One of the United State’s top public schools reportedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from groups affiliated with China’s military, The Washington Examiner reported.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), which is part of Fairfax County Public Schools, reportedly partnered with Tsinghua University High School (TUHS) in 2014 “to assist it and China generally with adopting the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and advanced lab research TJHSST is famous for,” the report noted. TUHS is affiliated with Tsinghua University in Beijing, considered by the U.S. government to be a Chinese military institution.
As a result, the Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund (TJPF) received thousands of dollars of donations from Chinese interests, parental rights group Parents Defending Education revealed and shared with the outlet (via The Washington Examiner):
The Thomas Jefferson Partnership Fund (TJPF) received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Tsinghua University as part of this agreement. TJPF also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Ameson Education and Cultural Exchange Foundation as well as the Chinese company Shirble, which were both led by men tied to China’s United Front Work Department, the Chinese government’s foreign influence campaign.
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The Pentagon assessed in 2020 there were “Military-Civil Fusion linkages” with Tsinghua University, noting the school's "People's Liberation Army-affiliated labs." A report prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) in 2022 noted the PLA Air Force “established the ‘Dual-Enrollment Program’ with Tsinghua University.”
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TUHS says it is “attached” to Tsinghua University and is “directly under the Ministry of Education.” TUHS’s principal noted the school is “under the guidance” of the CCP, and leaders of the TUHS include CCP officials. TUHS International’s advisory board also includes Mao Daqing, part of the “United Front Work Department of CCP Central Committee.”
Jerry Dunleavy, who wrote the piece, said that the agreement was signed between the principles of Thomas Jefferson and TUHS at China’s embassy in the U.S.
According to PDE, a newsletter from TJPF in 2014 said that the relationship between TJHSST and TUHS will “help to fulfill a long-term goal of the school, that of sharing TJ’s uniquely successful approach to teaching science and technology with other schools in order to expand educational opportunities for students, no matter where they reside.”
The Examiner added that Ambright Education Group, which is connected to the Chinese government, helped establish “Thomas Schools of China” modeled off of TJHSST (via The Washington Examiner):
Ambright said the “Thomas Schools of China” came about through “collaboration" with TJHSST, and its 2019 recruitment flyer said it was “establishing Thomas Schools of China” in Shanghai, Hefei, Jinan, and Nanjing by incorporating “advanced school operations” from TJHSST.
The Thomas Schools emphasize they are “modeled after the curriculum” of TJHSST and aim to "support the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Its steering committee includes former Chinese government officials.
“We already knew the Chinese Communist Party infiltrated America’s colleges and universities through ‘Confucius Institute’ programs,” PDE President Nicki Neily told the Examiner. “However, it is frightening to discover the same problem occurring in K-12 schools.”