A US House investigation finds Harvard University prioritized lucrative financial ties with entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party, allegedly compromising US national security, allowing anti-China protest violence, and collaborating with PLA-linked entities.
The US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the House Education and Workforce Committee have released a new investigation aimed at examining Harvard University’s ties with entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party, China’s military and alleged human rights abuses.
Key Findings and Allegations
According to the committee’s release, the investigation, titled “Compromised Independence: CCP Influence at Harvard University,” found multiple instances in which Harvard allegedly prioritised lucrative financial relationships while failing to adequately address US national security and research-security concerns. The committees said their investigation was based on thousands of pages of documents obtained from Harvard, Chinese government records, transcribed interviews with Harvard personnel and testimony from multiple witnesses.
Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar said the American public expects leading US universities to safeguard American research and innovation and not advance the interests of foreign adversaries. According to the committee release, Moolenaar said Harvard had made “serious mistakes,” citing allegations that the university allowed violence against anti-China protesters and maintained collaborations with entities linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He called on Harvard to undertake significant reforms aimed at reducing CCP influence on campus and strengthening the security of American research.
Specific Cases of Concern
House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg also criticised Harvard over its foreign-funding disclosure practices. As cited by the committee release, Walberg alleged that Harvard created an entity called Harvard Global in an attempt to circumvent federal requirements governing the disclosure of foreign funding received by US higher education institutions. The release said Harvard Global’s website previously described the entity as a conduit for transactions in cases where the university was “unable to accept the sponsor’s terms due to legal or financial reasons.” According to the committees, Harvard removed that language from the website after the committee provided the university with a draft of its report ahead of publication.
The investigation also highlighted activities involving Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. According to the release, the school conducted a health executive education seminar that may have been attended by a Chinese paramilitary organisation that has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
Compliance and Vetting Failures
The committees further raised concerns over Harvard officials’ handling of China’s treatment of Uyghurs. According to the report, a senior Harvard compliance official initially hesitated during a transcribed interview when asked whether China was conducting a genocide against Uyghurs. Following a consultation with attorneys, the official reportedly stated that they did not dispute the assertion that the Chinese government was engaged in genocide against the Uyghurs.
In another interview, according to the committee’s release, one of Harvard’s lead compliance officials declined to categorically rule out research collaborations involving the Chinese military. The investigation concluded that Harvard’s relationships with Chinese entities raised broader questions about the university’s research-security framework, foreign-funding transparency and due-diligence procedures.
Committee Recommendations
The committees issued a series of recommendations for Congress, the executive branch and Harvard University. Among the recommendations, the committees called on Congress to pass the DETERRENT Act, which would require greater transparency from universities and researchers regarding foreign gifts and contracts. They also urged Congress to pass the Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries (SIRA) Act, aimed at strengthening protections for US research and innovation against foreign adversaries.
For Harvard, the committees recommended centralising and restructuring its research-security functions, overhauling its due-diligence and vetting procedures and professionalising its research-security leadership and staff. The report also called on Harvard to eliminate mechanisms that could circumvent federal transparency requirements.
The findings come amid heightened scrutiny in Washington over the extent of foreign influence in American universities, particularly regarding research partnerships, foreign funding and academic collaborations involving institutions and organisations linked to China. According to the Select Committee on the CCP’s release, the investigation is intended to highlight what it described as shortcomings in Harvard’s approach to foreign influence and research security and to press the university and Congress for measures aimed at protecting US academic research and national security interests. (ANI)
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