The National Pulse can reveal that the United States Military Academy at West Point has had Dong Jianhua, vice president of the Communist Party’s top propaganda agency, visit to speak and start an academic exchange program with Tsinghua and Peking University.
What’s more, the leadership of West Point has visited the Chinese Communist school and called for greater cooperation. A former president of West Point went so far as to “invite defense students from Peking University to participate in an annual military training and competition at West Point.
West Point’s Engagement with the Communist Party’s United Front
Dong Jianhua, founder of the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), speaks at West Point in 2012. In addition to serving as the foundation’s chairman, Tung also serves as vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which is considered the “highest entity” that “oversees” the CCP’s United Front Work mouth, according to the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission.
According to a brochure from the China-United States Exchange Foundation, West Point is one of several U.S. colleges and universities to which Tung has spoken. The brochure devotes a full page to Tung’s trip to West Point and describes three key events.
“Foundation trustees and supporters pose for a photo at West Point”.
“Foundation Honorary Advisors Dr. Kissinger, Mr. Rubin, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan and Professor Xu Kuangdi attend the meeting”.
“Foundation Chairman Tung Chee Hwa delivers a speech at West Point”.
Primary Source, an organization that helps set curriculum in American schools and is a partner of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, produced a booklet with excerpts from Tung’s speech.
In his speech, Tung said, “Building strategic mutual trust is about reaching a comprehensive and accurate understanding of each other’s development path, strategic intentions and foreign policies, and it is about understanding each other’s history, Culture and values. Developing trust requires understanding, and developing understanding requires an active commitment to listening to and respecting each other’s goals and needs ….. We should encourage two-way visits; two-way exchanges in the arts, culture, and sports; and reciprocal visits by scholars and students ….. The more we meet and the more we understand each other, the more we can build trust. The more we meet, the more we can build trust. “
According to the U.S. government report, the purpose of the China-United States Exchange Foundation is to “unite and neutralize potential sources of opposition to the policies and authority of the Chinese Communist Party” and to “influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or take positions in support of Beijing‘s preferred policies.
According to a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing with the Department of Justice, the China-United States Exchange Foundation has undertaken “to effectively disseminate positive information about the CCP to the media, key influencers, opinion leaders, and the general public.
As previously revealed by National Pulse, the CUSF sponsored trips to China by mainstream corporate media in exchange for “favorable coverage” and sponsorship of current and former U.S. elected officials elected “based on an open-minded view of the CCP.
West Point is taken care of by the Chinese Communist Party?
West Point’s leadership has taken the lead in communicating with schools such as Peking University and Tsinghua University.
Nicholas Eftimiades, a former senior intelligence officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency and a State Department official, said Tsinghua is Xi Jinping‘s alma mater and “there is a clear connection between Tsinghua and the National Technical and Industrial Administration in terms of discussing where it can help the national security of the CCP.” Tsinghua University has even launched cyber attacks against the U.S. government.
Since 2007, Peking University has sent students to study at West Point. A press release sent out by Peking University that year said, “A two-week exchange program will be held this coming winter that will give students a taste of how leadership is developed at West Point. The terms of the program, the first collaboration between West Point and Peking University, were finalized during a visit by West Point President David H. Huntoon to Peking University. As part of the exchange program, two West Point cadets will spend a semester studying Chinese at Peking University. The upcoming selection process will be open to students from all fields of study, a Peking University official said. The selected students will take the same courses as the West Point cadets, designed to strengthen their leadership skills and teamwork while developing their character. “
In March 2018, Cindy Jebb, director of the West Point Academic Council, traveled to BGSU to deliver a presentation titled “Academic Development for West Point Members.”
Jebb outlined “A Model for Developing the Academic Life of West Point Members. She emphasized that the function of Education is to enable students to face the challenges of the future, while maintaining both daily discipline and professionalism. Academic education helps students develop better character, Jebb said. Jebb also talked about the development of people. She said technology is advancing rapidly in this era and problems are emerging. Therefore, students should gradually develop professional ethics and improve their ability to think critically.
Jebb also visited Tsinghua University “to have a dialogue with Chen Xu, chairman of the university council, to promote cooperation and exchange in continuing education between the two universities.”
A summary of the event noted that “during the meeting, both sides showed great respect and admiration for the institutions they represented.” Jeb “hopes that the two institutions will cooperate more in various areas in the future.”
Former West Point President Robert Caslen, who also visited Peking University in 2016, praised “the nearly 60 students who have studied Chinese at Peking University as exchange students since the Chinese language program began in 2007.”
Caslen “gave sincere praise to the exchange program,” according to a summary of the event, which also revealed that Caslen “invited Peking University defense students to participate in the annual military training and competition at West Point.”
Later, the two sides suggested that the current cooperation should be deepened and multi-level exchange programs should be established to benefit more students from both universities. For example, provide Peking University students with short-term exchange study opportunities at the University of Maryland, and provide University of Maryland students with opportunities to participate in a variety of majors other than Chinese.
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