civilization-state like China. vii Foreword But, in a finite world, China cannot attain the power and status it desires unless American influence and prestige wane. Xi has made clear, moreover, that technological innovation is the key to China’s rejuvenation, that technical knowledge must be attained from the world’s great corporations and universities, many of which are American, and that Chinese students and people of Chinese heritage throughout the world must contribute to his “China Dream.” The connection between China’s grand strategy and its overseas students is thus clear, at least in theory. Operationalizing those connections is the job of the United Front Work Department and other Chinese government agencies, which have been revitalized under Xi’s leadership. Xi has strengthened political control of educational institutions within China, including programs affiliated with American universities. He has called on Chinese faculty and students to study and serve “socialism with Chinese characteristics” and issued warnings about the malign influence of foreign scholars. In Xi’s China, education is more politicized than it has been since the era of Mao Zedong. It is therefore reasonable—it is a stra- tegic necessity—to study the impact of Chinese government-sponsored ac- tivities on American institutions of higher education. U.S. colleges and universities create knowledge—and promote American well-being—through their exercise of academic freedom and openness. Openness demands that American universities admit the world’s best stu- dents, many of whom are Chinese. Academic freedom requires that all scholars in the United States respect principles of free inquiry and critical discourse, regardless of their countries of origin. With China as the greatest source of foreign students to the U.S., and with China’s authoritarian gov- ernment summoning students to serve a motherland engaged in worldwide competition with the U.S., prudence dictates a close look at the impact of Chinese students and the Chinese officials charged with managing them on American campuses. Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic’s research advances American understand- ing of this emergent issue. Her findings, which the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States presents in these pages, are cause for heightened vigilance and cautious optimism. Her preliminary report is the most comprehensive survey to date of the experiences of faculty, students, viii Foreword and administrators coping with the impact of China’s political agenda and educational culture on American campuses. Through hundreds of inter- views and cogent analysis, she identifies trends that will concern American educators and policymakers, but also finds that American universities are well-equipped to manage the challenge, particularly if they work with each other and share information with government agencies charged with pro- tecting national security. The Wilson Center is proud to partner with the Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation in sponsoring Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic’s work as a Schwarzman Associate and welcomes discussion of her research. Please send comments and questions on the evolving issues addressed in this report to the Kissinger Institute at [email protected]. Robert Daly Director Kissinger Institute on China and the United States The Wilson Center ix Acknowledgments I AM GRATEFUL to my colleagues for their insightful remarks and encouragement. I would also like to thank the Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation and the Wilson Center for their support of this research over the past year. If you are an educator and would like to share your experiences of PRC influence and interference activities, you can reach me at prcinfluence@ email.com. The views expressed in this monograph are my own. Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic Washington, DC August 2018 xi Executive Summary AS THE CHINESE Communist Party (CCP) consolidates its control over every aspect of domestic society, it increasingly seeks to shape the world in its image. Mammoth multimedia platforms broadcasting the “Voice of China,” development projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, and the power to limit foreign companies’ access to its lucrative market are just a few of the tools at Beijing’s disposal. Officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) present their global initiatives as public goods, but many