GOP Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and several other GOP senators have signed a letter to the CEO of the College Board, asking the agency to review its relationship with the Confucius Institute Headquarters/National Office of Chinese Language and Culture Affairs.
The senators who signed the letter include Marsha Blackburn of New Hampshire, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Kelly Roeffler of Georgia, Mike Lee of Utah and James Lankford of Oklahoma.
“The National Association of Scholars (NAS) has released a report identifying university boards of trustees as a target of Chinese influence activities,” the senators wrote in a letter sent Oct. 27. “The report alleges that the Council on American Universities has collaborated with China to develop an Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese language and culture test. The report further alleges that the Council on American Universities (CAU) places Chinese nationals in U.S. schools through the China Guest Teacher Program, a collaboration between CAU and Hanban. We are concerned that the PRC will use its partnership with the Council on Colleges and Universities to stifle dialogue that could damage the PRC’s reputation.”
The letter refers to the U.S. Department of State’s designation of the Confucius Institute Center USA (CIUS) as the PRC’s mission in the United States on August 13, 2020, thereby recognizing the CIUS program as one of the CCP’s propaganda tools to influence U.S. schools.
The senators said that because of the security concerns raised by the University Council’s relationship with Hanban, they asked the head of the University Council to respond by November 13, 2020, to the following questions.
What is HANBO’s role in the Chinese Guest Teacher Program? 2. Does this exam require approval from the Chinese government? 3. How much money does the University Council receive from Hanban or the broader Chinese government? 4. What oversight measures does the University Council take to mitigate the risk of excessive foreign influence related to Hanban? 5. How does the University Council screen funds from abroad? 6. Does the University Council sign contracts, contracts, and contracts with Hanban or other Chinese government-supported entities? 7) Has the University Council received or used federal funds to create or promote Hanban-related programs?
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAUP) is a 100-year-old nonprofit organization formerly known as the College Entrance Examination Board, which administers standardized college admissions tests such as the AP and SAT, and currently has more than 6,000 colleges, universities and educational organizations as members.
Senator Rubio co-chairs the cross-party Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that oversees human rights, and is a member of the Subcommittee on East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.
Senator Rubio and his CECC have also been targeted by the Chinese Communist government after the United States announced sanctions against senior Chinese officials for serious human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
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