Stanford Students Uncover China's Influence Operations on Campus

Chinese authorities are strategically deploying students at Stanford University and instructing them to monitor academic research, according to student journalists who spoke at a Heritage Foundation panel on foreign influence in academia. The investigation was sparked when an individual claiming to be a Stanford student reached out to Chinese researchers last summer. Elsa Johnson, a student journalist at Stanford, along with fellow student Garret Molloy, exposed Chinese Communist Party efforts to influence research activities in a May investigative report. Johnson described the suspicious communications, noting, “He asked me to visit China without a visa to avoid alerting U.S. authorities, suggesting I stay for one to six days and then travel to Japan in between. It was quite unusual.” She further revealed that she contacted the FBI afterward, realizing such incidents are prevalent at Stanford. Molloy pointed out that Stanford's proximity to Silicon Valley makes it a prime target amid China's advancements in high-tech industries. After interviews with students and faculty, he and Johnson uncovered that Chinese authorities select and direct students into specific research areas, o...