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A bombshell report out of Stanford University shed light on the influence of spies from the Chinese Communist Party that the student newspaper says have likely infiltrated the prestigious institution and other universities nationwide to gather intelligence.
The report, published by the Stanford Review, tells the story of a Stanford student working on sensitive research at the school – and given the name "Anna" to protect her identity – receiving unexpected messages from a man with the alias Charles Chen asking about seemingly harmless topics like networking opportunities.
Those messages soon took a "strange turn," according to the outlet when Chen’s questions became more personal, asking Anna if she spoke Mandarin, encouraging her to visit Beijing on a trip he would pay for, and referencing details she had never disclosed to him.
Charles advised Anna on how to enter China briefly enough to avoid visa scrutiny from authorities, told her to only communicate through the CCP-monitored WeChat and told her to delete screenshots.
A new report from a Stanford student newspaper sheds light on potential Chinese spying at the prestigious school. (Getty)
"Under the guidance of experts familiar with espionage tactics, Anna contacted authorities," the article explains.
"Their investigation revealed that Charles Chen had no affiliation with Stanford. Instead, he had posed as a Stanford student for years, slightly altering his name and persona online, targeting multiple students, nearly all of them women researching China-related topics. According to the experts on China who assisted Anna, Charles Chen was likely an agent of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), tasked with identifying sympathetic Stanford students and gathering intelligence."
Fox News Digital spoke to students involved in the article who explained that there are three major takeaways from the findings of the report.
"Number one, what we saw was a full apparatus for extracting information so they would hit the students they wanted, then two, they would administer loyalty tests and three they would demand the information be sent back," one of the students said.
In some cases, if the students refuse to provide information to the CCP, their parents are threatened back home and sometimes interrogated by police, according to the students who spoke to some Chinese international students.
People visit Stanford University in Stanford, California (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
‘To be very clear, what they said is that every Chinese international student at any time can be asked by the CCP to disclose their research information," Fox News Digital was told.
"So what that looks like is, potentially weekly calls with the Chinese ambassador back in China, where they will explain what research they're doing and if it is particularly sensitive technologies like AI and robotics. This is where the majority of the CCP targeting is happening. They'll ask them to send back not just public information, they'll also send back internal lab reports, future directions of the research, recorded conversations with the professor, the methodologies, the other participants in the research, particularly if they're Chinese international students so they can look for other ones."
The Stanford Review story points out that the House Select Committee on China sent a letter to Stanford last year warning of the risks that China poses to STEM research.
The article also explained how concerns about a Chinese spy presence in China have "quietly persisted" for "years" and claimed that several people who were contacted were too afraid to speak publicly.
"One student who experienced espionage firsthand was too fearful to recount their story, even via encrypted messaging," the article states.
"‘The risk is too high,’ they explained. "Transnational repression, $64 million in Chinese funding, and allegations of racial profiling have contributed to a pervasive culture of silence at Stanford and beyond."
The authors of the article, after interviewing dozens of people in and around the university, summed up their findings by saying, "The CCP is orchestrating a widespread intelligence-gathering campaign at Stanford."
"In short, ‘there are Chinese spies at Stanford.’"
China's national flag flutters on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan's main island, in southeast China's Fujian province on Dec. 11, 2024. (Adek Berry/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital spoke to former California GOP Congressman Michelle Steel about the report, and she explained that hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring in from China to prestigious universities. She called the situation "very dangerous."
"President Trump is totally right," Steel said. "China is the biggest threat to all other industries, but especially universities."
Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Sobolik, who recently published an article urging the U.S. to "stop giving Beijing an advantage through TikTok," told Fox News Digital that "sunlight is the best disinfectant" in this situation.
"If Stanford is worried about foreign espionage and coercion on its campus – and it should be – then its leadership will need to call it out publicly," Sobolik said.
"Thus far, woke politics have deterred Stanford from speaking out. That’s insane, and it rebounds to Beijing's benefit. The CCP is one of the most racist political organizations in the world, and it hides behind the Chinese people as a shield," he continued. "If Americans are afraid to call the party out, we implicitly advance the CCP’s narrative that there’s no difference between the Chinese people and the CCP."
In a statement, Stanford University said it "takes its commitment to national security with the utmost seriousness, and we are acutely aware of the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party to all research universities."
"Stanford has rigorous policies and processes in place to ensure that research by its faculty and students is conducted in a manner that safeguards America’s interests. Stanford does not conduct classified or secret research," the statement continued. "Stanford has a university-wide process for reporting threats to research security, and carefully assesses all reports. Stanford consults with federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to ensure our policies and procedures are rigorous and protect national security."
The university added that it is "looking into" the Stanford Review report and has reached out to federal law enforcement, adding that it is "very important to distinguish between threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party, and Chinese and Chinese-American faculty and students who are at Stanford to learn and contribute to the generation of knowledge, and are valued members of our community."
Steel and the Stanford students told Fox News Digital that while it is important not to generalize and make assumptions about all Chinese students, it is the students from China who are ultimately the victims in this situation as they are coerced and sometimes punished by the CCP.
"We really have to protect these innocent students, innocent Chinese Americans, but at the same time we really have to vet those students coming in or anybody, even diplomats, they're coming in, we really have to vet them," Steel said.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment on the report and received a statement denying the allegations.
"The above reports are full of false information, delusional speculation, political lies and ideological prejudice," spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. "China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes this."
"China-US educational cooperation has not only expanded the channels for students of the two countries and enhanced the understanding between the two peoples, but also promoted the economic prosperity and scientific and technological innovation of the United States, which is in the interests of both sides," the statement continued.
"We urge the US to stop generalizing national security, stop slandering Chinese students, and stop stigmatizing, politicizing and instrumentalizing normal educational exchanges. Effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying abroad, and do not take discriminatory and restrictive measures against Chinese students."
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].
