WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2021) The Biden administration's decision to cancel proposed rule on universities' disclosure of financial ties to Confucius Institutes keeps US academia open to Chinese propaganda and spying, Senator Chuck Grassley warned in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
"It's extremely concerning that the Biden administration has withdrawn the proposed rule that would have required schools to disclose their relationship with Confucius Institutes," Grassley wrote on Thursday.
The public and parents should be able to know whether or not the school their child attends "has a relationship with a Chinese government propaganda machine," the letter said.
Grassley has frequently warned of Chinese challenges to academic freedom as well as to security of taxpayer-funded research and intellectual property.
Grassley's letter cited multiple warnings from US intelligence agencies that China uses the Confucius Institutes to pilfer research and technology from leading American Universities, often by Chinese graduate students before they return home.
Mayorkas canceled the proposed rule that would have required universities and Primary schools to disclose their financial ties to Confucius Institutes, the letter said.
