The Communist Party of China (CCP) has eroded the rights of American scholars through its influence on U.S. academic institutions and colleges and universities.
A recent article in the online magazine “The Federalist” suggests that the Chinese Communist Party uses funding to exert influence over educational institutions, teachers and students in the United States. The U.S.-China academic relationship is tainting the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to American citizens on American soil. Unfortunately, this will be the norm until U.S. institutions dare to come forward and clarify the relationship.
“Young Voices contributor Rachel Chiu and trade economist Matthew Kidder, chief operating officer of the International Trade and Finance Association, recently spoke on “The American Institute for International Trade and Finance” at a press conference. Kidder, a trade economist and chief operating officer of the International Trade and Finance Association, recently published an article in “The Federalist” on how the Communist Party’s influence in higher education is eroding American power.
The CCP’s Institutionalized Abuse of Foreign Faculty
In 2016, Kidder was offered a professorship through the American Economic Association (AEA). He moved to Beijing and began a position at the University of International Business and Economics (formerly known as the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade), which receives financial support from the Chinese Communist Party.
According to the article, Kidd’s story should be a prime example of international educational cooperation. But this cooperation exposes how the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in American society has eroded the basic freedoms of Americans.
A month after arriving in Beijing, Kidd was informed that his employment contract had been unilaterally changed: 20 percent of his salary had been withheld as a “bonus,” and the bonus was increasingly owed and eventually stopped. Kidd also experienced racial discrimination during his time at the university, as well as a breach of contract regarding health insurance (which was only offered to Chinese employees). Most obviously, if one voices concern about something, one faces more serious consequences. He later learned that all of these are common practices in Chinese schools and are institutionalized abuses of foreign teachers.
American Economics Association bows to CCP pressure, won’t stand up for abuse of members
Midway through his contract, Kidd returned to the United States and called on the American Economic Association to investigate his experience in Beijing. Not surprisingly, the move drew fire from the University of International Business and Economics, which threatened to file criminal charges against Kidder for speaking out against a Communist Party-backed institution-that is, the university planned to file criminal charges in China for his words and actions in the United States.
Yet despite Kidder’s unfair treatment and the growing hostility of Chinese universities, the American Economic Association has been slow to stand up for their policies on discrimination and anti-retaliation. The society finds itself in the all-too-common situation of having to choose between its financial interests and the rights of its members.
The article says that Kidd’s experience reflects a larger trend emerging in academia and the private sector. In China, legal institutions were weak, an outgrowth of Mao’s desire to centralize power within the Chinese Communist Party. Interpersonal relations became an informal institution for maintaining social order.
This socio-legal machinery meant that abused people did not have access to meaningful ways to resolve their problems. While some formal avenues for resolution exist, the abused have little chance of success and pose a risk of retaliation from above.
U.S. academics denied basic rights
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other politicians have been vocal in their opposition to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in U.S. education, citing their concerns about CCP propaganda and the suppression of politically sensitive content. A 2018 report by the Wilson Center found a “troubling trend. The report shows that U.S. faculty, students and staff are being pressured to align their scholarship with the political leanings of the Chinese Communist Party.
The article in “The Federalist” says the impact is actually much greater. Academics like Kidd are not just under pressure to conform to the CCP, they are finding themselves denied their basic rights. Worse, they see their institutions also shunning their experiences of unfair treatment as they succumb to threats of CCP retaliation and funding cuts.
The Chinese Communist government has increased its infiltration of the U.S. academic community in recent years. Communist-sponsored Confucius Institutes exist in many U.S. universities. In August 2020, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of Confucius Institute USA centers as “foreign embassies” and emphasized the importance of ensuring that American students learn Chinese language and culture without the manipulation of the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese culture.
The State Department says the Confucius Institute USA “is an entity that promotes Beijing’s global propaganda and wicked influence campaign on U.S. campuses and in K-12 classrooms. The Confucius Institute is funded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the CCP’s global influence and propaganda arm.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education released a report describing how some top U.S. universities failed to disclose millions of dollars in foreign funding. According to the report, one U.S. university worked with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, “received $2,360,807” from an arrangement that showed “significant interactions” with China and supported academic exchanges with Communist Party officials through the CCP’s Party School. The Wall Street Journal said that According to the Wall Street Journal, the university in question can be identified as Georgetown University. Top universities like Georgetown continue to collaborate with the Chinese Communist Party regardless of the risks to their academic community.
The Communist Party’s authoritarian influence seeps into the United States, hurting U.S. and Chinese scholars
“This long arm of authoritarian influence hurts both American and Chinese scholars, according to an article in “The Federalist. The pursuit of knowledge is a shared endeavor, and while the U.S.-China educational partnership exists to promote progress, it can only work if academic and personal freedoms are respected.
Outside of academia, many industries are modifying their behavior and values to accommodate CCP censorship. the NBA found itself in a similar predicament in 2019 when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted from his private account in support of the Hong Kong democracy movement. The Chinese Communist Party has launched a campaign to boycott the NBA in the country.
The article argues that speech has proven to be free in the United States only until it touches the interests of the CCP or commercial interests.
Murray, Kidd and many others involved in U.S.-China joint ventures believe that their rights will be protected and supported, especially within the United States. Americans expect a high level of protection provided by law and common principles, however, these relationships between U.S. institutions or organizations and the Chinese Communist Party foster an environment in which wrongdoing goes uncorrected.
The article suggests that the U.S. federal government needs to examine how American values are being subverted by these foreign partnerships. To do so, educational institutions must be equally transparent and careful in the funding they receive. U.S. universities should be prepared to support U.S. scholars when they face threats from foreign partners, rather than hiding behind monetary interests.
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