Pompeo unloads on US universities for China ties

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused U.S. universities of caving to Chinese pressure to blunt or bar criticism of Chinese Communist Party. attack, which included identifying two university ministrators by name, comes as Trump ministration seeks to cement its anti-China policies before leaving office in January.

Pompeo took aim at Massachusetts Institute of Techlogy and University of Washington, claiming y refused to dress Trump ministration’s concerns about China’s attempts to influence students and acemics. In doing so, he specifically called out president of MIT and a senior official at University of Washington for igring matter.

Both universities swiftly and emphatically denied charges.

Pompeo defended Trump ministration's tough stance on China in remarks at Georgia Institute of Techlogy. speech came less than a month before Georgia's two critical run-off races that will determine control of Senate.

“Americans must kw how CCP is poisoning well of our higher education for its own ends, and how those actions degre our freedoms and our national security. If we don’t educate ourselves, we’ll get schooled by Beijing,” he said. “y kw that left-leaning college campuses are rife with anti-Americanism, and present easy target audiences for ir anti-American messaging."

Pompeo has been a champion of ministration's hardline stance on Chinese policies in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, western region of Xinjiang and South China Sea, and he has me similar prouncements before. He has imposed multiple layers of sanctions on Chinese officials; restricted visas for Chinese diplomats, journalists and acemics; and lobbied or countries to reject Chinese high-tech communications.

But his comments on Wednesday were striking in that he named two American university officials as complicit in alleged Chinese malfeasance.

Pompeo said he h initially wanted to give his Georgia Tech speech at MIT, but president of rewned scientific institution, Rafael Reif, h turned him down for fear of offending Beijing.

“MIT wasn’t interested in having me give this speech on ir campus," Pompeo said. “President Rafael Reif implied that my arguments might insult ir ethnic Chinese students and professors.”

MIT spokeswoman Kimberly Allen rejected Pompeo's assertion, saying university declined to host speech because of coronavirus restrictions. She said several or prospective high-level events h also been rejected.

Reif “h real concerns that a high-level visit might t only draw crowds but suggest to students that MIT was t taking its own rules seriously,” she said. “President Reif verbally conveyed MIT’s decision — based on a commitment to health of our students and our surrounding community — with his deep regrets.”

Pompeo also criticized Sarah Castro, University of Washington’s director of federal relations, for allegedly refusing to help Vera Zhou, a student of Chinese origin who h been detained in China in 2017, so as t to jeopardize a “multimillion-dollar deal” between university and Beijing.

“w, thank God, Vera was eventually released, and returned to U.S,” Pompeo said of student. “But thanks to University of Washington, and thanks to its deal with China.”

A statement from university spokesman Victor Balta called Pompeo's remarks a “shameful” and “outrous” deflection by an ministration that took “ effective action” on behalf of Zhou.

“That Secretary of State would think a university has more power in this situation than United States government is bizarre,” he said. “That he would single out a staff member by name is unbecoming of office and his statement is flatly wrong.”

university has record of contact from State Department regarding any negotiation with China, Balta said, and officials don't kw what “multimillion-dollar deal” Pompeo was referencing. He ded that, as of this quarter, Zhou is again enrolled at university.