University shuts down its CCP-linked Confucius Institute after scrutiny from top Republican

Alfred University has agreed to close its Confucius Institute following outrage over national security concerns by House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mike Gallagher.

Gallagher, R-Wis., wrote to the university last month, demanding more information on the New York school's Confucius Institute and five-year $13.5 million taxpayer-funded research grant in 2022 to by the Pentagon to conduct hypersonic weapons research.

In a June 13 letter obtained by DailyMail.com, university attorney Robert Fisher responded to Gallagher saying Alfred University has decided to close the Confucius Institute 'as of June 30, 2023.'

The response comes after Gallagher warned that the university would be in violation of the law in October if it did not close its institute due to conditions in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). According to the law, the Pentagon is prohibited from providing money to 'institution[s] of higher education that hosts a Confucius Institute' after October 1, 2023.

Gallagher told DailyMail.com that he's 'glad' to see Alfred University 'finally doing the right thing' and shutting down its institute, but called it only 'one tool in the CCP's toolbox' to gain access to U.S. research and technologies.

Gallagher writes that he has major security concerns regarding a five-year grant by Department of Defense to the university in 2022 to conduct hypersonic weapons research

Gallagher had also told pointed out to Alfred that since the 2021 NDAA passage, over 100 U.S. universities shut down their Confucius Institutes 

'We're going to continue to dig into the facts to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars are supporting research partnerships that the CCP can exploit for its own purposes.' 

Gallagher had also told pointed out to Alfred that since the 2021 NDAA passage, over 100 U.S. universities shut down their Confucius Institutes. 

As of March 2023, the National Association of Scholars counts a total of 13 Confucius Institutes in the U.S. - with over 108 closing or in the process of closing. 

According to its website, the Confucius Institute at Alfred University (CIAU) has a mission to 'encourage and enable people to discover the fascinating language and rich culture of China.'

'We serve as a platform for cultural exchange, as well as a bridge of friendship and cooperation between Chinese and American people,' it continues. The institute hosts numerous events throughout the year including a recent spring 2023 festival and dance competition. 

Gallagher wrote in his original correspondence that, 'to put it plainly,' the university - based in western New York - is conducting 'advanced, hypersonic weapons-related research while actively partnering with a Chinese university that performs similar research for the PLA.

'We seek additional information regarding this alarming matter and Alfred's commitment to safeguard sensitive U.S. military research,' Gallagher said. 

The university attorney replied to those concerns in its June 13 letter, saying Alfred 'takes very seriously the issue of protecting intellectual property and improper technology export.' 

In addition, the university regularly works with the Department of Commerce and the FBI to 'strengthen export control policies and processes.'

Gallagher's committee is also keeping a close eye on four additional universities who host a Confucius Institute and have been awarded a DOD grant - University of Toledo, University of Utah, St. Cloud State University and Wesleyan College. 

In 2019, the FBI found that 'foreign state adversaries seek to illicitly or illegitimately acquire U.S. academic research and information to advance their scientific, economic, and military development goals. 

FBI Director Chris Wray outlined the threat in a 2020 speech, saying China pays scientists at U.S. universities to 'secretly bring our knowledge and innovation back to China—including valuable, federally funded research.' 

Gallagher states that 'to put it plainly,' the university - based in western New York - is conducting 'advanced, hypersonic weapons-related research while actively partnering with a Chinese university that performs similar research for the PLA

He says the FBI is seeing an increase in these cases, pointing to a few recent arrests of Chinese researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and at the University of Arkansas who were allegedly committing fraud by concealing their participation in Chinese talent recruitment programs while 'accepting millions of dollars in American federal grant funding.'

China's infiltration into universities is just the tip of the spear. 

In April, two individuals were arrested for operating illegal overseas police station in lower Manhattan, at the direction of the Chinese Government.

The defendants worked together to establish the 'first overseas police station in the United States' on behalf of the Fuzhou branch of the CCP. 

'It is simply outrageous that China's Ministry of Public Security thinks it can get away with establishing a secret, illegal police station on U.S. soil to aid its efforts to export repression and subvert our rule of law,' Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI Counterintelligence Division said in April.