WTH: Chinese Spies Have Infiltrated Stanford. The Stanford Review’s Elsa Johnson and Garret Molloy Explain

What the Hell Is Going On

China’s Ministry of State Security has infiltrated and is conducting espionage at all levels of Stanford University. By law, all Chinese nationals are required to report back to the Chinese Communist Party on their research and daily activities when asked. Sometimes this spying is voluntary and conducted by those who wish to see America fall behind in the global tech race. Other times, Chinese nationals are coerced into spying on their school, friends, and teachers through transnational repression. How can universities and Congress work together to prevent Chinese espionage? And how is the Chinese government buying influence in American universities and American society writ large?

Elsa Johnson is the managing editor of the Stanford Review and a sophomore studying international relations and East Asian studies.

Garret Molloy is a staff writer and the business manager of the Stanford Review. He is a sophomore studying Hayek, economic history, and libertarian thought.

Read the transcript here.

Subscribe to our Substack here.

Read Elsa and Garret's reporting here.