Thread by @michaelsobolik

In 2018, 🇺🇸 got serious about 🇨🇳 influence campaigns in America - particularly in our universities.

But Beijing has begun pushing back, in ways policymakers have yet to address. @Joshua_Eisenman & I explain in @ForeignPolicy.

🧵1/x foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/31/chi…

For the past three years, Congress has had a three-part response to CCP influence campaigns:

(1) singling out complicit institutions

See UT-Austin and the LBJ School's attempt to take $$ from CCP-backed China-US Exchange Foundation $2 million

2/x washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…

(2) leveraging federal funds

See 2019 NDAA provision that pressured colleges w/ DOD-funded foreign language programs to shutter their Confucius Institutes.

3/x washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogi…

(3) compelling disclosure.

This was a Trump Admin play that culminated in an investigation into top-tier American universities. It uncovered $6.5 billion in unreported foreign funding.

4/x www2.ed.gov/policy/highere…

Between these three efforts, Washington gained lots of momentum and - seemingly - put universities w/ CCP cash on the defensive.

To wit: @NASorg tracked the closure of 65 Confucius Institutes from 2017-2021. nas.org/blogs/article/…

5/x

But the problem hasn't disappeared. The CCP has evolved and adapted to these tactics.

When UT-Austin turned down CCP funding, the man behind the effort (David Firestein) went to run @GHWBushChina, and successfully got CUSEF funding.

6/x axios.com/scoop-bush-fam…

Earlier this year, @SenFeinstein accepted a "lifetime achievement award" from the Bush China Foundation - and ultimately, from CUSEF and the Chinese Communist Party. Ditto Henry Kissinger.

7/x

Regarding universities...many have simply refused to disclose funding. Others have closed or renamed their Confucius Institutes to work around pressure from Washington and keep the CCP cash flowing.

8/x
realcleareducation.com/articles/2021/…

Big lesson for policymakers: annual disclosure requirements for universities and a ban on all congressional engagement with such groups are essential first measures—but alone, they are insufficient to stop the flow of CCP-linked funding into U.S. educational institutions.

9/x

Barring a change of heart from Beijing, Congress should restrict the types of gifts and donations American universities can accept from CCP-backed sources.

Policymakers must protect the integrity & reputations of our universities.

/end foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/31/chi…