University shuts down its CCP-linked Confucius Institute after scrutiny from top Republican

Alfred University has agreed to close the Confucius Institute after outcry over national security concerns by the House Select Committee of Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher.

Gallagher, R-Wis., wrote to the university last month demanding more information about New York’s schools Confucius Institute and five-year $13.5 million taxpayer-funded research grant to be implemented by the Pentagon in 2022 research on hypersonic weapons.

In a June 13 letter obtained by DailyMail.com, university attorney Robert Fisher responded to Gallagher by saying that Alfred University has decided to close the Confucius Institute “as of June 30, 2023.”

The response comes after Gallagher warned in October that the university would be breaking the law if it did not close its institute due to conditions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021. Under the law, the Pentagon is prohibited from providing funds to “institutions ‘[s] of higher education that will house a Confucius Institute after 1 October 2023.

Gallagher told DailyMail.com he is “happy” to see Alfred University “finally do the right thing” and shut down his institute, but called it just “one tool in the CCP’s toolbox” to access US research and technologies.

Gallagher had also pointed out to Alfred that since the 2021 NDAA passage, more than 100 US universities have closed their Confucius institutes

“We will continue to investigate the facts to ensure that no US tax dollars are being used to support research partnerships that the CCP can exploit for its own purposes.”

Gallagher had also pointed out to Alfred that since the 2021 NDAA passage, more than 100 US universities have closed their Confucius institutes.

As of March 2023, the National Association of Scholars lists a total of 13 Confucius Institutes in the US – more than 108 of which are closing or about to close.

According to the website, Alfred University’s Confucius Institute (CIAU) has a mission to “encourage and empower people to discover China’s fascinating language and rich culture.”

“We serve as a platform for cultural exchange, as well as a bridge of friendship and cooperation between Chinese and American people,” it continues. The institute hosts numerous events throughout the year, including a recent spring 2023 festival and a dance competition.

Gallagher wrote in his original correspondence that, “to put it plainly,” the university – located in western New York – “is conducting advanced hypersonic weapons-related research while actively collaborating with a Chinese university doing similar research for the PLA.”

“We are seeking additional information on this alarming issue and Alfred’s commitment to safeguard sensitive U.S. military research,” Gallagher said.

The university attorney responded to those concerns in his June 13 letter, saying that Alfred “takes very seriously the issue of intellectual property protection and improper technology exports.”

In addition, the university regularly works with the Department of Commerce and the FBI to “strengthen export control policies and processes.”

Gallagher’s committee is also closely monitoring four other universities that host a Confucius Institute and have received a DOD grant: University of Toledo, University of Utah, St. Cloud State University, and Wesleyan College.

In 2019, the FBI found that “adversaries of foreign states attempt to illegally or unlawfully acquire U.S. academic research and information to further their scientific, economic, and military development goals.”

FBI Director Chris Wray outlined the threat in a 2020 speech, saying China pays scientists at American universities to “secretly bring our knowledge and innovation back to China — including valuable, federally funded research.”

Gallagher states that “to put it plainly” the university – located in western New York – “does cutting-edge, hypersonic weapons-related research while actively collaborating with a Chinese university doing similar research for the PLA.”

He says the FBI is seeing an increase in these cases, pointing to a few recent arrests of Chinese researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and at the University of Arkansas who allegedly committed fraud by concealing their participation in Chinese talent recruitment programs while “accepting millions of people ‘. dollars in US federal grants.”

China’s infiltration of universities is just the tip of the spear.

In April, two individuals were arrested for operating an illegal overseas police station in lower Manhattan under the direction of the Chinese government.

The defendants collaborated to establish the “first overseas police station in the United States” on behalf of the CCP’s Fuzhou branch.

“It is absolutely outrageous that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security thinks it can get away with setting up a secret, illegal police station on American soil to support its efforts to export repression and undermine our rule of law,” said acting deputy director. Kurt Ronnow of the FBI. That’s what the Counterintelligence Service said in April.